We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gracie Eddins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Gracie , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the story of how you went from this being just an idea to making it into something real.

I received my first camera at 15 and have always been interested in photography from a young age. My grandfather was an incredible wedding photographer, so some might say it was in my DNA. However, I didn’t fully fall in love with photography until after a house fire took my family home when I was 16, and the only thing we were able to save was our family photo albums.
Experiencing firsthand the importance of photography, I realized I was more thankful for those photos than anything else we could have saved. It cemented photography as both memory and art deeply into my spirit. From that point on, I set out to make something other people would risk going back into a burning house for.
As I grew, my passion only deepened. I attended college at Samford University and studied journalism and studio art, which beautifully complemented my love of photography. I forged many connections that still support and encourage me to this day.
Having never studied business or had any understanding of what was ahead, I launched my business full-time the month I graduated college in 2022 with a dream and an “I’ll figure it all out as I go” attitude.
The first year was full of questions and frantic calls to friends more experienced than I was. I made many trips to the business licensing office, figured out liability insurance for the first time, had a few breakdowns, and spent any money I made on new gear or trying out new film stocks instead of saving for a new car that I desperately needed (RIP to my ’99 Jeep Grand Cherokee with no rearview mirror or working speed and gas gauges).
That was four years ago, and my business has been blessed by God more than I could’ve ever hoped for. My photography has evolved a million times over and I’m sure it will continue to change as I do. I’ve shot over 90 weddings and worked with clients from Birmingham to Montana, Ohio, New York, and next fall, I’ll capture my first international wedding in Paris!
Birmingham has been the best place to grow up and stay. There is absolutely no ceiling on the creative community here. I’ve been blessed to serve the most incredible clients, including Le Weekend, Bottega, Chez Fon Fon, MG Style, El Royale, Liz Woods, Matey, Supertone, and Laura Deems, to name a few.
Being able to celebrate friendship while creating art alongside clients is something I believe Birmingham’s creative community is uniquely incredible at.

Gracie , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Gracie Eddins, and I’m a photographer based in Alabama. I run Greddins, a creative studio that works across the country with both brands and individuals to capture photography that feels rich, warm, and deeply human. For brands, I create lifestyle and product photography with a focus on relatability and joy bringing a human, lived-in touch to companies who want to connect with their audience on a deeper level. My clients range across industries, but I especially love working with businesses in the fashion and hospitality space.
For couples and families, I offer wedding and family photography that leans away from traditional, polished styles and instead celebrates authenticity, emotion, and the natural beauty of the day. Many of my wedding clients come to me specifically because they want something different something more raw, more honest, and more them.
What sets Greddins apart is the belief that everything exists in context. I don’t just photograph products or people I try to tell the full story of who they are, what they care about, and the connections that bring meaning to their lives and work.
I’m most proud of the way my work resonates with people on an emotional level. The highest compliment I can receive is that a photo made someone feel something or reminded them of a moment they never want to forget. I want potential clients to know that when you work with me, you’re not just getting a photographer, you’re getting a collaborator, a storyteller, and someone who genuinely loves what she does.
At Greddins, we approach every shoot with a positive, energetic attitude that invites collaboration and joy over ego. I’m here for the layered, imperfect, beautifully human stuff and I hope to create something with my clients that they’d run back into a burning house to save.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think being approachable, collaborative, and friendly have been the best things to build my reputation outside of the quality of my work. A good experience to me on set and the collaborative journey of a shoot is CRUCIAL to the success of the final product in my opinion. Inviting collaboration and curiosity into the conversation has grown my relationships and skill more than I could ever overstate.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

I have always lived life with a “worst they can say is no” mentality, and it has gotten me to some of my favorite life experiences like a free summer in a chateau older than America in the south of France, or a last-minute trip to the Amalfi Coast on a free flight planned within three days of departure. I figured I shouldn’t let go of that mindset just because I was a business owner now. It was all I knew to do.
This led me to going through a big phase of cold calling, emailing, and DMing industry professionals, asking for a coffee meeting or phone call basically any advice they had for me. This put me in some of the most inspiring, challenging, and validating conversations that have encouraged me more in business than anything else.
One I can recall was with Bryan Johnson and his wife Ashley. Bryan and Ashley have a loft in downtown Birmingham where Bryan runs his incredibly successful photography business and studio. I was experiencing a lot of self-doubt and confusion about what direction to take my business in. I felt like I had to exist in one world or the other weddings or lifestyle photography. Bryan exists in both worlds seamlessly and encouraged me that I could do the same.
I asked Bryan if he thought I should attend this gathering in Brooklyn with Ritual Photo Collective, where artists gathered not to shoot but to deep-dive into the philosophy behind our work and review each other’s portfolios. I didn’t think I was ready for it, but Bryan encouraged me to take a leap and go for it. He said, “Let me connect you with some of my friends there,” who happened to be the people leading the panels during this gathering, artists like John Dolan (who shot the likes of Naomi Biden, Jennifer Lopez, Gwyneth Paltrow, AnnaSophia Robb, and countless others), Daniel Kim, and Michaela Jelin.
I walked into this gathering in Brooklyn, NY as a 22-year-old from Birmingham, Alabama, not knowing anyone now walking straight up to the leaders of the conference and hearing, “Gracie, we are so glad you’re here and so glad Bryan connected us.” I still have relationships with these artists today that have been crucial in the betterment of my art. Daniel Kim happens to be shooting my own wedding on October 25, 2025 haha.
I never would have grown in the way I did, forged new relationships, or widened my horizons without the “worst they can say is no” mentality and the help from generous artists and friends.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://greddins.com
• Instagram: @_greddins

Image Credits

The first photo of me on the couch with photos behind was taken by Kailey Kercher