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

Pamela, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My mission centers on building people up and celebrating exactly who they are, right where they are. While I found my inspiration in capturing my daughter when she was born, as my children grew, their fun quirks and uniqueness gave me passion in celebrating and capturing the beauty in each person’s own interests and personalities. I also spent years struggling to find my beauty and I hope that in my own small way, I can help individuals see the beauty I see in them.

Pamela, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My primary focus is creative work, boudoir, retro/pinup photography, seniors, and some family and couples photos. I mostly love working with other artists, to showcase who they are, and seniors and kids, who are so passionate about going out and changing the world with their talents. I love showing them how cool I think they look through my lens. Using creative lighting, I can really create some dramatic effects that showcase their hobbies and passions.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I really didn’t have much of a choice when it came to turning my side hustle into my full-time job. I had worked for six years at my regular job and their demands kept growing, but the pay wasn’t enough to cover even the cheapest of childcare. I was missing my children’s lives. My employer decided they wanted full-time office hours, plus nights and weekends, but their weren’t affordable benefits; family healthcare was literally my entire salary. The wages were below poverty. They replaced me when I took my vacation days after I told them I just couldn’t give them full-time hours plus the nights and weekends for the pay they were giving me. I spent a couple weeks in bed feeling sorry for myself. My job had been by entire identity. I loved what I did, even though I didn’t get paid nearly enough for my education. Whether people truly loved my work or felt sorry for me, I’ll never know, but they started booking me like crazy and I never had to look for another job. That was a good thing, because with three children, the oldest with autism and the youngest and infant, that was going to be a nearly impossible challenge. It’s been seven years since I became a full time photographer and since then my studio has undergone one expansion, with another underway.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’m currently at a pivot point. Things have changed a great deal since I started photography. I started shooting absolutely everything when I started 10 years ago, because I was told in a small town, you just have to shoot everything to succeed. But I was overwhelmed and unhappy. Now I know I only have to shoot what makes me happy. Unfortunately as the economy has changed I am finding I can’t niche myself down too much or I won’t be working very much. I have found joy in volume work, like sports and schools, and I continue to love shooting seniors.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pamelatakespics.com
• Instagram: @pammiesue13
• Facebook: Facebook.com/pamelaclaytorphotography

Image Credits
All photos credit Pamela Claytor Photography