We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lana Hawk. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lana below.

Hi Lana, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I spent a lot of time learning photography by taking courses online, classes in person, reading resources, and attending a few workshops. These were all valuable in learning a lot of the basics, but in the end, taking the leap into photography and learning skills on the job was really the most effective way to learn. Looking back, I needed those courses and classes to feel more confident in my skills, but I wish I would have started my photography business sooner and worked on my craft more that way. The most essential skills for me involved the operation of my camera, how to use natural light in a photo session, interacting with clients in a way that creates meaningful moments, trusting my eye in capturing those moments, and the basics of post processing. There is a lot more to the art of photography, but the fundamentals are the most important because they create a solid starting point. The largest obstacle that often stands in my way is just doubt and insecurity. If I doubt myself and my skill, I may not try something new and that will impede my growth as an artist and person.

Lana, 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 have always loved photography and the way it captures a moment and feeling in time. I had a camera at a young age that went with me everywhere. As I grew up, it was a way to document life and adventures. Part of that love comes from my nostalgic nature and desire to hold on to the moment just a little bit longer. To this day, our house is full of pictures and photo albums from years past.

I really began learning more about photography in 2014 with some courses and workshops. It started more as a hobby and a way for me to be creative outside of teaching, but grew into more when I stopped teaching in 2016. I decided to start my business, Lana Marie Photography, and start photographing families and newborns in the Denver area. In general terms, I plan and execute a variety of photo sessions (families, newborns, events, and weddings) for clients, but I hope it is more than that. I love offering clients the opportunity to have high quality images to capture a season of life or moment in time. In a world saturated with iPhone snapshots and selfies, I want to offer clients photos that capture their life and family in a meaningful way that they will treasure for years to come. Because of this, my style is more classic and true to color photography. I focus on more candid moments along with the posed photos everyone typically wants. This is my way of going above and beyond what a client wants to give them images of their family or event from my perspective. I love to find those small moments in a session like the way a mom tucks the hair behind her daughter’s ear or the way a dad brings the fun and makes the little ones giggle or the way little kids just want to move and run and the list goes on.

With time, my family and I fell in love with travel and adventure. This offers me a chance to use my photography skills in a different way. I love to bring my camera along with me, often times more than one camera, to help capture the essence of a place far beyond the major landmarks. I focus on quiet corners, the way the light hits a certain spot, or details of a street/door/church/fill-in-the-blank. I would love to expand my business and sell more travel prints to share those many images with others.

I am most proud of the many families, babies, weddings, and events I have had the pleasure of photographing. I love that I get to be a part of someone else’s story in one small way. Seeing those images pop up on Christmas cards, in homes, and on social media is something I am really proud of because it shows that others value what I am offering. Put simply, I love to use my camera to create art and I love to share that with others. Whether it be of an individual family or the world, I love to share those images with others and give something beautiful to the world.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I mentioned this in the last question to, but I really just want to create and share art. I love sharing images I have taken on trips across the world AND families in Denver equally because I think in doing so, others can see the world in a new way. I also love that I often have the opportunity to each others about photography too. I don’t think it needs to be some exclusive world, but one that others can learn and grow in through observing and talking with others. So my desire to help others see the world differently, inspire them to travel and see the world, or simply see their family in a different light inspires me to continue on my photography journey and share my art with the world.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think the interesting thing about being a creative is that success looks different for everyone. My goal has never been to be a large photography giant in the Denver metro area. I love my clients and most of them are referrals or word of mouth. I’m not optimizing SEO and paying for Google or Instagram ads. I want my business to remain small and organic and that is what success looks like for me. I don’t post regularly or push content on Instagram because I want to focus on offering the best services to the clients I have and the new clients that come my way. My drive to continue is simply to give high quality images to families at an affordable rate and share art with the world. At some point that may change, but for now, that is success to me. I think often times the business world focuses on profit, big business, number of clients, and all the data pointing to how big a business can get, but that was never my intention starting out or my intention today, 8 years into it. There are ways I would like to expand and grow my business, but I don’t want to sacrifice my art and love for photography in the process. To me, it is a delicate balance because as soon as I have lost my love for photography, I will have lost a little bit of me too.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.lanamariephoto.com
• Instagram: @lanamarietravel

Image Credits

Image of Lana Hawk: Amanda Tromp Photo
www.amandatromp.com

The remaining images belong to Lana Marie Photo.