We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rhiannon Livardo-Stuiso. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rhiannon below.

Alright, Rhiannon thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made (either in terms of time or money)? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

The best investment I made with my business was education! At the age of 12 I knew I wanted to be a photographer and followed that passion no matter what. I decided to not to go to college right after high school and as soon as I graduated I got my hands on any type of photography job I could – besides freelancing.

I am mostly a self-taught photographer; practicing with my camera every day, taking online classes, reading any article or watching Youtube videos. As years went by and my business was becoming more established I started working with mentors/small, intimate courses with other likeminded photographers. There is only so much you can learn on your own and I wanted to learn from the absolute best in the biz so I can better serve my clients!

I learned so many essential tools from creativity, how to keep your clients happy, how to properly price myself, technical aspects of my camera and so much more. All of it has been amazing to learn but my favorite part was the community of other women-run photography businesses. Being a self-employed is a lonely job. We don’t have coworkers to run things by and majority of our job is computer work (editing, marketing, website building, etc.). Now, I am so happy I have a community of photographers to talk to and ask for advice or share the ups and downs of the business.

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

I was 12 years old when I fell in love with photography. I remember the photo I saw that first inspired me. It was a black and white photo of a man sitting on a park bench, back faced towards the camera with the NYC skyline in front of him, taken at night. Since then, I knew I wanted to create beautiful images.

I am now a portrait photographer specializing in family, child, maternity and lifestyle newborn photography. My love of family photography stems from my own family. Ever since I was young I understood the importance of being together and making time for one another. My mom always had a camera or video camera in her hand.. not only documenting birthdays and holidays but everyday life! Those are the moments you want to remember, that you can’t recreate and will leave an imprint on your heart. I am here to help you preserve the memories of when your little one ran to hug you for no specific reason… just out of pure love. Or when your son grabs your face with his little dimpled hands and lands a big, wet smooch on your cheek. Your babies won’t be babies forever. I will help you remember them the way they are in this moment.

Most people only have photos of their families taken on their iPhone. Which is fine but your family’s moments are so much more than that and are meant to be displayed in their home. It’s important to me that all of my clients walk away from their session not only with the digital files to share with family and friends, but also with professionally printed artwork to hang on their walls and see every single day and be filled with so much joy and pride of their beautiful family.

My sessions are playful and designed to capture the unique personalities of your family. You won’t see everyone sitting stiffly with forced smiles directly at my camera in my portfolio. I know we all want that one beautiful family portrait for your holiday card.. but, your portraits and your time together is so much more than that. Documenting your love is what makes my heart sing. Your session will be filled with belly laughs, sweet in-between moments, snuggles, kisses, playful, silly and loving connection and even some dancing if you like a dance party like me!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

The number one thing I think non-creatives don’t understand is that the creativity, the business and marketing ideas, thinking of new prompts, finding beautiful light, etc. never subsides. We don’t just stop working at 5pm and move on from our day. Our minds are constantly running about all of those things and more and with social media being a big part of our business model, that is also always at our fingertips… literally. I wouldn’t say it’s a bad thing that the work never ends but it isn’t as easy as non-creatives thinks it is since we aren’t working a “nine to five”.

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

Easy. Making people HAPPY! I love being able to capture their family, send them their gallery, deliver the final printed products and see how much joy it brings them. Sometimes it feels like a superpower being able to freeze a moment for so many wonderful clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rhiannonlivardo.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/rhiannonlivardophotography
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/rhiannonlivphotography

Image Credits
Brianne Daul for my Headshots