Who’s Behind All This?

My name is Brad Abrams, and I’m a photographer, designer, and writer based in Columbia, South Carolina. Oddly enough, I didn’t get into photography because I wanted to capture reality. I got into it because I wanted to edit it. I spent nearly a decade experimenting with photo editing software before I ever picked up a “real” camera, and that love of creative manipulation still drives everything I do today.

For me, photography, design, and writing are all expressions of the same creative instinct. Whether I’m working on a portrait, a graphic, a sarcastic T-shirt, or an essay exploring some strange corner of life, the goal is always to create something unique that feels thoughtfully crafted. I see every project as a collaboration between imagination, experimentation, and just enough curiosity to ask, “What happens if I try this?”

When it comes to portraits, I’m not just looking to document what’s there. I want to show something deeper, the personality behind the expression. That might mean using humor to make someone comfortable, lighting to highlight a specific mood, or editing to push the image beyond what the camera can see.

The photo beside this text is a good example of that approach. It was my final project when I graduated from the New York Institute of Photography in 2020, a photographic recreation of Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer, featuring my wife as the subject. That same image went on to win 1st Place and Best in Division at the 2022 South Carolina State Fair. It’s a reminder that what looks like play can also be serious craft.

When I’m not behind the lens, that same creative impulse shows up in my designs and writing. The T-shirt and graphic side of Totally Snapped grew naturally out of that editing obsession, the same urge to play, distort, and reimagine, just on a cotton canvas instead of a digital one. More recently, that curiosity has found its way into essays, articles, recipes, and the occasional deep dive into whatever happens to catch my attention.

So whether you’re here for photography, design, writing, or just a little chaos, welcome. The possibilities are endless, and that’s exactly the point.