Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Hannah Malloy. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hannah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Ever since I was a child, I was always artistically inclined. My first love was drawing- I was always the kid in class doodling on my assignment rather than calculating math equations or whatever task at hand I was given. I remember the distinct feeling of freedom and relief stepping into the art classroom in school. It was my safe place to express myself and to hone in on my craft. I was always particularly drawn to the visual arts which eventually led me to photography. Photography felt like the perfect combination of the very things I loved most- creativity, people and story telling. All throughout college and my early days at a 9-5 tech company I had this inkling that my art could become my career. I discovered a competitive market with portrait and wedding photography that not only challenged my entrepreneurial mind but also my artistic abilities. This combination quickly became my passion and felt more exciting to me than any traditional job. Despite the risks, I maintained the mindset of “leap and the net shall appear”, which led me to a 12+ year career as a portrait and wedding photographer.

Hannah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m an East Coast based portrait and wedding photographer with a focus on storytelling through an artistic perspective. As someone who was always drawn to the arts, I had a feeling that my career would somehow involve creativity. I was given a DSLR camera as a gift early in my high school days where I spent weekends and afternoons learning about the equipment and practicing with friends. I soon found that photographing people was my strength and what I enjoyed most. I loved preserving time and documenting a moment, an event, a feeling. Learning about people and their own history became a large part of my passion for the art/career. My mission was for my photographs to serve as a time portal for my clients as a way for them to relive a cherished moment or season of life through artistic documentation.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative for me is being able to produce work that makes people feel- whether it’s them feeling good in their own skin or from flipping through the pages of a wedding album reliving the day’s joy. Being a part of preserving someone’s own life stories by way of photographs has become a driving force behind what I do and why I continue to do it.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

For better or for worse, I’ve always had the “I’ll figure it out myself” mindset. With that, I think I missed a lot of opportunities to learn from fellow portrait and wedding photographers in the beginning of my career who could have provided me with ample knowledge on the industry and creative approaches. I started my career before Instagram existed and before social media really took off, so there weren’t quite as many educational resources as there are now for people in my field, but I do wish I had the mindset back then to be inspired and educated by those who were doing what I was doing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hannahmalloyphoto.com
• Instagram: hannahmalloyphoto
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hannahmalloyphoto

Image Credits
Hannah Malloy