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

Paulann, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

Being an artist has its pros and cons. Sure, I don’t have a boss telling me what to do, but that means I have to figure out what to do on my own. Sure, I don’t have to sit through a performance review and hope for a raise, but that means I have to set my own prices and guess at what my clients will think is fair. It’s a lot of work. I typically put in a good 8 or 10 hours every day the same as I would if I had a regular job.

Speaking of regular jobs, I do not wonder what that would be like if I had one, because I’ve had many regular jobs before. I’ve worked fast food, retail, and factory jobs. I’ve worked at a movie theater. I’ve worked as a physical therapist. I’ve been the new guy, and I’ve been the manager. The thing is, I’m autistic. I’m very capable of doing a job, but for me, masking — that is, pretending not to be autistic is way more exhausting than any job. So, people like me burn out, and the more we say, “I’ll get a new job that’s a better fit,” the faster we burn out. It’s like being in a race car and every lap you burn a gallon of fuel, but you only have time to put a half gallon back in when you go to the pit. You just break down faster and faster every time. I love working, obviously; I do it all day. But regular workplaces just aren’t willing to accommodate people like me, usually.

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.

Like most 90’s kids, I dabbled with instant and disposable film cameras while growing up in the Midwest, but it wasn’t until I moved to Norway just after high-school, that someone handed me a professional-grade camera and said “I think you’d be good at this”. I think that’s when the spark first ignited. I did photography there for a few years, but unfortunately, upon moving back to the States, photography sort of fell by the wayside. After burning out at a bunch of “regular jobs” and getting a degree in Forensic Science I would only temporarily put to use before even further burnout, I eventually found myself with a camera again and it just felt right. However, I didn’t go into business for myself as a creative until years later.

Now, under the moniker Big Click Energy, I produce professional photography and digital art. I offer a bit of everything, really. I never “picked a lane” in regards to photography. If you check out my website, you’ll see all sorts of subjects in my portfolio. Everything from animals, to architecture, to drag queens, to weddings, to high-fantasy cosplay art, even some samples of graphic design, and more. If you can point a camera at it, I can definitely get a decent photo of it! Not only do I offer a wide variety of photography and design services, I also offer my attentiveness, punctuality, ever-expanding knowledge/skills, and passion for the project, whatever it may be. I take pride in my keen eye for detail and passion for creating art through the lens.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Not only do I get to do something I love and enjoy, but I also get to work with some of the most fascinating people in the most wonderful places. Best of all, is when I get positive feedback from my clients or if I’m lucky enough, when I get to see the looks on their faces when they see what I’ve created for/with them. That’s the highlight for me; knowing someone, somewhere, is going to treasure that image or art piece for the rest of their lives and it will bring them joy every time they do. I get to touch people’s lives in a subtle, but profound way, and that’s incredible to me.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I learned early-on was to avoid networking with fellow creatives, especially photographers, at all costs. For years, I had only ever had mostly negative interactions with other photographers, which is strange to me, because I feel most of us are pretty easy going! However, recently, through streaming on Twitch and becoming acquainted with fellow creatives on that medium, I’ve been able to find people who not only want to network with me, but also support me as an artist and creative. It’s refreshing. So much so, it’s helped me come out of my shell a bit and start to tear down that old wall from a sour lesson once learned.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bigclickphoto.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigclickenergy1/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bigclickphoto
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bigclickenergy/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsLxYCUiuAi5XQBjXEpg9jg
• Other: Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/big_click_energy TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bigclickenergy

Image Credits
All photos taken by me.