We were lucky to catch up with Brooklyn Lindley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Brooklyn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

Photography has always been a hobby of mine. Even saying “hobby” feels light, it’s been a form of expression, love, and art that has allowed me to find beauty in the small, seemingly obvious moments. I took a film photography class when I was 13 years old – and I still refer back to that learning curve at 22 as a small business owner. I spent years taking photos and learning how I could become better. This was often filled with self doubt, imposter syndrome, and feeling lost in the identity of my art. It was five years after I picked up a camera in a very playful manner that someone first offered to pay for my work. For my talent, my eye, my photos. I was over the moon. I will never forget that session – it was a couple’s session for a friend of a friend on a beautiful day down by the river. Looking back on that session, I see how much I have grown. However, that couple that paid me $125 ended up being the first wedding that I would photograph. And then I photographed her maid of honor’s wedding, then her brother’s. She was my very first paying client who has promised me that I will be taking their maternity, newborn, and family photos in all the years to come. Sure they were my first clients, but they very quickly become lifelong friends that I am so lucky to capture so many more life moments for.

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.

Hello!

My name is Brooklyn Lindley and I am the creator of BRL Creative. This business has become an outlet for me to showcase my creativity in a way that I feel the most understood. Growing up I loved anything and everything creative – from painting to drawing. As I got older I started to play around with my mom’s camera and found a medium that produced a product that looked the way that I wanted it to. Fast forward many years later, my camera has brought me so many new friends on the other side of my lens as well as provided me an outlet to help small businesses grow. I am very passionate about marketing, specifically with small businesses, and BRL Creative has given me a chance to explore this on a more professional level. Photography will always be a hobby first, and job second. I love what I do beyond measure.

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

The biggest lesson I have learned along my journey is that imposter syndrome is so much more prevalent in my field than I would’ve expected. I find myself in a saturated market and comparing myself to other artists on a daily basis. It is something I have not found the cure for yet – but the one action I took was to read the book “The Creative Act: A Way of Being” bby Rick Rubin. Some advice that has stuck with me from this book is that when comparing yourself to other artists, you must remember that their work already exists and therefore is mundane to replicate. Instead, find inspiration in a multitude of other outlets to drive your own specific style, creating something that hasn’t been done before. Rubin also compares creativity to clouds – always changing form, sometimes hard to see, but each being its own unique form. This advice has helped me to step back and understand that I have something unique to provide to this world and I should take the time to find my own style versus trying to replicate another.

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

Being a photographer, the most rewarding aspect of my job is that I get to help people celebrate the beautiful things in life. This may be their wedding day – the one day in their lives where everyone that they love is in the same room, emanating love and light. It might be the celebration of bringing a new life into this world and becoming a family of three, four, or five. Or the big milestones of a high school or college graduation. My goal is to celebrate my clients and the love and accomplishments that have brought them to where they are today, that I get the gift of capturing for them to look back on for years and generations to come. It is a special thing full of fleeting moments that they will get to hold on to forever.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.brlcreative.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brlcreative_/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brooklynlindley/