We were lucky to catch up with Christine Spencer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Christine, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I was always a very outdoorsy child and enjoyed spending hours outside in the nature photographing everything I found interesting with an old film camera. When I turned 16 my parents gifted me my first DSLR camera, a Nikon D40x. The same year my little sister was born. After having 3 little brothers at that point and being the only girl and oldest of the siblings I remember being super excited about having a little sister now. So naturally I started capturing the first years of her life as much as I could. However, I had no idea what Photoshop or Lightroom was or how to edit pictures at all. As I became older, I started making connections with photographers and sometimes helped out as a model for workshops, until one of the photographers saw some of my work and took me under his wings to teach me the magic of photoshop as well as all the ins and outs to get the RAW format picture as close to the intended goal as possible. We started working together a lot and started creating true art by developing themes and incorporating props to bring our imagination to life. The more we experimented and the more people we connected with, the more we found that we both enjoyed sharing our knowledge with others and started to offer workshops which ultimately allowed me to start upgrading my equipment and really break through. If there is any advice I can give someone that starts out a new hobby it would be to make sure to look back at where you started every few months and become aware of your own progress. Find your niche, constantly set new goals to continue learning, and when you feel like you’re stagnating never forget what fueled your passion for what you do.

Christine, 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?

My name is Christine Spencer and I was born and raised in Germany where my passion for photography and digital design and marketing started. I studied at a German university that offered a field of studies that combined Computer Science (all the technical aspects of all things digital) and media marketing which allowed me to really dig deep into the background of digital art and the why’s and how’s to become successful. As previously mentioned, I was also very fortunate to have a great mentor who took me under his wings and ultimately became a business partner of mine in Germany. Together we offered themed photoshoots for kids, teenagers, adults, and families, that often involved 4-legged family members. This niche we found started to grow and raise interest of other photographers and since we both loved sharing our knowledge, we also started offering workshops to teach other photographers from beginners to experts.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I can not say that I turned photography itself into my full time career, however, photography is what brought me to my career path as a marketing professional. I am fortunate enough to now be able to use this skill for my main career, and additionally decide which projects I would like to take on as a photographer outside of my main job. It is incredibly rewarding to work with individuals who want to collaborate with you and it always turns out to be a great experience. This was very important to me, as during the times I had to take on every photoshoot I could to be able to pay my bills, there of course also was frustrating moments and negative client experiences. One of the biggest milestones for me was when girls started recognizing who I am and tried to reach out to either be a part of one of our workshops or to wanting to schedule a session specifically with me.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is to see the happiness and joy that the art I created brings to other people. Especially when family pets are involved, the moments I am able to create and capture for my clients are something so raw and beautiful that I don’t believe I will ever stop doing photography.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://frauspencer.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frauspencer/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frauspencer