We were lucky to catch up with Lisa McCraw recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lisa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I’ve been lucky. I started my career as a pro photographer when a friend asked for help with their overflow of weddings. I had been taking some street photography up until that point but nothing serious. I jumped into my first wedding feet first and never looked back. That was over 15 years ago and have been a full time pro ever since. I’ve photographed weddings and sessions all over the US including LA, Washington DC, NY, Florida, and North Carolina. I’ve also travelled for destination weddings out of the country including Jamaica, Punta Cana, and Italy. The hard truth is that in order to be successful, you have to be willing to work harder than most, to follow current trends, learn your craft, and unfortunately sometimes to sacrifice personal/family time. But in the end, doing what you love and capturing lifetime memories is the most rewarding and joyful experience!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Lisa, and I’m a wedding, family, fine art, and lifestyle photographer based out of NE Ohio. Here’s the funny and unexpected thing that happened… After photographing over 1000 weddings, my wedding couples began to start families. They then contacted me to photograph their growing families, something I never really expected. After a while, my portrait business grew and I opened a brick and mortar studio, a beautiful artful space I’m super proud of. I began building custom sets, mini events, and fine art images at my studio. I discovered that I LOVED child portraiture. I don’t have children of my own and never in a million years saw that coming. It’s such a blessing to see these families grow and it has become my passion!

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

This is an easy one for me. There’s nothing more rewarding that following a couple’s journey through imagery. It’s on-going visual documentation of life’s changes from engagement to wedding to babies to raising teenagers. I’ll never forget being present to photograph the birth of one of my couples babies… such a supreme honor. And what a major honor to be included in a couple’s story.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The pandemic proved to be an overwhelming challenge for those of us in the mass gathering business. 2020 wreaked havoc on both our schedules and dashed couples’ wedding dreams. We all made concessions. It became a necessity to be as accommodating as possible mostly by rescheduling dates; sometimes more than once, changes in venues, reduction in package contents, etc. But, providing flexibility afforded us to work through it with strength. It’s still something I never care to experience though ever again.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lmacphoto.com
• Instagram: @lmacphotoartists
• Facebook: www.Facebook/lmacphotography