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

Heather, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I’m a self-taught photographer in the sense that I didn’t go to college for photography. I bought my first “real” camera right after my first child was born 14 years ago and haven’t stopped learning since then. In the span of those 14 years I’ve gone from having to piece together every bit of information from google, blogs, message boards, and books to seeing a boom in access to photography resources! There are now plenty of online schools and Facebook groups to learn from. It’s amazing what all is out there these days! Ultimately, picking up the camera everyday and photographing my growing family day in and day out was where I saw the most growth. There really is nothing like trial and error and figuring something out for yourself for the first time!

Heather, 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?

I’m Heather Whitten and I am a documentary photographer! This means that I show up with my camera and document what unfolds before me without directing or posing, be it at a birth of a new baby or a lazy day around the house with a client’s family. I began this journey over a decade ago now, photographing my own growing family in an intimate and honest way. Eventually I began teaching budding documentary photographers the ins and outs of the approach and branched out to taking on birth and Day In The Life clients as well. I think what sets me apart from other photographers is that I find value in the messy and the mundane. There’s an acute level of intimacy that reveals itself when you let someone into the real side of your life… where you’re just watching tv and folding laundry or you’re cleaning up your toddler’s third potty accident of the day. Thankfully I have a personality and energy that people are comfortable around. I can just melt into their world for a bit and gain access to those sides of them. Showing clients how wondrous their everyday lives are is a gift I get to unwrap every time I deliver a gallery to them!

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

Reputation is tricky, right!? I mean, by design, as a business person I know that I won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. And the only people that will really tell you what your reputation is are people that like you. But I’ll roll with it! I’ve built a reputation of being a really bold and brave photographer by sharing my life ruthlessly. I never shied away from the ugly or just honest sides of life. And I think that by doing that, people knew that they could trust me. That they would get what they expected from me bc there weren’t going to be any surprises! And I’m proud of that. As much as I don’t feel like a trail blazer, knowing that other people have shared parts of their lives because of my work makes my heart swell! Another part of my reputation that I think it kind of funny is that I’m known for being a really calming presence. So, for a brave and bold as people know me as being, I’m also really low-key and easy to get along with. I think that lends itself really well to the kind of work I do, melting into different family dynamics on the regular.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Using social media for me has been my secret to building my audience as backwards as that sounds. I love Instagram because it’s a memory keeper. I can share what’s going on in my life and build community while also having something to look back through to remember what all had happened over the years. It’s magic. And, for that, I want to be as honest as possible. I want to remember a really authentic look at my life not just a polished overview. I share a lot about parenting and my photography. The big moments and the small, usually overlooked moments. And I think that draws people in.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.heatherwhitten.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/thisunrulylife