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

Audrey, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the toughest things about progressing in your creative career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

One of the most unexpected problems I’ve faced in my creative journey happened during a session where everything seemed fine on set, but once I delivered the previews, the client came back with concerns I genuinely didn’t see coming. She felt the expressions weren’t quite right, noticed uneven skin tones that looked like bruising, and wasn’t fully happy with how she appeared in several shots. Another asked for specific retouching like eye swaps or softening certain features which told me she wasn’t fully comfortable with how she looked in the raw images

When messages like that come in, your stomach drops a little. As a photographer, you pour your whole heart into a session, so hearing that the client doesn’t feel great about the results hits deeply, but that experience became one of the most meaningful learning moments for me. Instead of reacting out of emotion, I shifted into clarity and empathy. I followed up with:

• very specific questions about what bothered them
• offering to do an eye swap before committing to a full retouch
• explaining what was natural skin texture and what could be corrected
• being transparent about what was possible in editing and what might still look natural
• giving them control in choosing the final image before I invested time in deeper edits

The client ended up appreciating the communication so much. Once she felt heard and reassured, the tension melted away. The final edited images were strong, and she was genuinely happy

That situation taught me that unexpected problems rarely come from “bad images”. They come from mismatched expectations, insecurities clients have about themselves, or details that only become obvious after the shoot. It taught me patience, how to guide clients through the editing process, and how important it is to communicate with kindness and clarity

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m Audrey, a lifestyle and portrait photographer who focuses on creating images that feel honest, intimate, and deeply human. My journey into photography wasn’t a straight line. Over time, I realized that some fleeting moments were actually where the truest stories lived.

Photography became my way of holding onto them.

What began as a hobby slowly turned into a craft, then a discipline, then a career. I started shooting friends, families, and eventually clients, people who trusted me to document the chapters of their life that matter. I now photograph families, couples, maternity, creative portraits, and editorial-leaning lifestyle sessions. My style is warm, expressive, and emotion-forward. I care more about the feeling of an image than whether every hair is perfectly in place.

But beyond the photos themselves, what I really provide is an experience, one where clients feel seen, guided, and taken care of from the moment they book to the final delivery. Communication is a huge part of my process. I check in often, manage expectations clearly, and am always transparent about what’s possible in editing and what’s best kept natural.

What sets me apart:
I communicate deeply and honestly with my clients. If something feels off, I address it immediately. If a client notices an issue, I take it seriously. I offer solutions, clarifications, retouching options, and reassurance. Clients trust me because they feel like they’re working with someone who both cares and listens.

My editing style is consistent, warm, and intentionally clean. I avoid over-retouching, and I want skin to still look like real skin, families to look like themselves, and moments to feel lived-in. I’m proud that people often tell me my images “feel like memories,” not productions.

What I’m most proud of:
Not the technical achievements, but the emotional ones.
The nervous mom who cried happy tears because she finally saw a photo of herself she loved.
The family who books me year after year.
The clients who tell me their kids still talk about our session.

Those are the things that mean the most to me.

What I want potential clients and followers to know:
I’m not here to give you perfect photos, but I’m here to give you true ones. I want to create images that feel like you, that age well, that your kids will look at one day and feel something. My work is for people who value connection, mood, and authenticity over stiff poses or over-edited skin. If that resonates, then we’ll make something beautiful together.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn was the belief that delivering “perfect” images would prevent client issues. The backstory is a session where everything looked fine to me, but the client noticed uneven skin tones and small details I completely missed. I panicked at first, thinking I had failed. But that experience taught me that perfection isn’t the goal, communication is. Clients don’t need flawless shots; they need to feel heard, supported, and part of the process. Once I shifted to transparency and collaboration, everything changed for the better

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I built my audience on social media slowly and organically by sharing real client moments, honest behind-the-scenes stories, and the lessons I was learning along the way. I stopped trying to post “perfect” work and started posting work that felt human and emotionally true. That’s what people connected with

My advice for anyone starting out: be consistent, be yourself, and don’t overthink the numbers. Share the work you’re proud of, talk about the process, and let people see the person behind the camera. Authenticity builds an audience much more reliably than trends ever will

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.audreytjahjono.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/audreytjahjono/