We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Grailian. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Grailian below.
Alright, Grailian thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I feel like Ive had an eye for photography my entire life. I will find myself looking at something and say to myself “this would make an awesome picture”. And once I started actually getting serious about photography and what makes a photo stand out I wanted to learn how to make my photos stand out so I went to YouTube to learn about exposure, shutter speed, and ISO so I wouldn’t be stuck having my camera on automatic. And of course practice and expirementation with different lighting, angles, lenses, etc.
Even knowing what I know now I dont think I would want to speed my learning process. Each skill took time to refine and I would rather go slow and steady to learn something important than to speed through for the sake of “getting somewhere”.
If there are any obstacles in my way to learning more its me. I’m the only one who can stop me from learning more. But the good thing about me is that Im always open to learn because learning is living and I have alot more of that to do.
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?
So let me introduce myself. My name is Grailian Nash and im the founder/owner/photographer behind GN Photography. Ive been an active photographer for almost 8 years but Ive loved Photography my entire life. I always loved flipping through magazines at the grocery store and seeing all the cool photos that the different photographers take. Some of my favorite magazines I liked looking for were the pro wrestling magazines, sports magazines, sometimes travel magazines as well. As I got older I wanted to get a simple.point and shoot digital camera and I would take photos and videos of hanging out with my buddies or doing school projects, even taking photos of church services but it remained a hobby.
I started to take it seriously when my wife was taking me to work one day and she told me “I think you could really make a living off of being a photographer. You’re so good at it”. So in 2018 I started GN Photography on Instagram and started learning how to work a DSLR camera and it took off from there.
If there is anything I’m most proud of is the progress I have made in the craft itself from year 1 until now. I can tell how much Ive grown not just in the shooting side but also the editing side as well.
GN Photography mainly focuses on event photography as well as youth sports. Events can range anywhere from corporate galas, birthday parties, weddings, community events as well as providing Photography services for youth sports. I mainly shoot documentary style so rather than just getting every posed and propped I look more for the authentic moments. I believe those candid moments are what make life more memorable. Now of course I do offer those private sessions for anyone who would want a private branding or modeling session.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
So back near the end of 2023 my wife and I along with our 4 children were evicted from our home that we lived in for 6 years. That time was very stressful because that was right around the holidays so we had to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas knowing we had to leave our home at the end of January in 2024 and I remember my wife and I trying to scramble to get another place but because we had an eviction on our record, no one would rent to us. So we spent the 1st 6 months going from Vrbos and Airbnbs to hotels while still trying to work and take our children to school. But we really stuck together as family through that time and got closer. There were times we had to really be honest with our children and answer their questions but through that honesty their trust in us as parents really grew. We did end up getting housed in June of 2024 once the eviction came off our record but even though that time was rough, it helped us grow closer as a family and it also taught us to approach everything with gratitude.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
For me I just love telling stories through my photography. Early on when I would post work on social media, I had a comment that stuck out that said ” you have a story to tell” and ever since then I have taken the approach that every photo tells a story. Now what that story tells is completely up to the audiences’ interpretation.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/officialgnphotography?utm_medium=copy_link
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/officialgnphotography/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grailian-nash-943572168?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_android
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@gnphotographyllc8516?si=3S2iR_Q7duaVOPFz
Image Credits
All images were taken by Grailian Nash (GN Photography LLC)