We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lindsay Hartmann a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lindsay, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?

I’m a wedding photographer and have photographed with a bunch of different people. I worked with one wedding photographer a couple of times as a second shooter. Before he hired me, we had a conversation about how much experience I had and he looked over my work. After explaining I had years of experience and he liked my work he booked me to help him at a couple of weddings. The first wedding we did together he asked to see the photos I had taken throughout the day which is completely normal and expected. However, telling me he liked the images and everything that I was doing, he proceeded to micromanage me – telling me where to stand and what exactly to photograph all night. The next wedding we worked together I thought would be better since I had proved I knew what I was doing and he had first hand experience seeing that. Unfortunately, it was the same: looking over my shoulder to see the images multiple times throughout the day, telling me exactly where to stand, and what to photograph and how. I wasn’t able to be creative and I did not enjoy shooting the wedding like I typically do working with other people.

In my own business I vowed I would hire good people and not micromanage them. I want people to be creative and know I trust them to do the job I hired them for. We discuss what images need to be captured beforehand so we can work together to get those necessary shots. I treat them as a teammate, not someone beneath me.

Lindsay, 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 got into photography first through my mom. She always had a camera at my sisters’ athletic events and family functions. I took a film photography class in high school that I loved and then started shadowing the Atlanta Gladiator’s photographer. I went to Georgia Southern and got a job at the school newspaper as a staff photographer and then eventually became the photo editor. After graduating I stumbled into wedding photography and loved the fact it’s a bunch of different photography disciplines (action, portrait, fashion, macro, documentary) all rolled into one.

I now have my own wedding photography business: Double N Media. I love being able to tell the couple’s story through photography. I do that by getting to know my couples and what/who matters most to them. I try to remind them their wedding day is not about the photos, dress, venue, cake, etc it’s about marrying the person of their dreams and celebrating with their favorite people. We make a plan beforehand so they know they can trust me to capture their day and they can sit back and live it!

I also help my clients design a personalized heirloom album so they have a physical representation of the moments that happened throughout the day that will live on long after the wedding is over and memories have started to fade. Besides actually photographing the couple, the reveal celebration is one of my favorite things to do with my couples. We get together after their wedding and look through all the images and the album design together. I provide the food and drinks and we get to relive their wedding day again and connect even more.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I loved Atomic Habits by James Clear and Find Your Why by Simon Senik. I also follow a couple different educators (Ben Hartley and Jerry Ghionis) that have showed me how crucial your mindset is to the success of your business and life in general.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I had worked on the business side of things earlier while I was learning photography and how to take pictures. I still struggle with getting my name out to enough people. I think if I had started earlier I would have been able to take my photography business full time much sooner.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.doublenmedia.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/doublenmedia
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/doublenmedia
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DoubleNMedia