We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lillis Werder. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lillis below.
Lillis, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
I attended Georgetown University in Washington, DC majoring in Economics and Political Science within the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. I had never intended to one day become a professional photographer or creative artist. I initially worked for IT companies, including the famous IBM. After a few layoffs in that industry, I decided to work at creative field. I had always travelled extensively as a child with my grandmother, spending most summers in Europe, so my love of travel was instilled at an early age, and along with the travel, there was always a camera in my hands. At first, I began photographing real estate for Northern Virginia realtors. I excelled at photography of large homes that helped market these properties for the realtors who realizes hastened sales with great quality photos in their brochures. I next tried my hand at pet photography, which not only includes the furry babies we call dogs and cats, but also equestrian photography to include not only the grandeur of a horse portrait but also became a portrait session for the riders in various forms of attire. Horses are among my top five preferred subjects to photograph. I try to capture the essence of the horse’s personality in his or her eyes and charming expressions. I once had a horse who had had enough of the photo session. She closed her eyes, fell asleep during a costume change, and then woke suddenly to gallop swiftly back to her barn where she promptly slammed the door shut with her rear hooves. There are diva horses out there! My next focus became stock photography which allowed me to travel even more extensively to gather all the gorgeous scenery in Europe, Canada, and the United States. In addition, I am an istock photographer, and then later became affiliated with Getty Images as a Getty photographer. I have over 35,000 stock images online where I sell to the US, Europe, Australia, Germany, and Japan. Through friends, I met a group of prominent businessmen and women in the DC area who formed a non profit organization that promotes ties between the US and the Czech Republic. In doing this, I branched out to photograph members of Congress, US Supreme Court judges, US governors from all over the country, many foreign leaders, rock stars, and a trip to Prague to meet with the Prime Minister and a list of other Czech officials. I made all photography gifts of photos on canvas to give to the Czech government officials. I also became good friends with the personnel at the Czech Embassy in Washington, DC and have been asked to be a vendor at the yearly Christmas market in November. One thing as led to another, which leads me now to describe work during the pandemic. As events were cancelled and people were on lock down, I decided to market my fine art by opening a shop on Etsy. I have had great success with this shop, have sold to people all over the country and have created a way for me to do work from home by reaching out across the internet on a daily basis. As for how I could have sped up this process, I have one significant thing I have learned throughout the years. It is wonderful to be creative, to do what you love, and make beautiful images. However, an artist must also know how to market herself. I have learned to use social media to reach people from my deep, dark past, all the way through someone I may have met at an event I photographed last week. I try to be friendly, talk about my work in conversations, always carry some business cards, and beyond everything, I make sure the customers are very pleased with what i give them. If there are any issues, I strive to make it right. Referrals are of the utmost importance. Customer service must always be a priority. Now, I sell to a prominent art gallery called Chasen Galleries in Richmond, VA. I work with an art consultant, Grand Image, in Seattle who places my work in high profile retailers, such as Wayfair, Target, and Walmart. I also sell my work to hospitals and hotels as wall decor. My most recent sale was to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD for a respite room wall mural for nurses. Overall, becoming successful for me, has been a process. I have always remained open to try new avenues. Meeting more people has brought me new customers, new work associates, and countless photographer friends. I love what I do. It brings joy to me every day.
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
I became a photographer after the IT industry handed me several layoffs. I was not sad to leave big companies, like IBM, as I much prefer to work for myself and market myself, meet new clients and set my own schedule. I had always been a photographer, even as a child. When I became an adult, I drew upon all my travel experiences growing up and then decided where I wanted to go to obtain spectacular subjects in my photos. I provide many services within photography. I am a portrait photographer and love capturing large families. There is a plethora of poses with large groups and the people often gravitate from both standard poses to creative ones where there are huge smiles and a lot of humor. I adore photographing animals and strive to capture their soul. Some dog and cat faces become so human in their expressions. The key is to be patient with both children and animals. Take your time, and it will happen. I recently took a family photograph with a large German Shepherd dog. The family got in position on a rocky outcrop in the Potomac River. Everyone put their arm around the next person, when suddenly, the dog, observing this, extended is left paw, and swung it over the shoulder of the small boy next to him. It was priceless to see it and then capture it with bright smiles from all. What sets me apart from others is that I watch the scene very carefully. I rarely miss a change in expression, and a snap the shutter at the right moment. It truly is “the moment it clicks”. For fine art images of scenery, architecture, street scenes, glorious statuary, views from the Amalfi Coast, or the night lights of Paris, I try to capture scenes that make the ordinary look extraordinary. I look for varying light, different types of weather or cloudage, and take photos from an unusual perspective. I use lots of color in my photographs and often print them on large museum quality canvases for homes or offices. My web site has more than 12,000 images with over 50 galleries from all over the world. On my website, you can order prints, canvases, accessories for iphones, notecards, and more. This is another way I make my work accessible to so many over the internet. I am most proud of my huge selection of images from so many stunning locations on my web site and Etsy shop. My next trip is planned this spring for Hawaii so that I can add tropical images to my inventory.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
As I began my artistic career as a professional photographer, I was not aware of the importance of social media and of having a website that had the capability to allow customers to purchase items themselves. After a few years, I discovered the ideal web site by using zenfolio, which is built to accommodate photographers’ businesses. My site has so many built in templates which allows me to have an About page, an introduction homepage with a slide show of photos I can choose and change at any time. I have a page to list clients, projects, exhibits, and new items for sale through the built in vendors who work with zenfolio. There is now a customer booking feature that allows customer to book a session with me through my web site. I realized how essential it is to have this kind of web site design with unlimited photo galleries and space. Facebook and Instagram have also provided an extensive array of contacts, both new and old, who have become customers over time. Etsy has also give me an extended reach to those who may have visited an exotic location but were unsatisfied with their own photos. I provide that record shot for their living room or bedroom wall. So, the internet is the one thing that I did not realize at first, was so powerful for growing a business. Use it, explore it, and see your contacts and sales expand.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My creative goal is to create photos that people want to put on their wall. I want to make a difference to others and bring people out of their comfort zone to encourage them to travel as well. I want them to learn the importance of exploring new cultures and new places. Recently, I have focused on street photography because I want to not only show what a place looks like but how it feels to live there by capturing unique meaningful moments through candid street photography. To show how people live in a culture is just as important as showing what a different culture looks like. This is my goal that drives me to explore and discover what others might just pass by unnoticed.
Contact Info:
- Website: lillisphotography.com
- Instagram: lillisphotography_fineart
- Facebook: Lillis Photography
- Linkedin: Lillis Werder
- Yelp: Lillis Photography
- Other: Etsy Shop name: lilliswerder
Image Credits
Lillis Werder of Lillis Photography