Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cecelia Steidinger. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Cecelia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I started my business in July of 2013 in Billings, Montana. My husband and I (and our puppy!) had just moved across the country from Indianapolis, Indiana to a brand new state for his job! I was in (unhappily) in grad school and (happily) nannying on the side. I had bought my first DSLR in Indianapolis and was loving the feeling I got taking and editing photos. My husband was my first muse and model and was wonderful about letting me practice shooting portraits in different lighting scenarios with him as the subject. When faced with any kind of minor setback, I often joked with him about quitting everything and becoming a newborn photographer and Christmas tree farmer. He always believed in me and even though we lived in a second story apartment in a city, told me I could do both (where I was going to get the farm on 86th street in Indianapolis I’m not sure?!). When we got the news we were moving and I didn’t have a job in our new city, I decided to take a leap of faith and start my photography business. I knew I wanted to specialize in newborn portraits so I walked downtown Billings and stumbled upon a tiny studio for rent. I negotiated a month to month lease with the awesome landlord for $300/mo including utilities. I had no clients, no connections, and very little experience.

Fast forward to moving again for my husband’s job and I SOBBED about leaving the incredible photography community and clients. I had met one of my best friends in Montana because she interned with me for college credit and wanted to start her own photography business after college. Clients had turned into friends and my studio was my happy place. It was so bittersweet leaving Montana.

We moved to Memphis, TN and I had to start all over. It was so hard and scary knowing I had to start from scratch but then I realized I wasn’t. I didn’t have any clients but I had the know-how, experience, and skill I had developed from building my business in Montana. I grew my business to the largest scale it has ever been and had a gorgeous studio in Germantown, TN. I had so many clients who I loved and I went back to Memphis for years to continue photographing their families after we left. The photography community there was in incredible and I made some of my best friends in other photographers.

We moved AGAIN back to Indianapolis. And then to Central Florida where we now reside. I’ve had three babies since starting in Montana and I continue to love photography and work on growing my business. It quieted down when my children were under 5 but they’re growing up quick on me and I find myself always wanting to grow and learn more. Any business owner will tell you it’s a risk to start your own business but it’s something that wholly mine and I am so glad that I took that risk in 2013.

Cecelia, 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?

To put it simply, I just love pretty things and working with people. I am a creative and an extrovert so being a photographer is the perfect outlet for me. Many of my clients will tell you I overshoot and their 1 hour sessions easily turns into 2 because I simply am just hanging out and getting to do what I love. When I meet a family that loves each other so much, the light is perfect, and the weather is cooperating, I feel like I am in my flow state. I will sit and edit that session for hours with a big grin on my face. I am so proud of the relationships I have with my clients and I feel so blessed when they come back to me year after year for their images and I get to watch their babies grow. When I get a referral for a new client from a current one, I feel so honored and trusted. I am so proud of the images I create and as a mama myself, I know what it’s like to want to freeze a moment in time and be able to look back on that forever. Portrait photography including families, newborns, and children is where my passion lies. I also photograph commercial and products and I love that as well. It gives me a creative and problem solving outlet that I love. I truly put my heart and soul into my work and I hope my clients feel it!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding part of being a photographer is knowing I get to freeze moments in time. I am so blessed to get to meet and interact with people when they are at their happiest. Shooting their pregnancy announcement or maternity session or meeting them at the hospital for their birth or fresh 48 session is magical. There is something unmatched about meeting a newborn in their first days and watching their families fall more and more in love with them every second. When I’m photographing the connection within a family or helping a business bring their brand to life, I’m creating something that lasts far beyond their session.

With families and newborns, it’s incredibly meaningful to document seasons that change so quickly—the tiny details, the in-between moments, the love that’s felt but not always seen. Those images become part of a family’s story, something they’ll look back on for years.

On the branding and product side, it’s just as fulfilling in a different way. I get to help businesses both small and large! Seeing a brand grow using images I created is such a powerful, cool feeling.

At the core of what I do is loving on people and helping them create permanent reminders of this beautiful life.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

There are so many physical resources I can talk about from software and blogging resources to Google business and website and gallery platforms, but the resource that has gotten me the furthest is having photographer friends. Owning a business as a sole proprietor with no employees is LONELY. Who else gets that more than someone else doing the exact same thing? The women I have met that have become my friends in this industry are some of the most talented, hard working mothers and creatives I have ever known. We teach and learn from each other all the time. Getting and giving referrals is great of course, but being able to lean on a friend just to vent about busy season or ask advice about a location is unmatched. So that’s my advice for a resource-make friends in the industry. I have people all over the country as contacts (and photographers for my own family when we travel!).

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cecelialucyphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cecelialucyphotography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CeceliaLucyPhotography/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceceliasteidinger/
• Other: https://share.google/bjLllM0YYAg7ibgKC

Image Credits

Cecelia Lucy Photography