We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Courtney Struchen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Courtney, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

When it came to deciding the name for my photography, it came down to feeling like my last name is as unique as I feel my perspective can be. If someone is having a hard time with the pronunciation, it is STREW-SHIN; like the front of your leg! As for why this path, photography became my outlet at a really young age. Growing up, I endured a lot of life experience so I often like to convey mental health messages when I work with the team I have built over the last four years. My focus has been shifting to bringing self love into a session as well as helping others express themselves – showing the world their vision as well as my own. I started offering services to the public in 2021. I work with any one of any body type, gender, life path, etc. offering various types of sessions. Whether it’s helping a client cultivate a branding session, being an odd ball so a couple doesn’t feel uncomfortable, or encouraging self love in a maternity, portrait, or boudoir session, my mission is for the client(s) to leave our session loving their experience and feeling seen as that is what photography has given me.

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?

Behind Struchen Photography is just little ol’ me, Courtney. I am a 28 year old, queer, alternative, midwestern gal who has a love for perspectives, extra caramel coffee, art, and cats. Growing up, I lived in 5 different states and in my early twenties I did a lot of road tripping around the states with my younger sister; I am only 15 shy of being to all 50! With meeting so many people of various walks of life in all those travels and life experiences, I like to pull inspiration from everywhere to create concept sets and fashion together outfits with my model team, embrace others differences with new clients, and help others enjoy the moment.

I think the things that set apart what I have built in the last four years from other photographers is my willingness to capture a clients vision. Photography is set from the photographers vision, but I want to embrace whatever it is the client wants to be shown or represented in their session, whether it’s capturing a new life’s fresh toesies or embracing someones culture. I will hop in a foot of mud in a pond or climb up a tree to capture the shot the client wants, I will help a client navigate outfits or sets to create the experience they want, and the goal for every session with EVERY client is that the client is happy before they even get their final edits.

What I love the most about what I do is that I get to meet so many different people. Some of my clients have become my friends, some have regular sessions they do yearly, but most special to me is hearing the stories, experiences, and lives my clients have lived and seeing that come through in their sessions.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Word of mouth. 100%. I have worked with social media to market my promotions, specials, or every day pricing for my photography but where the sweet spot is the connections I make in the sessions. I started off very small, no budget for marketing, and very little equipment. I had a model team of friends who started this journey with me and they started sharing the work we were doing and promoting my business to their friends/family, which brought in my first clients. From there, I have gained more and more clients from the wonderful people I have already photographed recommending me to their family and friends.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

For me, my attitude towards others has been my biggest asset. I treat every client with the same amount of respect, kindness, and support as well as being the ultimate hype woman – in my humble opinion. I am willing to work with anyone and I have worked with every day folk, local musicians, hair stylists, business owners, and artists; all of which have had some level of uncomfortableness in from of the camera. As I have stated, my goal with every session is to make sure the client is happy before they even leave the set and get final edits. I try to make every session an experience, not just for the photos, but for when they look back at the photos, they remember the happiness or strength they felt in the session so they can carry that inside them forever.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://struchenphotography.lightfolio.com
• Instagram: struchenphotography
• Facebook: Struchen Photography

Image Credits

Portrait of self : Jenna Struchen (sister)

Portrait of Andrew Avalos : Struchen Photography
Portrait of Skylyr Graham : Struchen Photography
Portrait of Courtney photographing Skylyr Graham : Isabel Steele
Portrait of Marissa Bruett : Struchen Photography
Portrait of Maggie Golla : Struchen Photography
Portrait of Isabel Steele : Struchen Photography