We recently connected with Erin Barnard and have shared our conversation below.

Erin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

First, I think you must define “success” as an achievable destination for yourself.

Once a destination is set, goals and planning begin to lay a path to get there. My definition of success is contentment, safety, security, community and peace.

The steps I took to get to a place in my life and business where I felt successful included many things I can sum up into three parts:

1. Cultivating genuine friendships through networking with likeminded individuals who share similar values and motivation to reach their goals.

These will be the people who cheer for you and open doors to their networks well into the future.

2. Being around the energy that motivates you to set goals and empowers you to achieve them.

Continued education, conferences, networking events, courses with leaders of your field, consuming LinkedIn content, retreats, meditation and mindfulness training…

3. Investing into myself and my personal space to have an outlet from business and a place to recharge.

Reseting and recharging are essential to feeling successful. Having a safe space where you are in control of yourself and your surroundings can help ground you, making it more possible to de-stress and have clear thoughts about your next actions.

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 14 years as a professional photographer, but a lifetime as an artist.

Without appropriate outlets for my creativity, I spent most of my life dreaming about creating and not knowing where to channel the energy.

After high school, I pursued college in Chicago at The School of the Art Institute. During this time, I worked for Broadway in Chicago on my pursuit to be a musican theater performer. Although I wholeheartedly believe we can achieve anything we want in life, I decided not to stay in the city and audition endlessly to chase a paycheck.

I came home to my first offer, in a somewhat artistic field, to be a portrait photographer. I spent five years learning the essentials of posing, framing, lighting and the finesse of working with a large variety of people.

For the following two years, I cultivated my skills of natural light, off-camera flash and lenses pursuing newborn photography.

My desire to give back led me to the opportunity to create portrait sessions for women to allow them a platform to share their most intimate life stories. A project entitled, “#MyNameIs” was launched to guve a voice to transgender women in the Central Illinois community. That branched off to include women with special needs children, survivors of domestic violence and assault and more. It was a passion project aiming to empower women and prove their value and worthiness to be documented. They deserved to be seen, and their stories heard.

All the while photographing community events, professional arena football, royal balls, and more to build my career. I turned the accumulation of my years of photography knowledge toward wedding and events. The past four years have been dedicated to capturing love.

My next addition is the launch of personal branding portraits, prinarily for women in business, to help them connect with their audience. It is a continuation of the idea and passion that drives me to continue documenting humans, as we all deserve to be.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

To choose to make a living as a creative is one that takes a ton of effort. For me, it has been choosing to not only swim against the tide, but to also swim uncharted waters. I find it very difficult to gain mentors in my field that have the same set of resources to make their advice relevant to my own goals.

I’ve observed, what seems to be, others getting a fast lane to success. Built in networks from family, parents, spouses. It has been years building a presence within my community of clients who understand my passion and values while trying to turn that into something sustainable I can live off of.

Most creatives I know have trouble pricing and valuing their art and time.

We have a certain skill and we have to set a monetary value to it. You have to make money to survive. It is uncomfortable for some, and being a business takes away from the heart of why we create. The trouble is finding time in this life to earn a living and fulfil your passions. Artists who try to combine both often end up with several jobs or “hussles” along with creating until they can build a trusted reputation or nitch in the marketplace that turns into full time career wages to supplement time spent otherwise not creating.

Art feels like a gift that should be shared. Something that should belong to all, freely. But I also disagree with time spent and work being un or under compensated. This is the constant dilemma for me; the value of my time.

I struggled for many years charging what my services and talent were worth, and still often hear I need to charge more from other professionals in my industry. Like most creatives, I don’t want to run a business, I want to create.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The goal is is to document people. Capture moments of their lives in images. Allow humans to tell their story and show up as who they are or how they want to be perceived.

Everyone deserves to be documented.

Contact Info:

• Website: Photographybyerinb.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/photographybyerinb
• Facebook: Facebook.com/photographybyerinb
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-barnard

Image Credits
Photography by Erin B.