We recently connected with Amanda Verhage and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

When I bought my camera in 2016, it was intended to be a fun hobby of mine to take pictures of my daughter after she was born. I learned at a slow pace, and took a self-taught approach, using YouTube tutorial videos on the basics of how to use my camera’s manual settings. In the beginning, I remember looking at a lot of other photographer’s pictures and styles on their social medias. I admit that I still do that on occasion for inspiration and keeping up to date with techniques, but I knew in order to be successful you had to go out and develop your own style and ideas. The more you use your skill, the more you will evolve as an artist. Knowing what I know now, I would have set aside any nerves I had and started earlier.

One thing that may be viewed as an obstacle would be building up a large clientele in a very competitive photography market. When I do have photoshoots, I communicate with my clients well and make sure they get exactly what they want, but at the same time I get to try new things and craft my style. Being that this is my first year in business, means that I’ve done a lot of “firsts” type of shoots ranging from a Pilates photoshoot inside a studio, to newborn photos, as well as a wedding. While I understand that having more clients means having more experience, I still feel that I am able to learn a lot in what I have done so far. I look forward to the next years to come to see how much progress of learning has been made in my journey as a photographer.

44

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 am the owner of Amanda Verhage Photo as of January this year (2022). As a lifestyle photographer, I offer sessions including couples/engagements, maternity, family, single portraits, and pet photography. I recently left the veterinary profession, where I spent 10 years working as a License Veterinary Technician, to pursue a career as a professional photographer.

The most important thing for any of my shoots is that the client gets exactly what they are looking for. Prior to the shoot I always like to have a couple conversations with clients about their ideas and what they hope to use the photos for. Helping clients select the perfect theme, location and all the other aspects of their final product is the foundation of what I do.

I believe the best photos come when people are completely relaxed and enjoying the session. I know that some people are intimidated or nervous about getting their picture taken or just generally don’t like it, but I do everything I can to relax everyone and never let the clock dictate the pace of the shoot.

The thing business wise that sets Amanda Verhage Photo apart is that we don’t sell any physical photos. All my clients receive a set of digital photos and they can decide how they’d like to post or share them. This lets people post directly to their social media and if they want physical photos they can choose exactly how they are printed and aren’t limited by what we offer. This saves our clients’ money on printing and makes posting quick and easy.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The goal for my creative journey is just to continue to grow my personal style and be the best photographer I could possibly be. For my business the goal is to continue to grow and take on more wedding photography jobs. The variety of settings and different moments that need to be captured allow me to utilize all of my skills and try different ideas.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a photographer is that I can capture a moment for people that they are proud of and that they can look back on and have it bring them joy.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/amandaverhagephoto?fbclid=IwAR3ECQO58UZXJPKgfjn1nmXsOxy9MG4cCw-vhMbFkDjfh2iZ0NOu01d7Hgg
• Instagram: instagram.com/amanda_verhage_photo
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100073175980868