We recently connected with Adri Richey and have shared our conversation below.
Adri, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
What did my mom do right: I grew up really poor, no food in the fridge, newspaper instead of toilet paper, foreclosed house, no furniture, 3 jobs to pay for high school and college, and lots of coffee to keep my scholarship. On the positive side, I had my mom who always believed in me. I don’t know if it’s the Mexican in her, or the catholic in her, but she ALWAYS believed that things were going to work out. She never asked herself “why” or “why me”. She just kept going; she still keeps going.
She believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. Every single day she told me, “Adrianita, one day you are going to see the results of your efforts and you will help others the same way others are helping you right now.”
How all this makes me who I am today? Well, I want to inspire others the way others inspired me. Our daily actions impact someone’s life. My story helped me be aware of this and the importance of supporting everyone’s dream.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I was born in Monterrey, Mexico, but found my second home in Houston, TX. I was 6 years old when I had a role in a play for the first time; I was the rain! It was during that important 3-min role when I discovered that I loved to tell stories, connect with people, and create a scene where anyone can be whatever they want to be. A few years later, during my first semester in college, I used a camera for the first time. My mom didn’t have money to buy me not even a wind-up film camera so it was until college when a friend let me borrow her camera for our photography class. And that was it! I discovered the tool that will allow me to create all the stories I wanted.
I have an incredible husband who not only tolerates but embraces my crazy ideas. Together, we are raising a four-legged daughter named Abbie, and a four-legged son named Walter.
Photography is my passion. I love crafting visual narratives, freezing moments in time that will live forever within a photo. I love getting to know my clients and capturing their essence. After a photo session, it’s as if I’ve been friends with that person for years! While I generally prefer the role of a behind-the-scenes creator, I occasionally enjoy photobombing other people’s photos, ha!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
When everything shot down during COVID, I freaked out; me and the rest of the world. No clients, no bookings, no inquires; I felt useless. I decided that if I wasn’t going to make money, at least I was going to learn something. During COVID 2020 I took at least 20 different online photography trainings. I bought a mannequin to practice all my trainings and I also did free photo sessions. I asked friends if they wanted photos, they said yes, and I practiced. By 2021 I learned so much that I don’t regret not getting paid.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
The imposter syndrome! Oh! That fear of not being enough is a real problem.
I Facebook/IG stalked other photographers for years and the more I compared myself to them, the worst I felt about my skills. But hey! I’m sure they also started from the bottom and I wasn’t going to be better by riding the pity bus. So here I am, learning on the go. You might never get rid of your fears, you just have to learn how to trick them, do things scared if you need to, but always keep moving.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.adririchey.com
- Instagram: @adri.richey.photography
- Facebook: @adri.richey.photography