We recently connected with Katie Lumsden and have shared our conversation below.

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

Some photographers that I’ve talked to have always known that photography was their calling. They had a camera gripped firmly in their hands for as long as they can remember and were always capturing the people, places, and things around them. That was not me. I felt lead to a very different purpose as I stepped foot outside my college campus for the first time, my BA in Biology in hand (more realistically – in the mail).
I started my working career as a zookeeper, exotic animal sanctuary worker, and wildlife rehabilitator. I spent my days amongst lions, tigers, and bears. I raised baby rhinos, fed orphaned song birds, and tried, almost always in vain, to get the gibbons to take their vitamins. My work wasn’t just with the animals. I put on a hundred different hats in my 3 years as a keeper. I cleaned pools, fixed fences, built enrichment, stacked hay bales, cleaned culverts, and weed-whacked for seemingly endless hours. The animal care field was tough, and I loved what I did, but as the cons of the industry started to heavily outweigh the pros, I looked for a change in a tamer corner of the animal world – dog and cat rescue.

I quickly learned that, although tamer, the world of rescue was not without its own problems. We would have the most amazing animals in our care, perfect dogs and cats full of love who deserved a forever home of their own, and no one would be interested in them. It was hard to watch amazing animals continue to get overlooked time and time again. I soon came to realize that the better the photos were of the animals we had in rescue, the more they were looked at, the more attention they received, and the higher their chances were of finding a home. I spoke to my husband about this and Tyler, being my best friend and biggest supporter, bought me my first nice camera.

I took classes and began learning about manual mode, camera settings, light, etc. and I started taking pictures of the animals for the rescue. The increase in picture quality had a big effect on our adoption rate. Our animals started to get noticed quicker and the engagement on their social media posts grew as well. I found myself loving every aspect of photography more and more every day. I’ve always been creative and there was never much of an opportunity to express that creativity in my years in animal care. The more I clicked the shutter, the more I fed my creative bug, and in turn, the bigger it grew. Friends and family started asking me to take their pictures. I said yes. I started spending more and more of my time behind the camera shooting and behind the computer editing. Eventually, I left my job in animal care, filed my articles of organization, and decided to pursue photography as my full-time career.

It might sound like my transition was abrupt and I made this decision “willy-nilly,” but nothing could be further from the truth. Forging a path of your own and opening a small business is not for the faint of heart! It’s been full of heartaches, struggles, victories, and valleys. Despite the sometimes bumpy and sometimes smooth road, my passion for what I do drives me day after day to become a better photographer and a better version of myself. I love what I do! I love being about to capture precious and timeless moments for my clients. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

If you were sad about the rescue animals no longer getting good photos since I left the animal field– fear not! I still go back to my old rescue about once a month to take photos of all the adoptable dogs and cats, but my business is now my priority and I love every minute of it. I wanted to pay homage to my past work life in my new career. My business name, The Lilac Lion Photography, comes from when I spent time working with and raising lions, and the fact that one of my favorite portrait locations has always been amongst the flowers.

Katie, 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 talked (a lot) about how I got in the last question, so I’ll talk a little bit more what I offer here. I am a wedding, portrait, and elopement photographer in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. Don’t let the location fool you though – I love to travel and I’m more than happy to travel all over for my clients who are looking for services out of the greater Charlotte area.

Being an avid outdoors(wo)man, I live for couples that crave adventure and want to capture their love for each other in the great outdoors. Are you looking for someone to photograph your elopement at sunrise on top of a mountain? I’ve got you. Are you looking for someone to photograph to your vow renewal alongside your closest friends and family at the beach? That’s me! Do you want to bushwhack through the forest for a romantic couples session at a lesser known waterfall? I’m your girl.

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

The most rewarding aspect of my job is knowing that I’ve captured incredibly precious moments for my clients that they’ll be able to look back on for years. Life is short, moments are fleeting, but being able to freeze time for people so that they can relive those joyous moments long after they’ve happened is so rewarding and makes me so happy as an artist.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

One thing that I think non-creatives, or more specifically, people who do not quite understand photography struggle to understand is the value behind the price tag. Some people see a price tag on photography services and are immediately put off. It’s okay, times are tough, everything feels really expensive nowadays so many people are shopping for a budget photographer. It’s okay – they just don’t understand the reason for the price and the value behind the services that we as photographers provide. Knowledge of photography, lighting, posing, editing all takes time, dedication, practice, and patience to acquire. It takes time to grow as a photographer, learn all the tricks of the trade, and develop your own unique style. Gear is expensive, business insurance is expensive, working a session or a wedding is demanding and our time is valuable. All of that is factored into the price tag when it comes to our services.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thelilaclionphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelilaclionphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelilaclionphotography
• Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/biz_info/VwQym5RJSdOu0tGISrX8Bw