We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hayley Stein a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hayley, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
I started my photography business to help include people of all backgrounds, shapes, colors, and sizes! I noticed early on in learning my craft that plus sized, disabled, and LGBT models were often overlooked. I strive to work with everyone from every walk of life, first photoshoot or one thousandth. Everyone deserves to feel beautiful and I work hard to make sure my clients feel that way. No matter who you are or if it’s your first photoshoot or your thousandth, I will always provide the same energy and effort to make my clients beauty shine.
Hayley, 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?
Hayley Stein Photography was started in 2013 and I specialize in cosplay, portrait, boudoir, event, and fine art photography. I am now a full time published photographer in the Chicagoland area. I fell in love with photography back in my first year of high school with film photography and I haven’t stopped since. I develop my own film, take clients throughout the year on location or in studios, as well as being a large contributor to the cosplay community. I regularly attend and work with pop culture conventions as well as book, photograph, and edit my work myself. I have been taking private bookings at conventions since 2019 and don’t see myself stopping any time soon! I focus on making all of my clients feel comfortable and assist in directing and posing for my photoshoots.
How did you build your audience on social media?
When I was fresh out of college and looking for clients and new opportunities, I turned to social media. I used Facebook events and found several photography meetups to attend and the rest is history! While very intimidating to not know anyone at these networking events, I quickly realized these events would not only help me network but give me valuable experience in the field with new clients. I attended them regularly and slowly but surely developed a small base of clients that helped me expand my knowledge and my services. I still attend these events and have grown into a leadership position in one of the groups I started in, i really enjoy giving back to the community that helped me start out. Consistency in attending local events and posting on social media helped me get to where I am today.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Unfortunately, I am no stranger to cancer. My grandma was diagnosed with breast cancer before I was born and passed away on Halloween when I was a child. The older I got, the more family members I had that became effected by cancer, eventually my mom as well. This was not limited to my family, some of my close friends began their own cancer battles. Continuing my business during such difficult times has given me hope, it’s given me an outlet for my emotions, and it has helped some of my incredible friends and family to feel normal again. I was lucky enough to be trusted by a close friend to photograph a before and after series for her breast cancer and I to this day believe it’s one of the most important pieces of work I’ve ever done. Helping my friend feel beautiful in her own skin after such a difficult health journey was such an honor, especially after seeing my own family go through their own journeys. Being included and trusted with helping make someone feel like themselves again is indescribable. It makes everything worth it. 
Contact Info:
- Website: Hayleystein.com
- Instagram: Hayleysteinphoto
- Facebook: Hayleysteinphoto
- Twitter: Hayleysteinphoto
- Other: Linktr.ee/hayleysteinphoto
Image Credits
Image of me: Chris Norton / Infinity Spiral Photography @infinityspiralphotography All other images by myself, Hayley Stein Photography Monster High: @lottiealawest, @rubberrhys, @lovelybedhead, @highcucos, @seaoda Bo-Katan: @vaultfox Persephone & Hades: @poison_rose_cosplays & @troybushido Sailor Moon: @leaux_, @mehanzo, @sailorfrogz, @curlee_fry, @666cos, @slavic.doll, @yizlez, @anapantalos_cosplay, @meowkittykait, @scelestawitch, @j3llybuns Harley & Ivy: @hannah_adell, @elemental.cosplay Deku: @dcwbuilds Ariel: @artefaye