We were lucky to catch up with Samuel Greenhill recently and have shared our conversation below.

Samuel, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I started when I was a little kid and asked my parents if I could use their phones. They would let me take their phone and try all the different angles of photos. This freedom to use their smartphones was precious. Having this early start helped establish a lot of my craft. Over time, I got more involved with Photoshop and editing and learned to blend both more seamlessly. Having Photoshop class in high school jumpstarted a considerable interest in that field. The biggest thing that has enabled me to create new work was often trying to create a photo for which I had no idea how to make it. For example, I may want a picture of a floating house. I’ve never Photoshopped this before, and I have no idea if I have the skills to do it, so I have to figure it out. Photography, for me, is a lot like a math problem: you have to find a way to solve it using what you know.

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

I am a photographer based in Covington, Kentucky. I have been a photographer for about 15 years now. I’ve been full-time in my photography business for about seven years. I shoot almost everything from weddings to album covers, commercials, promotional material, and maternity photos. I believe what makes my work stand out is my ability to combine emotion with my photography. I want to create works that look like paintings, meaning the foreground, middle ground, and background must work together. The work I am most proud of is the one in which I meet with a client and create a piece about them and their experience. These pieces take a long preparation, concept sketching, shooting, and editing. I have always felt proud of my end result.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

A straightforward and overlooked resource is having other artists willing to critique my work. There has been a clear distinction of how much better my work has gotten since having friends critique me. My pride in being “seen” or “looked down upon” got in my way of creating seamless work.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I started my photography business by not charging people. Those clients then posted my photos of them which received some attention from new clients. For those clients, I set only about $25 for an hour session and as many photos as they wanted me to edit. I continued this process at a steady rate. Anytime my demand felt high, I raised my price, which would temporarily drop my request. However, the market always went back up. Sprinkled throughout this process, I still offer free shoots. I think to push yourself in the specific creative field you desire; you need to give away some of your work. Some people disagree with this mindset, but I have found it to be an essential backbone of my business.

Contact Info:

• Website: samuelgreenhillphotos.com
• Instagram: abrokenlightbulb
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greenhillphotos

Image Credits
Photographer’s Assistant: Jakob Schnitker