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

Brooke, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?

The biggest trends I see in the work of young photographers like myself is prioritizing storytelling and doing away with perfection. This means blurry or out of focus photos, and candids instead of posing. It even has altered the way many people conduct their photo sessions – you see lots of experience-based or adventure shoots that involve going with your clients on a hike or to the boardwalk for a couple hours. I think the rise of the filters and glam online the last decade has urged us to celebrate realness. I love it.

Brooke, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve always seen things out in the world, people especially, emotions, and thought they were beautiful. So I wanted to keep them. I wasn’t that great at drawing or painting so I had to learn how to keep them photographically. Thankfully, my parents bought me a simple DSLR camera for Christmas one year and I was hooked. I didn’t know how it worked or the fundamentals of photography, but I knew that I loved all of it: planning, shooting, editing; so I watched YouTube videos until I was doing it.

There are many creative wedding and portrait photographers out there, and they produce amazing work, but something I bring to the table that you may not find elsewhere is my knack for disarming peoples’ nerves and insecurities in front of the camera. I’ve been blessed with an ability to make a photo session fun and playful for even the most shy and timid clients. It’s extremely rewarding to see my clients shine through the lens and then see their own light in their completed photos! When you book with me, you’re bound to feel beautiful (or handsome, whichever suits your fancy).

When I develop my work, I’m looking at it the full picture from end to end: planning the shoot and details all the way to where the photos will be hung, published, or posted. The final goal of the artwork is important to the process because a photo for marketing printing can and should be shot differently than a lovely portrait meant to be framed and hung. You want a photographer that has this way of thinking if you want to really get the most of the photos.

When I reflect on all that I do, I really am proud of my work. So many shoots, faces, locations, smiles, feelings, expressions – they are all part of me and my story. And my growth too. It’s part of my story and it’s something I take pride in. I’ve never given up (and I’ve tried and given up lots of things in my life) and I don’t plan on it either. All of this makes me proud to say I am a photographer.

What I really want you to know about me is this: when we create together we are doing just that “creating together.” Booking with me is meant to be a fun, creative, expressive experience where you don’t just get nice photos, you get memorable pieces of artwork to cherish and pass down for generations to come.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The first wedding I ever shot was a big three day long celebration. I severely under charged the client, and was confidently winging it. The photos actually turned out pretty good! Unfortunately after the wedding, I had a severe case of imposter syndrome and was just a bit overwhelmed with editing workload. I had no clue where to begin, and was so nervous that the clients would not like the photos. So I avoided it. I kept putting it off for weeks and weeks on end. I was avoiding calls from the client until 10 weeks had passed. They finally got a hold of me when they called from an unknown number. I was embarrassed, ashamed, but knew I had to own up to my mistake and make it right. I had their photos to them by the end of the week with a gift card to try to soften the blow. I told myself I would never make somebody wait that long for their photos again. And I stuck to it! To make it even better, I ran into the client at a coffee shop one day and told them I needed to thank them. Because of their patience and graciousness with me, that I didn’t deserve, I was able to learn a valuable lesson that changed my business for the better. It was such a rewarding moment when they booked with me again for a family photoshoot. This is the big lesson that taught me to not get backlogged and stay on top of my editing!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I had a major pivot point in 2017 and it was a long time in the making. I had just moved out of LA, was living in the mountains, and had absolutely no clear direction or plan. I was longing for stability and some sort of hope for my future. I met God one night on my front steps and decided I would try life his way for once. I accepted Jesus in that moment and my life has been radically different from that moment on. If this never happened I would have never had the courage to try at photography again and, quite frankly, wouldn’t be alive. All my success and creativity is a testament to God. I’m so grateful I had this turning point in my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: Visiondistrictmedia.com
• Instagram: @visiondistrictmedia
• Facebook: Facebook.com/visiondistrictmedia
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrookebattle

Image Credits
Brooke Battle