We recently connected with Maria Clark and have shared our conversation below.

Maria, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. The first dollar you earn in a new endeavor is always special. We’d love to hear about how you got your first client that wasn’t a friend or family.

I photographed a lot of different things for my own experience and enjoyment. One of those was my sister getting her hair and makeup done on her wedding day. Her wedding photographers weren’t going to be there in the morning, so I took it as an opportunity to practice and make some memories for my sister. While editing the images later, one image struck me. It was a photo my sister having her makeup done, and the makeup artist had a tattoo that said “Imagine” on the wrist that was applying my sister’s eye makeup. I thought the sentiment of the tattoo gave the image an ethereal quality. I printed the picture in black and white and framed it, and I took it to my hair stylist’s shop in Lexington, KY. She had been my hair stylist for a long time and knew me well, so I asked her if she would mind if I hang my picture in her salon. She was happy to have it, and when I brought it in, other ladies at the salon asked to see the photo. One of the other hair stylists mentioned that she had a son who was going to be a senior in high school and asked if I would do his senior portraits. I said, “Absolutely!” We did his portraits at a couple of places in downtown Lexington, and she loved the final images! When I brought her the prints she ordered, she was so excited to have them and handled them with such care. It was s wonderful new feeling to see my work appreciated so much!

Maria, 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 had no formal training in photography–my college degree is in English, and I was on a career path in publishing–so when I first saw a photograph that truly looked like artwork and decided that’s what I wanted to do, I was very much at square one. I joined the local photography club, which was mostly hobbyists and nature photographers, but one club member was a professional wedding photographer, who asked me if I’d like to join him as an assistant for the upcoming wedding season. During that time is when I learned a lot of what I know about basic settings and composition. Outside of that assistantship, I found places to learn online, especially from CreativeLive, and eventually found some photographers whose styles I really liked, and I learned by following them, watching their videos, and buying their books and courses. Most of my practical knowledge, though, just came from practicing. I would go out and photograph things in my backyard, or take a walk and photograph things around my neighborhood. That really helped me understand some of the more complex principles of photography.

I officially started my business in 2011 as a boutique retail photographer. I took pretty much anything that came my way–kids, families, birthday parties, and I had a stint of a couple of years where I focused on high school seniors. Ultimately, though, I didn’t enjoy selling products, which is where the money comes from in retail photography.

When my husband and I had our first baby, in 2014, we moved to Owensboro, Kentucky, to be closer to family. A few years after that move, I got connected with the editor of a local lifestyle magazine. That relationship gave me opportunities to do other types of work, like headshots, product shots, and editorial work, which I found more fascinating than anything else I’ve ever done. That experience opened the door for me into commercial photography, and since then I have focused on products, lifestyle, and headshots. I love having a product to work with and creating a setting around it that really captures the company’s vibe and the way the product serves customers. Often, this involves creating a story around the product and capturing the whole story in the images.

One thing I’m super proud of is how I’ve defined my style. I’m and introvert, and I’ve always been more of a quiet person, but when I really dug into who I was, I found bright colors, bold patterns, stark geometry, and a modern style that really surprised me! That discovery has really brought out the best in my work and allowed me to create an identity as an artist.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

I started out in photography with a beginner DSLR camera. I spent a few hundred dollars on a Nikon D90 and a 50mm lens, and from then my business has sustained itself. At the beginning I did several senior and family shoots and sold print products until I had enough money to buy another lens, which allowed me to add variety to my images. Over the years, I have purchased new cameras, several new lenses, a laptop, two sets of lights, and backdrop equipment, among other things, all with funds that my photography has brought in. Not only that, but all of the photography courses and coaching I’ve had were funded by business revenue. It has been a slow but steady growth, and I weigh my expenses carefully, but I’ve learned that you really do not need a lot of stuff to be sufficiently equipped as a photographer. You do what you can with what you have, and when you can acquire more, then you can offer more. It helps that I’ve never been the kind of person who needs the latest and greatest gear. I really couldn’t tell you a lot about what’s out there right now, but I know how to use the gear I have, and a good photographer doesn’t need the best or most expensive equipment to make great photographs.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

The mission behind my photography is constantly evolving. When I first started out, the goal was to find an area of photography that I liked to work in and focus on that until I was really good at it, then build a business around that. It seemed like a good recipe for financial success. The tough part was, early on as a boutique photographer, I found myself getting burned out photographing the same things, so I tried different things, and that only led to me being a decent photographer in several different areas, and not excellent at any of them. When I finally found commercial and editorial photography, I was ecstatic to learn that this one field encompassed so many different kinds of shoots! Now I have a field of expertise that allows me to photograph a lot of different things, and I don’t get bored. In the past couple of years, I’ve felt a need to do something more with my photography than just have a business that serves me and my family. I have felt a strong need to serve my community. To that end, I’ve done several personal projects in collaboration with other artists, which have been wonderful and have allowed me to share important ideas through my imagery. I have several other project ideas in the works as well. By now, my mission on my creative journey has become more complex, which I feel like is a sign of significant growth. It’s important to me that I can still serve my family with my business income, but I also want to continue using my craft as a way to serve my community, and in order to do more of those personal projects I have to keep doing paid work, so I’m constantly looking for opportunities on both fronts.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mariaclarkphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariaclarkphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MariaClarkPhotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariaclarkphotography/

Image Credits
Image of the photographer: (c) Two Arrows Photography