We were lucky to catch up with Hannah Mead recently and have shared our conversation below.

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

When I was first starting out in wedding photography, I was resistant and nervous to let my creativity within taking photos shine through. I was anxiously focused on “getting the shot” and checking off bullet points of what I thought a photo gallery should look like. Obviously this is forever important in my job regardless, but I wasn’t allowing myself to open up artistically in fear of rejection or a client not liking my work. This confidence change definitely came with much more time and experience being a photographer, but eventually I learned that people value those artistic risks I take. Now, more often than not, I have found that couples end up loving the photos most where I challenged the standards of a “pretty portrait” and pushed myself to create something bigger and more intricate. Allowing my personal creativity to come through during shoots or weddings has greatly strengthened the success of my business and growth within the wedding photography world. This success and growth has made me feel as though client’s are hiring me as an artist rather than just a wedding photographer.

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?

My name is Hannah – owner of Hannah Mead Photography! I live in the small mountain town of Flagstaff, Arizona yet travel wherever my photography will take me, to capture all kinds of different love stories. I was raised in an artistic and creative family, which is where I found my love for taking pictures. I carried that into getting my degree in Photography & Filmmaking. A lot of years and experience later, I am now a full time wedding and portrait photographer based out of Arizona. I truly never thought I would end up in wedding photography! I had a passion for landscape and outdoor lifestyle photography. I combined that passion with my apt nature of being intrigued by people’s stories. I think something that sets me apart from others is my art of placing people in large landscapes. I love capturing a couple madly in love, surrounded by epic terrain or wilderness. I have had the honor of photographing couple’s from all over the country and take pride in learning their love stories of all shapes and sizes. Whether your’e having a 300 guest listed wedding, or a private elopement in the mountains, I am passionate about capturing what make’s each couple’s love and story their own. Nothing makes me happier than connecting with others on the most special moments of their lives. With this awesome responsibility, I also strive to keep photography sessions light and fun. Its important to me that every client feels like they are just getting creative and being vulnerable in front of a someone they trust! I often have couples tell me at the end of a session or wedding, that they feel like they were being photographed by a close friend instead of someone they just met. This makes my heart soar and reassures me that I know I’ll want to keep doing photography for many years to come!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding part of being a photographer, is capturing moments that will last forever. I love making people feel beautiful in their own skin and capturing their love in ways that not everyone in their daily life gets to see. Every day is different and every couple is different, which keeps things constantly unique. The more love stories I capture, the more I feel like I have made a small mark on the world for my clients. I think about how they will probably show their wedding photos to their children and grandchildren, which is incredibly rewarding.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Honestly, I think once people meet or interact with me in person, it helps build my reputation. I truly strive to make every client comfortable and beautiful with me. I want couples to walk away from a photography session or service and say that they had such a blast and felt so natural in front of the camera. It’s not easy being on that end of the lens, and I think that my genuine hype and love for each client helps them have an awesome experience, which just means they are more likely to refer me or hire me again.

Contact Info:

• Website: hannahmeadphotography.com
• Instagram: @hannahmead_photo
• Facebook: Hannah Mead Photography

Image Credits
Hannah Mead Photography