We recently connected with Erica Lindsey and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Erica thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I’ve always loved taking photos, but I really got into it and bought my first DSLR camera and lens set while I was living in Tacoma, WA in 2012. I had always lived in sunny places before moving there, so the gloomy weather really affected me. It was a difficult time in my life full of transitions and uncertainty. I had my first child earlier that year and was still adjusting to being a parent. Then, we also had to move to a new place where I didn’t know anyone because his father was given an assignment there. I was feeling isolated and lost, but photography saved me. I would go on adventures with my son and look for interesting or beautiful things to take pictures of and then play with editing them different ways later. Doing that really helped me look for the beauty in things and rediscover myself. It made me so happy and I thought that if I could also make money that way, it would be amazing! I wanted to learn as much as I could and really go after this idea, so I enrolled into a photography program that included some business/entrepreneur classes.. After that, I moved to England for 3 years and that sort of propelled me forward artistically. There were a lot of opportunities that came up that I never dreamed of having and I’m so grateful. Now, I’ve been living in Colorado for about 5 years and this is a phenomenal place for photography. I’m really happy that I’ve been able to follow my passion for this long.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a portrait and branding photographer, so I focus mainly on headshots, photos to help promote you or your business, and also creative portraits if you want something a little more unique. I’ve been published in various fashion and beauty magazines and I bring that level of creativity and high-end editing to all of my sessions. What makes me stand out is that I’m a full service photographer, which means I’ll help you choose a location, offer styling suggestions (wardrobe, hair, and makeup), and use the right posing, lighting, and editing to properly convey your message or brand. I also have a select group of hair stylists and makeup artists that I work with that can be added on to your package. My goal is to take all the stress out of it, so you can just enjoy the shoot and be in the moment!

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

I don’t think I can narrow it down to just one, but I’ll share a few thoughts. I love the feeling I get when someone sees a photo that I took of them and lights up or tells me it makes them feel amazing about themselves. I feel like too often we are our own worst critics and the world can be a rough place. Feeling empowered or just positive about yourself is a great feeling and I want to put that out into the world as much as I can.

Another thing I love is just being able to create something that I think is interesting and/or beautiful, and then share that perspective with others. It’s a very vulnerable thing and can be scary at times, but challenging myself is rewarding. And collaborating with other creatives is very rewarding because I get to see other people’s styles and mesh them together with mine to create something new. So I guess in general, getting to be creative and sharing my work with other people are the most rewarding things for me.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I always recommend creativelive.com to people and wish I had it when I was first starting out. There’s loads of great videos you can watch to learn new things and expand your skills. I’ve only watched the photography ones, but they have other creative things on there as well. I’m not sponsored by them, just enjoy their content. You can also learn a lot by doing a mentorship with someone more advanced in your career field than you are, and by collaborating with other creatives. Get out there and try new things!

Contact Info:

• Website: ericalindseyphotography.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/ericalindseyphotography