We were lucky to catch up with Hayley Wick recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Hayley, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

Six weeks before my own wedding I was struck by a car when crossing the street in Boston and suffered a traumatic brain injury. Prior to this, I was working as a Vascular Surgery nurse and had just been accepted into Nurse Practitioner school. After my accident, I was left with many physical and cognitive deficits and was unable to work as a nurse for over a year and a half despite all my efforts to get back to my “old self.”

While I was home on the couch and on my healing journey, I started playing with an entry level DSLR camera that I was gifted for our wedding. Photography was always a skill I had wanted to learn. Eight weeks after our wedding my husband and I received our wedding photo gallery and I gained a whole new appreciation for photos and the power they can hold. We had our wedding but my memory from the day was very fuzzy so when we got our photos I was absolutely blown away. Our photographer, Gabe Aceves, captured the day beautifully. I decided that I was going to put all my energy into learning how to use my camera and reached out to local photographers whose work I admired. I was very fortunate to have met some incredibly kind people who were open to teaching and mentoring me and even made a few new life long friends.

Lucky Strike Studio has been going strong since 2019 and it brings so much joy and purpose to my life.

I came up with the name Lucky Strike Studio because my husband and I met in a bowling alley and we used to joke that we were each others “Lucky Strike”. And then after my accident in 2018 when I was struck by a car- I thought there couldn’t be a more fitting name. I truly believe fate brought me here.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Lucky Strike Studio is a photography business geared towards capturing the joy of your small business or relationships. My absolute favorite clientele are small, women-run businesses. I work with people to create content to elevate their online/social media/marketing presence and capture their personalities to help attract their dream clients. I strive to help people feel seen and comfortable while being photographed and offer support in planning process from start to finish. I like to think myself as a personal hype girl. Often my clients say they leave feeling better than when they arrived and when they receive their photos they often reflect that.

I also shoot a lot of weddings and couple sessions which brings me so much joy because that is the reason I started my business in the first place.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

My husband and I moved to North Carolina from Burlington, Vermont in 2020 during the pandemic for his medical residency at University of North Carolina. During the pandemic, I went back to nursing due to significant nursing shortages and because I was unable to take photos due to social distancing and masking. Once the restrictions were lifted I started taking more photos for families and started shooting more weddings. Prior to the pandemic I was predominately shooting branding/business photos but moving to a new state and the pandemic forced me to network in my new city in a different way.

I think its super important to stay flexible. Needs change, circumstances change. I just recently relocated again to WINSTON SALEM, NC and there are a lot of small businesses and I am very excited to start offering my branding services once again.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I believe my experience as a nurse has helped me cultivate a caring presence, a strong work ethic, and to keep calm in pressured moments which has helped me build a positive reputation. When I am working with someone I am always giving them my undivided attention and am trying to help them feel as beautiful as the world sees them. Photography has become a way for me to show love and caring for people in a creative light.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.luckystrikestudio.com
• Instagram: @luckystrikestudio
• Facebook: @luckystrikestudio

Image Credits
Lucky Strike Studio