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

Brianne , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

Prior to registering my business I had a full time automotive photography job. I photographed the exterior and interior of cars for several dealerships. I was the only photographer at that job. Before I would photograph the cars, detail would clean the interior and exterior of each car. There were a lot more people who worked in detail, 7-8 people. Some days they would clean cars super quickly and I had to keep up with their workflow so I did not get back logged. Every Friday we had to get every car photographed. One Friday detail decided to give me 5 cars to do with only a half hour left of work. That was insane! Then the longer I worked there I was getting tired of keeping up with their workflow which had no consistency. Some days I would only have 8 cars other days I would have 20! I was getting fed up so I began to work slower, plus my office did not have AC. Then one day my manager asks me why aren’t all the cars done at the end of the day so I told him I do my set amount for the day and leave them for the next day. He’s like that unacceptable. I’m like well you don’t pay me enough to do that much work, which I figured out how much I really get paid which was like $100.00 a day after taxes. Then he told me if I don’t like this job its not a prison and I can go home. I decided to quit that job the same day and go back to being a substitute teacher while I build my business. That experience taught me that my skill is valuable. If it wasn’t for me photographing every car that came into the dealership the sales guys and owners would have no money, yet my pay did not correlate that. I learned that I need to stop running to each dead end job I saw up on indeed. This was the year that I learned and realized that I wanted to begin freelancing. So after investing in a photography class that taught me the back end of owning a business I began to dive in. I learned to charge my worth.

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

I started my journey in photography at a young age. I was gifted a camera by my aunt for a birthday present. I loved photographing nature! As I entered high school I took all the photography classes that were offered. From that point on I decided to major in photography during my college years, I have my BFA in photography. In 2017 after graduating college I began to paint, I enjoyed that I could create textured 3D surfaces unlike photography. In 2019 both my aunt and grandmother were both diagnosed with cancer. This new development in my life led me into my studio space creating. I enjoyed that I could escape reality and immerse myself into painting. I furthered my education in painting by investing into a course that taught me the fundamentals of color and abstract painting, From there I loved to paint and began to create an entire series of paintings,
After both of these chapters in my life I have decided to specialize in women’s empowerment photoshoots. I want to give my clients space and time to decompress from their crazy life. I love to empower other women and make them feel confident in their body by allowing them to arrive in their favorite outfit and with or without makeup. I want to help build a community of women who feel confident in their bodies and feel that they can conquer the world! What sets me apart from other photographers is that I do not have a time limit on my photoshoots. I give my clients space to let their guard down and be YOU!
Painting an entire series of works has led me down the path of acquiring gallery representation this year. I have also decided that the only type of teaching I want to do is teaching abstract painting lessons. I come to your location bring all supplies and handle clean up. I would love to work with businesses as well hosting parties for their staff. Using all of my years of experience as a substitute teacher I would love to host birthday parties too! I enjoy teaching and allowing people to understand color and art on a more personal level. I want people to feel educated about abstract painting and understand that it is more then just marks on a canvas. Each original canvas I create cannot be replicated and is one of a kind. I only use high quality materials in my work. I enjoy creating bright and bold paintings! I help clients foster a space in their home that can uplift their spirits and create happiness.
I enjoy creating an environment that allows my clients to feel comfortable while providing them with the upmost service and care. I love when people say that my paintings make them feel happy, because that is my goal. I believe the best way to live is to spread happiness and joy!

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I seriously enjoyed reading Everything Is Figureoutable, How To Become A People Magnet and Atomic Habits. All three of those books taught me that good habit stacking is an amazing superpower to getting things done. How to Become A People Magnet taught me how the mind works and how to attract clients. Everything Is Figureoutable taught me to step back and do not overwhelm myself and that things will work out!

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Society needs to stop telling creatives that we are starving artists! There is no reason to put this stereotype in society. I believe creatives need to start fighting back against society and charge fair rates for our time and skills. Not everyone is wired to be creative so we definitely need to start valuing our creatives. It all starts from K-12. In school the creative kids were always seen as weird and not cool. We are taught to value sports over art. Meanwhile art is in everything we do everyday. At my local high school a good friend of mine passed away in a car accident, she was a creative. Then another boy from high school also passed, he was seen as a jock, he has a memorial at the school, yet my friend doesn’t. Schools need to help foster the creative more!

Also…… FOR THE LIFE OF GOD STOP BUYING THOSE CHEAP PRINTS IN HOMEGOODS!
buy something from a local artist! :)

Contact Info:

• Website: briannevalentinostudio.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/briannevalentinostudio
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianne-valentino
• Other: briannevalentino.com – photography website instagram.com/brie_marie_photography