We recently connected with Hannah Herpin and have shared our conversation below.

Hannah, appreciate you joining us today. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?

The style of wedding photography that couples are seeking out is experiencing a radical shift. Younger couples are searching for styles that feel real and organic. They are reaching way back to photography styles that we thought had completely died off and that we would never see again. Not only is film all the rage, but stylistic choices like leaning on direct flash, intentional blurry photos, and *gasp* the Dutch angle are making their return. I hope that this pendulum swing finds a happy medium soon. I still think that experiments with these styles should just be sprinkled throughout the day still making room for classic photography that will stand the test of time. Photographers should of course learn these styles and have fun with them but do them in parallel to what they know works.
My fear is that this extreme style will look dated in 5 years but we’ll just have to see how it continues to unfold.

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

My name is Hannah Herpin and I started my business 15 years ago. When I started, I thought I would do graphic design work parallel to my photography work but photography quickly overcame the balance and took off once I started specializing in wedding photography. My client experience starts way before we ever take portraits or get to the wedding day. A lot of the details are discussed and hashed out before so that way when we are there we can focus on staying in the moment and finding the best light and not trying to come up with a plan on the fly.
This way of working has been a big hit with my clients and gives me the space to do my best work.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I don’t think anyone is honest enough about this part of running a business. A lot of photographers think they’ll reach a certain level (a booked-out year, a certain amount of followers, a number of years in business) and that their business will just be set. That is the furthest thing from the truth. Every year my business has had to change and adapt to the current climate it exists in. Strategies that used to work perfectly to bring in clients, now no longer work at all. Or there might be outside forces (ex: COVID or a hurricane) that will put a damper on business at no fault of your own. I think having patience and constantly trying to learn new solutions to the same problems is what has made me so resilient. Some days all I’m doing is putting my ear to the ground to see what’s working for others and trying it out for myself.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I learned the lesson that every piece of advice should be taken with a grain of salt. There were so many lessons that I took as strict fact and never strayed from and after many frustrating years I had to learn that there are no black-and-white rules to this. I had to do what was best for me and my business and the way I liked to work. One mentor that I admired told me to never pay for advertising, so for many years I stuck to that until I realized that just because he had had success with a strictly word-of-mouth business didn’t mean the same principle applied to me. Seems so silly looking back on it now but I could probably think of another dozen examples of that.
So the lesson is to not be afraid to unlearn any of the rules. They expire.

Contact Info:

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

Image Credits
Hannah Herpin Creative