We recently connected with Stacey Thompson and have shared our conversation below.

Stacey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?

Social media is so important in marketing your business. Nearly all of my client base discovered me through social media. I have always managed my own, learning through trial and error. Taking photos is such a small part of the business as a whole: I plan wardrobe styling, coach on posing, and retouch the selected images from each shoot. Of all the things that I do, social media takes up the most of my time, even more than retouching! I am always working on strategies to engage followers and grow my brand.

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 became interested in photography in college, and, after graduation, I began taking traditional portraits (such as senior photos and weddings). I was always drawn to fine art photography, however, and I would shoot my artistic concepts with friends in my free time. Eventually, people in my area took notice, and a fashion student at Lindenwood asked me to photograph her senior collection. One of the models recruited for this project was signed with a modeling agency, and this model asked me to reach out to her agent about shooting for her portfolio. At the time, my work was not what agencies are looking for at all. But, they gave me a chance, followed by many more chances. A decade later, I am a professional model portfolio photographer. In addition, I shoot for local brands, boutiques, and e-commerce.

My favorite thing about my job is being able to use my creativity to make something beautiful. I love playing with colors, lighting, and movement to compose a dynamic image. Each project is a little different from the one before it, and I learn something at every shoot.

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

When I began shooting, YouTube wasn’t the resource that it is now. It was mostly a place to watch music videos, or humorous sketches. Now, you can learn nearly anything from watching YouTube videos! I wish I had considered looking for video tutorials back when I started- they might not have existed in the same abundance at that time, but there may have been some resources available. If there weren’t, it would have been a good point in time for me to fill that niche by sharing the things that I did already know through tutorial videos.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Being a female photographer certainly helped. I was shooting during a time when horror stories about Terry Richardson were just rising to the surface, creating a general distrust of male photographers. Since then, more and more professionals in the industry have been exposed for exploiting young women. Certainly, not all men are to blame; it is very unfortunate that the trustworthy, upstanding guys are having to take a hit just because of a few bad apples.

Beyond that, I try to always been upfront and direct with my clients. When working with models, I strive to be my authentic self- even if that means showing up in yoga pants, making dumb jokes, stumbling over my words and sometimes my own feet. Being open and without pretense tends to make people more at ease, and a relaxed model is more confident and natural in front of the camera.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/staceythompsonphoto
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/staceythompsonphoto
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@staceythompsonphoto

Image Credits
Sienna Hahn, Cat Blaisse, Erin Schmidt, Colin Crabtree, Lauren Austin