She’ll Be Right Spotlight Series

New Zealand Snowboarding teamed up with She’ll Be Right to spotlight the people that embody the spirit, vibe, and essence of She’ll Be Right. SBR isn’t a competition, but rather a celebration of incredible girls, women, and non-binary individuals in our snow community. SBR is about providing opportunities, community, and a platform for participants to progress in the industry.

The NZSB judging panel have selected Amee Freeman as the standout photographer for She’ll be Right 2025. Every photographer had some outstanding shots. Amee captured the overall essence of She’ll be Right while maintaining her own artistic style and a panel favourite photo was Jess McGregor on the pole jam (see in the gallery below).

She’ll Be Right founder and organiser Cayley Alger sat down with Amee Freeman to get the inside scoop on snow photography.

Standout Photographer: Amee Freeman

Interview by Cayley Alger

Photographer Amee Freeman

Amee Freeman hails from Australia but has called Queenstown home for the better part of 6 years now. She’s mainly a photographer in the hospitality industry and she has a camera in her hand almost daily. She knows exactly where to find Queenstown's best spicy marg and she’ll always have a 6-month-old muesli bar stashed in her outerwear (for anyone that desperate). Ultimately it’s the community that gets her up the mountain, “the people, the vibe, and how welcoming everyone is.” Spending time away from the mountain has cemented how important community is for Amee.

So, how did you get into photography? 

I worked in TV when I was younger, helping out on set, doing a bit of general production work, and then I moved into producing. After a while, I was like “this is not me.” I remember asking one of the filmers, “hey, do you mind if I just start taking photos?” Then I kept doing that for a while. When I left TV production, I hustled in hospo to come to New Zealand. So I had a bit of a break [from the camera], and then, I went to my first She'll Be Right, in 2023. That is what got me back into it, to be completely honest. It’s crazy now to think that my whole job revolves around photography and videography. I always wonder what and where my life would be if I didn’t attend my first She’ll Be Right, but here we are! I can remember the day so vividly, it was one of the funnest days I think I've ever had on the hill. It was the second time I'd shot snowboarding, [and I only had a film camera], so who knows what these are going to turn out like, but that's the fun of it, right? That's why I love film photography, because you only get one shot. 

Was there a specific point where it all just clicked, and you thought, ‘this is it?’

Honestly, I feel that feeling every time I pick up the camera. I don't think there's a specific ‘one time.’ Sometimes it takes a minute, but then I'm like, “okay, this is it!” I also think everyone goes through lulls of creativity and that ‘imposter syndrome’ like feeling. But after 4-5 shots, I'm like,”oh, yeah, this is for me.”

When you do have those moments of the ‘imposter syndrome’, what helps you get over that? 

Sometimes it’s not until after editing the photos that I can move past it. I always lean on a lot of people [for constructive criticism]. People like one of my best mates, Lachie. He's also a photographer. Sometimes I just need a bit of reassurance, sometimes feedback. Honestly, I don't think there's anything that really helps you move past that feeling apart from DOING. I guess just surrounding yourself by those positive people and also in the same sense, being able to take constructive criticism. I don't want everyone to just be like, “yeah, that's great”. I think getting constructive criticism is really useful, and just doing and doing and doing and practising and getting out of your comfort zone.

You’ve come so far, how was She'll Be Right this year, how did it go?

Well… the weather was questionable, or ‘interesting’, and I think in a sense, it tested me personally [which was a good thing]. When you get a beautiful park day, every shot is a banger or at the very least, you don’t need to worry about the light changing. SBR this year went from a blizzard to the sun peeking out, to then it's gone again, and then it's a blizzard again! You had to stay on your toes, constantly adjust your settings... and edit, every single photo completely differently! It wasn't like, “oh, I've got 50 photos here and I can just bang the same edit on all of them”. Regardless of how cold and crazy it was, I did love this year how we paired up with some riders in the morning.  I had six little groms with me, and they were hilarious, their energy was so funny. I just loved it. “Oh God, to be 12 again.” I was so stoked, and I think being around that energy helped me. 

Maybe you've answered my next question, but did you have a favourite moment from the day? 

On the chair, we were talking about K-pop demon hunters [with the groms]. I was like, “I don't know what that is, but I'm here for it.” I think those girls were so stoked to be there; it's also huge for them, and seeing it through their eyes was huge for me. They're sitting there listening to Christy Prior talk, and I think that's so inspirational for them. Then, you look at the whole purpose of the day, which is to bring people together [in the wider snow industry], so for anyone involved, being able to link up with people that they might not usually get to meet is awesome.

Laced Mag Cover

“She'll Be Right” as a phrase, event or community, what does that mean to you?

I actually can't explain how grateful I am. Having a cover on [Laced] magazine was so big for me, and I don't think that would have happened if I weren't surrounded by the SBR community. As an event, it is what you put into it. Whether you want to meet new people or you want to get more confidence taking photos on snow, [or get shots for yourself as a rider], whatever you put in that’s what you’ll get out. I think for me, I felt like I could gain people's trust to shoot them, to be in the park. It's quite a big thing to have the rider trust your timing. You also don't want to waste their time, if they’re constantly throwing down, that takes a toll on them. So, you want them to trust you to get what they need. And ultimately, SBR was a good place to build the confidence to do that. It’s a place my style began to evolve, and continues to evolve. Having someone trust in your style and what you do, because it's so subjective, is a nice feeling. 

What's the best advice you’ve ever received? 

The best advice I've ever received was from Rach Hadfield at Depth of Field. She said, “take a step back.” I think about that when shooting all the time now, especially at an event. If there’s lots of people shooting and we all stand in the same spot, we're all going to get the same shot. So, whatever I’m shooting, I’ve been trying to think about what it also means to other people, what would other people want to see and what does it feel like being there, things like that. 

So, if you could tell your younger self something on your first day shooting, what would it be? Would it be Rach’s advice? 

I think I’d say, “keep shooting.” I heard this from Camilla Rutherford. You don't get better unless you do. So just keep doing it, and be prepared (with liners & fresh muesli bars)!

Equally, what's the worst advice you've ever received?

I don't actually know if I've received bad advice, and I think that's just a testament to the people that I surround myself with. Many of them are guys in the industry, they have always given me good advice and have been super supportive. 

What do you want to see more of in this industry? 

People getting paid what they’re worth. I’ve actually never been paid to shoot snowboarding before, so I don't have the biggest insight into how people get paid for that. I'd love to one day book a job that is shooting snowboarding. That's one of my goals, for sure. I do understand from a brand perspective, everyone's got an iPhone. Everyone's getting clips/shots all of the time. They're getting content pumped to them for free. It’s a hard one. Although with everything moving to digital, I still don't think you could ever beat the feeling of having a photo published in print. PRICELESS!

What's next for you?

Japan! I've never actually gotten my camera out in snow in Japan. My ride time was pretty limited, and I was just trying to get as much POW as I could. Also, there’s a whole other thing to shooting in Japan. It’s DEEP! So, ‘what's next for me…’ shooting in Japan. I think there's stories to be told there.

Longer term, what’s the dream for you? 

That's what I've been thinking about for a really long time. I don't know what the goal is. And I think it's okay not to know. All I know is I just want to keep creating and keep the passion for that alive. I think I'm really lucky because I'm in this space every day where I'm using my camera for work, so [for a change] it would be nice to go and work on some more passion projects. I guess my dream is to stay passionate.