Life & Work with Andrea Stephenson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Stephenson. 

Hi Andrea, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I started my photography journey in 2017 when my mom gave me her old Nikon DSLR camera to take pictures with for fun. I started out just taking pictures of friends and family, getting the hang of camera settings, and finding my editing style. After a few weeks, I knew this was something I was passionate about and wanted to continue to learn and grow in this creative field. I started investing in educational resources, putting together a portfolio, and doing free shoots for new clients to build that portfolio. I learned SO much through online resources, styled shoots, and all my photoshoots I’ve done over the years. Fast forward to 2021, and I now have an amazing client base full of brides, couples, graduates, seniors, families, and so much more! I am thrilled with the business I’ve been able to build, but I know it still has so much room to grow and improve to better serve my clients. 

One of my favorite things about photography is being able to connect with so many different people that I likely never would have met if it wasn’t for this business. I love capturing important moments in people’s lives that they will be able to look back on forever. It is truly an honor to be in the photography business, and I cannot wait to see what the next 5 years will bring 🙂 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not always been a smooth road. The thing with running a photography business is that you have struggles on the business side, but also on the creative side. 

I had never run a business before, so there were a TON of things that I learned along the way in that area. Whether it was from my own mistakes/trial and error or from someone else sharing their experience. I still feel like I am learning new things and picking up new ideas/strategies all the time, which is really exciting! 

On the creative side, there are also struggles. Comparison is a burden in any creative field (at least for me it is!) and for someone who is super competitive and loves to be the best, this was hard for me at first. In the first year or so, I struggled to find my own style and be confident in the work I was putting out. After a while though, I got to a point where I was able to appreciate someone else’s amazing work without comparing it to my own. I became confident in my abilities and vision, and I know this is only going to continue to grow stronger with time. I am a firm believer that comparison is the thief of joy, and I think this absolutely goes for creative elements as well. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a photographer and I specialize in Lifestyle Photography. I mostly advertise couples/engagements/weddings but I love doing senior pictures, graduations, family photos, and really any other type of photography you could think of! 

I would say that I am most proud of how much I’ve grown in this industry while only doing photography part-time. Running a business is not easy and takes a lot of organization and time management, especially when balancing that with a full-time job! 

I think what sets me apart from others is my personality and my work ethic. I genuinely want every single client of mine to feel like they are my friend by the time we are done with our session, and I do my absolute best to make sure everyone feels comfortable and confident when they are in front of my camera. I consider myself a very hard worker, and I think this shows through the timeliness and quality of the work I deliver. I have invested a LOT in educational resources for myself, mentorships, styled shoots, etc. and all of this is because I want my clients to have the absolute best experience possible. So, working hard behind the scenes is super important for that to happen! 

Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I think taking risks is the only way to get anywhere in life. Whether they are big or small, no one ever did anything significant or got anywhere amazing without taking some type of risk. 

For my own life, I think that putting myself out there as an official “photographer” felt risky in the beginning. I am a perfectionist and care a lot about what other people think (probably too much lol) so I felt a little bit vulnerable at first. Putting my work out in the open for people to see was new for me, and kind of scary, but I could not be happier that I took that step because it has led me to such an amazing business and even better people! 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.andreastephensonphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreastephensonphoto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andreastephensonphoto

Image Credits
Andrea Stephenson Photography