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

Hi Shari, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

How did you learn to do what you do? I took the slow and steady route to establish roots for strong growth, which I truly believe is important in building a foundation for your brand and the overall structure of your business, as this is the foundation of how you serve your Clients. I took the time to learn my craft by immersing myself in education and techniques and learning how to best serve my Clients with a heart of service by being on wedding days and sessions as an assistant with the willingness to learn and build connections overtime. And I found that by taking this route, I learned so much of how to not only look for the details in photographing wedding and portraits, but I also learned how to be a strong business owner.

Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? I honestly think taking the route that I did was the best route for me timing wise. But if I were to speed up anything with the learning process, I would say that repetition is the key to overall consistency and muscle memory in what you do. Keeping up with learning, helps you keep from having to start from square one again and again.

What skills do you think were most essential? Listening and encompassing constructive feedback. This helped me discover things that I could make and do better and look for areas where I could hone my skillset to the next level.

What obstacles stood in the way of learning more? Sometimes, honestly, my own self. People often use the phrase, “I don’t have enough time to do XY and Z.” When in reality, people will make time for the people and things they want in their lives. With that in mind, it comes down to making time for what you love doing and removing the obstacle of excuses.

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

My passion for photography began with the gift of my first camera, which was given to me by my grandfather a.k.a “the photography buff”. A man who had traveled the world and had a camera collection like none other. I’m convinced that this is where my love of photography was instilled and I’ve pursued my passion for it endlessly since then. From being the Chief Yearbook Editor in high school, to finally pursuing my own photography brand in 2016. Spending the time learning my trade, paired with my the love of the art, and the opportunity to serve others has ultimately brought me to where I am today. I’ve built my business around the love and passion that I have for what I do, which ultimately translates into the experience that my clients have and the imagery that I capture. In turn, my Clients over the years have continually entrusted me in telling their story through my lens.

I provide imagery for the romantic at heart and I believe in serving Clients from a genuine heart of service to bring them moments that turn into their favorite memories as they sit back on their couch looking through their photos years down the road. As a Wedding and Portrait Photographer, I believe that “stress” is a word that doesn’t belong in any part of a wedding day or portrait session, and I strive to make the time with my Clients a stress-free experience! I also believe in giving them a once in a lifetime experience filled with one-of-a-kind details that speak to who they are as a couple or individual. Capturing the joyful moments in between! Because their wedding day or portrait session is about them and the extraordinary story they have to tell the world and I want them to LOVE every aspect of their experience!

I’m passionate about photography and serving couples and their families and it’s because of the significance behind the images and the story each photo has to tell. For photography allows us to freeze a moment, that would otherwise be lost with time and it allows us to share these moments with the generations yet to come. My journalistic approach as a Wedding an Portrait Photographer is not only to authentically tell my Client’s story through my lens, but to capture the genuine essence of who they are.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I was pretty lucky early on to have discovered the Rising Tide Society and the Tuesdays Together community. At first, I was incredibly nervous as a budding Photographer new to the San Diego area to step outside of my comfort zone of doing “all of the things all on my own”. But as I embraced the community around me, I quickly found that I wasn’t the only one experiencing having to “wear all the hats”. That there were so many creative business owners like myself who were experiencing the same thing. Little did I know at one point in this journey, I would be leading one of the San Diego chapters for a little over a year. In discovering these connections with like-minded creatives, I wish I would have joined this community earlier instead of trying to figure things out all on my own.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

As a Photographer, I recognize that what we do as Creatives is about safeguarding life’s moments. From the epic love stories to life’s spontaneity; conserving the history that our lives are built upon. For this reason, in respect for the significance and uniqueness of what we do, I exercise the care to illuminate and only convey genuine and eloquent imagery that preserves that history for years and generations to come. It is always an honor for me to serve my Clients from a heart of service with beautiful imagery that not only places a marker in time, but also authentically tells their incredible stories and the genuine essence of who they are.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.shariannephotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shariannephotography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shariannephotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharimooney/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/shari-anne-photography-san-diego?utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)

Image Credits
Main Headshot – Carrie McGuire – Carrie McGuire Photography