We were lucky to catch up with Cortney Bigelow recently and have shared our conversation below.

Cortney, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

My mission is to make every modern woman feel celebrated and seen. What began as a blog, focused on inspiring women to “find their edit”, evolved into photography, focused on empowering women through portrait experiences across self love and branding. As someone who’s spent the majority of my life trying to gain confidence, leave a mark, find purpose, and embrace the changes along the way, it’s something I’m extremely passionate about. I’ve built my business around what I need and want as an upper 30-something who happens to be a female entrepreneur, creative, wife & mother.

To share a bit about my photo offerings…

My Self Love Sessions are for the everyday woman who knows the importance of self care and filling her cup. Using photography as a form of therapy—allowing you to connect with and see yourself. A way to celebrate the journey, feel empowered, capture you as you are now, and unapologetically treat yourself. It can be used as a way to commemorate a significant milestone in life or simply to create a keepsake for your eight-year-old self to look back on.

My Branding Sessions are for the female biz owner who understands the importance of marketing herself and having beautiful imagery to support her hustle. Using planning and creativity to bring your unique story to life. A way to showcase the powerhouse behind it all, create visuals that represent your mission, and compile assets to use in any way you choose to promote your business for years to come.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve spent my whole life documenting—from the disposables in middle school and many point-and-shoots in college to the countless digital albums, blogs, and shares. They’ve all been avenues that have allowed me to create, which I’ve learned, is truly what fuels me. Coming from a family of entrepreneurs and creatives, I’ve always had a desire to design my own career doing what I love. I went to school for interiors and architecture, practiced marketing out of school with my communications degree in tech and retail, and then found myself jumping the corporate ship for freedom so I could reap the benefits of my own work.

In 2016 I started a style blog called The Grey Edit, thanks to colleagues nudging me to do so back when others also posting outfits to Instagram were doing the same. I spent years documenting my personal style journey, snapping photos in the streets, building a community online, working with brands, and uncovering a passion for inspiring other women to “find their edit”. Come 2020, I was seeking something to do in tandem with blogging and was nudged again. A dear friend encouraged me to turn my other passion for taking photos into a business, leading to the launch of The Grey Edit Photo in 2020. Luckily, I was able to successfully grow my business throughout the pandemic and since then have honed in on what lights me up the most—providing portrait sessions to remind women of their worth.

What sets me apart from others is my style of shooting. I shoot in natural-lit studios, love creating mood with light and shadows and describe my aesthetic as modern with an edgy, PNW flair. I provide experiences vs your average photoshoot, with tons of planning, hand-holding and personal touches. I pull a ton of inspo from the editorial world—because in my eyes, all women deserve to be on a cover. Clients I’ve had the opportunity to work with have praised me for my positive energy, making them feel comfortable, creating a fun environment, restoring confidence, and giving them the ability to love themselves in a way they didn’t think they deserved to feel.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

It’s been a journey that’s for sure, and one that really happened through my blogging years. When I started The Grey Edit, I worked to level up my outfit shares on Insta by working with other photographers in the area and putting myself out there in the community to connect with other bloggers. I showed up a lot—on stories, at events, commenting on people’s posts, working with and tagging brands, and always posting on my blog. It was exhausting, to be honest. I remember hustling hard daily to try and reach 10k so I could get access to the swipe-up feature. I finally made it after two years and then took my foot off the gas pedal a bit as I became a mom. I then found myself expanding my content into lifestyle—specifically around motherhood, wellness, and home. It was easier for me to share the things that were relevant at that given time. I continued to grow slowly while other influencers around me grew rapidly by pushing product, landing a big partnership, getting lucky with a viral moment, or trying a following service. Two big spikes happened to me eventually over the last few years, however. The first, going viral on TikTok with a few style videos, and the second, a 30-day styling challenge I did where I posted style reels daily. Now, my main focus is trying to drive organic traffic by emulating a similar formula to my photo account for The Grey Edit Photo—so please give your girl a like and follow! I’ve been hustling to use my portfolio of imagery and years of bts video footage for content.

My advice for those just starting would be to hone in on your focus. Identify the top five things you want to be known for and pulse out your content to align with these key messages. Show up every day on stories, post reels, and in feed consistently, don’t use services that claim to grow your account, and always stay true to you.

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

100% the community and the connections. I’ve been stopped in the airport and on the streets by local girlies telling me they love my outfits and home. I’ve been told at restaurants that I helped influence their personal style. I’ve gotten DMs about how sharing my journey through motherhood has made them feel less alone. I’ve received gifts and cards from clients, sharing how the experience I provide via my photo shoots has helped them find themselves again and realize just how beautiful they are.

To be able to impact someone’s life via style shares, vulnerable stories as a mom, and through photography has truly been the driving force in why I show up as a content creator and build my life as a creative… and most importantly, why I continue to be obsessed with my job as a portrait photographer every day.

Contact Info:

• Website: photo website: https://thegreyeditphoto.com & blog website: https://thegreyedit.com
• Instagram: photo insta: https://instagram.com/cortney.bigelow | personal/blog insta: https://instagram.com/cortney.bigelow
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegreyeditphoto

Image Credits

Personal photo — Hallie Kathryn Photography

All others — Cortney Bigelow, The Grey Edit Photo