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

Hi Amy, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

Overall yes I am very happy running my own schedule and accepting the clients I want to work with. It’s helped motivate me to be more involved with my community and too look into what my individual clients needs are for each project. I’m also able to provide my own rate and work the jobs I want too. I have had several full time jobs in photography as well in my previous years of experience. I found when the job took over my creative drive dealing with the day to day work load the best motivation for me was to pursue my own creative projects outside of work. I became more driven to keep my work looking better and better when I was continuing to learn and push my self on my own projects.

Amy, 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 started shooting as a hobby when I was a teenager. I would photograph friends, family, vacations we would take together when I was growing up. My dad was a great motivator in helping me get started and answering any questions I had in the beginning. I ended up going to a for profit school in Massachusettes for college. It was a one year program and the biggest move I’ve ever made in my life growing up in Plano, Texas. Once I finished school I was so motivated to work in commercial photography and decided to pursue the beginning of my career back in the Dallas area. I spent months picking up the phone and cold calling photographers until I heard back from the JcPenney photography studio. I assisted photographers there for a year doing online e-commerce, catalogue, store graphics, and newspaper shots for about eight months and then got an incredible opportunity to studio manage one of the best photographers I’ve worked with in my whole career, Andy Klein. I worked under Andy in his studio in Dallas for about two years before accepting a job as a studio manager for a photographer in New York. New York had always been my dream so saying goodbye to my favorite boss and photographer mentor was a bittersweet exit. After working as a studio manager for about two more years I decided I was ready to be in the thick of studio life. I eventually got a wonderful job working in an e-commerce studio for Saks 5th ave, Lord & Taylor, and Hudson bay. I eventually got promoted to head photographer and shot both on and off figure during the six years I was employed there. During my time at Saks I made connections with modeling agencies, stylist assistants, and hair and make up assistants and worked on my own projects outside of my nine to five job. I also shot headshots, began shooting weddings, and also a few family portraits on my own. When my husband and I decided to make the move to Austin I felt confidence in continuing my own path working for myself in starting over in a new city. In the nine years I’ve lived here I’ve shot for Kendra Scott, Four hands for their events, interior designers where I photographed different projects, as well as my personal favorite families, and children. I’m made my experience flexible in what I do so I can work in many different avenues. I love having different and exciting jobs and meeting new people. It’s been a dream come too follow my creative business in Austin Texas.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

The greatest lesson is one I learned early in my career working as a studio assistant in JcPenney. I started out in still life which I found to be quiet monotonous doing day to day. I expressed my boredom to an art director I had become close too. I remember being very young and very motivated but also very underwhelmed. They told me “Listen if you are bored then that is your fault. There are too many things to learn and experience and no one is going to bring them to you. You have to find them on your own. You are starting out the same way as everyone else here. No one gets a free pass to the top.” Hearing that turned the lights on in my head and it guided me through out the rest of my career. .

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My particular mission in to make sure I stay focused and continue to be in a job that provides me joy as well as keeps me grounded. There are so many people in my industry and I work hard to stay focused on my own lane and make sure I keep my self positive and light with all my clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: amycorley.com
• Instagram: @amy.corley