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

Connie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

One of the best gifts my parents ever gave to me was to start me with piano lessons at age five. Because of this, I’ve been able to read music as long as I’ve been able to read English, and I’ll always be grateful for that.

My parents also taught me about personal responsibility. I remember one time, when I was very small, I accidentally knocked over a bottle of juice in a grocery store, and it broke. My parents handed me money to give to the store manager to pay for it. No, it was not my money, but the lesson learned was to take responsibility for my actions.

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.

I’ve always been around and interested in various types of art. I grew up in a family that ran a small-town newspaper. My mother made photos for the paper and I would hang around from time to time in the dark room with my cousin. While I majored in music education, which became my “first” career, during my college days I also bought my first “real” camera and maintained interest in photography as an amateur for many years.

During the late 1990s, I became involved more with photography through several different activities and clubs.
Most of my photography at that time consisted of nature–landscapes, florals, birds and some other wildlife. Then at one point I was asked to take over making portraits at a church event. I decided to learn as much as I could about the correct way to do this. I got help from a local pro photographer, joined the Professional Photographers of America (PPA), and started working on my certification.

In 2011, two years before I retired from teaching, I established my photography business. Upon my retirement, I opened up a small studio near my home. Since then, I’ve gradually narrowed my photography interests down to some key areas that interest me the most. While I still offer other types of photography services, I now focus on portraiture.

At first I did mainly headshots because of space constraints in my studio. While I have a bigger space now, I still find this to be an enjoyable part of my work. I enjoy the one-to-one aspect of working with professional individuals. Second, as the parent of quite a few dogs over the years, mostly Pomeranians, I’ve studied a lot about pet portraits and am working to expand my business in that direction. And of course, I will do portraits of people–with or without their fur kids!

In 2019 I began learning to paint digitally in Photoshop and have studied different techniques with several noted teachers. Painting portraits from photographs, especially of pets, has become my passion.

I’m very proud of some of my images–both photographs and painted works–that have been deemed merit-worthy in the International Photographic Competition. Doing well in these competitions has helped me earn my Master of Photography and Master Artist Degrees from the PPA.

I believe that having a beautiful art piece of your loved ones on your wall, or a coffee table album to browse through, shows what is important to you. One day people can pass these legacy pieces along to their children, and it will be very meaningful to them. The products I offer are from professional photo labs and will last for years to come.

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

I had to unlearn that I am not my client. What my client values and is willing to pay for might be different from what I would. I’ve also learned that I have to get out there and make my presence known and work far more on business and marketing than on learning how to be a better photographer.

I’ve learned this mainly from following Megan DiPiero but also through some other business classes for photographers.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

She Sells, by Megan DiPiero. She recounts her journey from being a mom with a camera to becoming the owner of a multi-million dollar photography business.

Contact Info:

• Website: ConstanceSandersPhotography.com
• Instagram: @consanphotos
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/consanphotos/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/constancesanders/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/PomMom1
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/constance-sanders-photography-bellevue

Image Credits
All photographs and digital paintings by Constance Sanders Photography.