We recently connected with Stephanie Rivera and have shared our conversation below.

Stephanie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

I have been obsessed with photography for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, I wanted to be a photographer for National Geographic so I would walk around with my film camera, taking pictures of everything and everyone. When I was in college, I saved up enough money to buy my first digital camera and became the unofficial photographer documenting family events to nights out with my friends. When I got pregnant with my son, I knew I wanted to take his photos so I invested in my first DSLR camera. I set up little photo shoots for milestones and people would always tell me how much they loved seeing my photos of him. I would have friends and family ask to get photos done from time and time which turned into “hey you should do this for real!” I’ve always said there are much better photographers out but then I came to the realization that we all start somewhere, so why not me too? I decided to start offering my services on a limited basis to begin building up my portfolio and see where this all takes me!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My dad was in the army while I was growing up so we have moved around quite a few times, including overseas. My parents were always just as obsessed with photography. One of my favorite things to do when I was younger was sit down with the photo albums and look back at family members who were no longer with us, birthday parties with friends who had moved away, and all the different places we had visited. Being able to look at those photos and hold them in my hands, I knew how special taking photographs was. Fast forward to now – being a mom myself, I love that I can take photos of my son and for my son to look at whenever he wants to. Now, I want to share that feeling with everyone.

When talking to clients, I first ask them what kind of ideas they have but I find that sometimes, they get stuck. When that happens, I am more than happy brainstorming a few ideas to share to see if we are heading down the right path. I get very excited during this part of the process because there are so many wonderful ways to tell a story through photographs and love finding an idea that my client falls in love with, I am a natural people pleaser and I just want to make my clients happy and provide them with photos that they are excited to share and keep for years and years to come.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect is having the opportunity to be creative. I work full time as a paralegal and there is not much opportunity in my field to express creativity. Going out, meeting new clients, scouting new locations, brainstorming photo sessions – this is my creative outlet and it brings me so much joy.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Word of mouth! I will be the first to admit, I am not the greatest at keeping up with my social media account. I need to be better at it, I know. However, even with social media, I have noticed that word of mouth is still just as effective.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: smrphotographytpa