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

Cynthia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

When COVID had effectively shut down the restaurant industry for a few months, I started to really deep dive into my photography and take it seriously as a form of income. I have always been obsessed with great food, presentation and essentially eating with your eyes first. Enrolling in Foodtography School might have been my next best steps. It has really helped me improve on my skills as a food photographer and let me explore options I had only dreamt about. After I had initially started this process of transitioning into a business owner, everything came to a bit of a standstill as I navigated the passing of my Dad. After a couple years of darkness, I started to see some light again and I began brainstorming a name for my business. Thus, Wilde and Cynful was born. I had some help from a few incredible individuals who pointed me in the right direction and helped me apply for my business license. Finally launching this business was an incredible milestone. I was actually doing something I loved – being able to create beautiful images with beautiful people who make beautiful food. I really had to fight my demons in order to launch Wilde and Cynful. Sitting down, brainstorming my designs, website, color theme, price guides… you name it and I spent hours battling my self doubt to bring this to life. I am so proud to be where I am today and have lots of people to thank for believing in 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?

Hello! I’m Cynthia, photographer, marketing manager and owner of Wilde and Cynful. Food and photography are passions of mine. I love traveling and weekend road trips. Jamming out to music in the car at full volume is definitely one of my favorite things to do. I’ve got three cats, Penguin, Wednesday, and Pigeon, and a dog, Pepper. They are the sweetest little ladies.

I have been taking photographs since I could hold a camera. In high school my dad gave me his 35mm film camera to use in photography class and from then on I was in love. When the restaurant I was working at shut down for a couple months during the pandemic, all that forced time off let me really dive deep into my creative side and pursue photography. I enrolled in a foodtography course, and I started shooting styled food and cocktail photographs. I did headshots for my friends and photographed their families. At the beginning of this year, I launched Wilde and Cynful. I currently spend most of my time photographing food and cocktails; with a huge focus on restaurant branding and marketing. In addition to restaurants, I also do travel, portraits, and event photography. Over time I have built a gorgeous portfolio with the intention on continued creation of photographs that take you on a visual journey.

I offer multiple packages for restaurants and food trucks seeking photographs of their products. I also offer various packages for portraits, travel, and event photography. I believe people eat with their eyes first. If I can provide your business with photographs that reflect your mission and elevate the experience, then the attraction towards your business will grow. I believe photography is a powerful tool that can be used to help create an entire mood or vibe that lets a business thrive.

I am really proud of how far Wilde and Cynful has come over this last year. This has been a huge learning experience and I am so glad I get to be on this journey and share it with all of you.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The rewarding aspect of being a creative is seeing a clients eyes light up when they see the photographs you’ve taken of their food or products. Knowing my clients are satisfied and happy with the work I provided for them makes all the difference in my eyes. I love what I do. I love seeing the happiness and joy pour out of my clients more. It’s a beautiful feeling when your work is loved equally as much by others.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I really had to unlearn lessons of self doubt, imposter syndrome, and comparison. When you’re in a creative industry where there is always someone else in your line of work, it’s so easy to be incredibly hard on yourself. I admire so many phenomenal photographers out there. However I really had to learn to push through my darker moments when I felt like what I created wasn’t worth anything. This rang especially true when I was struggling with my Dad’s passing. It took me over a year to push back and fight through the feelings that I wasn’t any good at photography, or struggle that maybe I didn’t feel like who I know I was in my heart.

It’s a difficult thing to unlearn, both self doubt and imposter syndrome. The more I let myself do what I love and feel the joy it brought to me, the easier it was to forget that I had doubted myself in the first place. Keep moving forward because the world needs more creatives like you. No one is you. That’s why your work is so special and stands out.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wildeandcynful.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildeandcynful/
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wildeandcynful