We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Hailey Birchfield-Callahan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Hailey below.
Hailey, appreciate you joining us today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?
I feel that this answer has changed so much over the course of my career. At first it was hope that I would leave a legacy where everyone knows my name, my work, etc. I wanted to be recognized. Now, I want to at least inspire one person. I want to make one person feel better about themselves. Making a difference in one life is a big deal. I hope that I am remembered for my ability to make people feel confident. I hope that I am remembered for the work that was seen by however many people. I want my true legacy to be that I inspired someone to pursue photography or an art career in general. I want people to remember that regardless of everything, I love what I do and it shows in my work.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am from a small, rural town in Ohio. I started my photography journey when I was in middle school. It started with photos of my converse, dead plants, you know the typical angsty teen photos. I remember seeing my friend Nicole’s work in displayed in my school. She inspired me so much. I didn’t think coming from a small town that I could be an artist. I joined 4H and started teaching myself photography. I started to photograph my friends and realized how much I loved making people feel confident about themselves through my work. In turn, that made me feel more confident too. Now, as a portrait and boudoir photographer, I have a better understanding of the anxiety behind getting your photo taken. I came from that same apprehension and anxiousness. My studio is an inclusive and accepting place. No matter who you are or what you look like, you’re welcome. I always tell people they are never “too” anything to be in front of my camera.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I think the biggest thing that has built my reputation is my ability to make people feel comfortable. Being a boudoir photographer comes with its challenges and unfortunately one of those challenges is trust. I feel that some of this is natural to me, but there are also things that I do that enhances that.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Right before 2020, I was really struggling with my direction as a photographer. I realized that my passion was not in what I was doing. I had lost that spark. I lost that fire that drove me. I was temporarily laid off and began to explore boudoir photography in my free time. I started to pick up my studio lights again. I fell into this world of both boudoir and editorial photography and haven’t looked back. I have been building on it ever since and I have never felt better.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.strypestudios.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haileybirchfield/