Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stefanie McGuffey. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Stefanie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

I hope, when the day comes that I retire from photography, that my clients and their families will be able to look back at the images I have captured for them over the years and remember not only the moments, but also the way I made them feel. I hope my seniors remember the feeling of having the world at their feet, the future laid out before them. I hope my couples remember the all encompassing feeling of new love, the promises made on their wedding day, the foundation of their family. I hope my families can look back at the pictures of loved ones that have passed and feel comfort to see their smile, and the pride in their eyes to be surrounded by their families for that time.

My goal has always been to leave people feeling valued, cared for, and just good about themselves. Nearly every client will tell me at least once they have no idea what they’re doing, or that they feel awkward, and I really hope that by the time they leave me they realize it’s not abnormal to feel that way! Why should anyone come to a photo session knowing what to do? Unless their profession is in front of the camera, we’re all in the same boat…. me included!!

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

I started out as your average “mom with a camera” – but a hunger for knowledge and need to improve my skill led me to discover my love for photography in a much wider sense. Prior to stepping into photography as my full-time job, I was employed by a local attorney’s office as a legal assistant. And I was so bad at that job!! I can laugh about it now, but I felt so out of place in those years. When my business began to evolve and grow, I felt more and more of the calling to serve people and capture their moments, big and small. I have photographed many events over the years – birthday parties, weddings, births, baptisms, sporting events, and of course portraits.

Several years ago I felt the tug to shift the focus of my business to senior portraits, and I haven’t looked back since! Getting to know these kids is just the best part. I hope they all know how special they are. I photograph a limited number of weddings throughout the year as well, and sometimes those worlds collide. Just last week I shot the engagement session for one of my first seniors. Her wedding is next year and I am so honored that I get to be there serving her on that day.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I went full-time with photography in mid-2018, and by mid-2019 the majority of my business was birth photography. This is something I truly loved capturing and for that season felt led to focus on. In 2020, when covid came into the picture and hospitals began limiting who could be in attendance for births, I had to reevaluate my entire business. Thankfully at that time I had already felt a pull towards senior photography, and I felt a great deal of compassion to those kids who were robbed of all the big, final moments of their school years.

So many photographers struggled through 2020, especially those who specialize in weddings – but I felt a great deal of growth in my business during that time. It seemed like people were woken up to how short life can be, and how important it is to capture time with your loved ones. I shot more family sessions in the fall of 2020 than I have any other time in my career.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Organization is not my thing – so if I could have known earlier on about all the options there are out there for small business owners, and photographers especially…. that would have helped me so very much! Currently I use a program for booking my clients that organizes their contracts, payments, as well as my calendar. Anything to keep me on track!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.stefaniemcguffeyphoto.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/stefaniemcguffeyphoto
• Facebook: facebook.com/stefaniemcguffeyphoto