We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stephanie Ray. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stephanie below.

Stephanie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

Yes, I have worked very hard to reach this point, but I have been a full time freelance photographer for 11 years! My goal since I started photographing professionally, has always been to make a living and support myself and my family with my business. I was able to accomplish that by working with other photographers and learning as much as possible about all kinds of photography, which has resulted in me becoming a well rounded photographer that is able to photogrpah any job that comes my way. I cannot do this for a living if people don’t hire me! So my number one priority is always bookings and filling my calendar. Over the years, I have built up several streams of revenue. I started out as a contract wedding photographer and built my portfolio and experience up. From there I launched my own Brand as a wedding and portrait photographer, and began advertising at Bridal shows. I found myslef booking dozens of weddings off of every bridal show and I had a lot of success in this genre, shooting 30-40 weddings a year. Then Covid came and the wedding industry came crashing down, then back up again, then down again. 2023 has been an exceptionally bad year for weddings, so in an attempt to stay afloat, I reached out to my network of proffessional photographers for additional work, and boy did they come through for me! Since January, I have returned to my pre covid gross income by restructuring my whole business to focus more on working with other professional photogrpahers and videographers. I second shoot and associate shoot for several other professional photographers for weddings and events, I shoot real estate 2-3 days per week for 2 companies, I still have my own brand that offers full service portrait and wedding photography, and I work with a few production companies shooting stills during their events and commercial productions. My business is my main source of income, but my steady income definitely comes from my work with other professionals. I am so grateful for the relationships I have formed over the years that have brought me to this point. My advice for anyone starting out is not to be intimidated by other photographers! If you can build connections with other photogrpahers you will learn faster, book more, and be more successful overall.

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

I am a freelance photographer that specializes in weddings portraits, and now Real Estate photography! My personal brand is Stephanie Ray Photography. I started out by working in portrait studios as a sales consultant, retoucher and photographer. Then I was introduced to wedding photography when I got a job working with a photo/video company from Houston that specialized in South Asian (Indian) weddings.

In 2012 I launched my own brand and started working with another wedding company as a contract photographer. I was able to build my portfolio, experience, and network through those jobs, and now, I primarily photograph weddings and portraits using the creative lighting techniques and cinematic style that I learned by working with the photographers I met while working in the South Asian Luxury wedding market.

I think my personality is the main thing that sets me apart, but I also take a lot of pride in simply being a great photographer. That being said, you can be the most amazing photographer in the world, but if you aren’t fun to work with, no one will hire you!

This year was looking really slow for weddings, so I wasn’t sure that I could make it on my wedidng income alone.
As a result, I started doing real estate photography, and I love it! I am still able to provide wedding and portrait services, but real estate has really renewed my enthusiasm for photography! It is still new for me, but I am planning on applying the same method of growth I experienced in the wedding market to eventually launching my own real estate photo brand. I am currently working with 2 companies as a contract photographer shooting houses in DFW. I hope to build my experience and my network and see where this new road leads!

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

When the dust settled after wedding season in the fall of 2022, I was shocked to see that 2023 bookings were just not coming in. I was having trouble figuring out how I was going to survive the wedding drought so I began calling all my photogrpaher friends to offer my services as a second shooter. I have one friend that does Real Estate photography and I have always wanted to learn more about it, so I called her up and asked if she needed help. Turns out the real estate market was booming with new home consructiona nd she desperately needed help. She took me under her wing and trained me in Real estate photo techniques. Within a month I was shooting 5-10 houese a week and loving it! I recenlty took another part time role in Real Estate photography with a different company and between the 2 I have been able to replace the income I was missing from lack of weddings. It’s been a great year so far and I can’t wait to see where this new specialty will take me.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, the most rewarding part about being a freelance photographer is calling my own shots. I never did well working traditional jobs. I need the flexibility of working at my own pace and this career has certainly given me that freedom. The second most rewarding part for me is making ordinary people look and feel like the best version of themselves!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.stephanierayphoto.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephanierayphoto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephanierayphoto

Image Credits
my headshot is by Miranda Longoria Photography