We recently connected with Stephanie Newman and have shared our conversation below.

Stephanie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later?

Before I turned my love of photography into a business I was (and still am) a stay at home mom and home educator to my 3 boys. When they were little I would document all the little things that they experienced as they grew. After helping a couple of photographer friends 2nd shoot weddings, I fell in love with helping other people capture these precious moments in their lives. Had I started my business when my kids were much younger, I may have had a better handle on the time commitment and all the little things that come with running a business, like setting boundaries, and figuring out a work schedule that works best for me and my family, while homeschooling my kids and being a mom. Looking back now, I don’t know if I would change when I started my business. Sure it would have made my life a little easier because I would have had those boundaries in place before my business really took off, but I think I was meant to start my business when I did. I have a bit more flexibility with my schedule now that my kids are older and self sufficient.

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 portrait photographer who specializes in seniors and families based out of the Twin Cities. When a client reaches out and chooses to work with me I want them to have the best experience they possibly can. I want them to have fun and connect with them during their photo session. Whether they’ve booked me for a family session to update their frames on their walls, to send out Christmas photo cards, or to document their final year in high school/college. I want them to enjoy every minute of it, and also to love the images that I was able to capture for them to share and look at in the years to come. I created a questionnaire that I send out for each client that is interested in working with me to get to know them prior to meeting up for their session. This is a wonderful tool, especially with families who have younger kids. I can then relate to them by talking about their favorite things. I want to walk into a session feeling like we know each other and walk away feeling like we could continue a friendship after the hour or two we’ve spent with each other.

I also created a client guide for both my seniors and family clients. This helps them prepare for their upcoming session. It covers what to expect before, during and after their session, location ideas, and what to wear. I think the best part of my client guide is how to access their image gallery after I’m done editing, and how to download, share and order prints straight from my gallery provider.

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

It sounds super cliche to say this, but my main goal is to freeze these moments in beautiful photos for my clients to love and cherish for years to come. I’ve always loved looking through photo albums of my family and seeing what life was like for them 5,10,20+ years ago. I want that for my clients, to be able to share these moments in their lives with their family.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

As you can imagine, starting out as an entrepreneur in any capacity isn’t easy. I started my business with $400 from helping shoot two weddings and an entry-level camera. I watched a TON of You-Tube videos on how to use my camera, joined Facebook photography groups, some helpful and some not so much. With a lot of practice (using my kids as models), joining better photography groups and education from top photographers, and failing several times, I feel like I finally am good at my craft. There have been times I really wanted to give up. I felt like a failure a lot of the time in the beginning and honestly up until recently. It wasn’t until someone, who I deeply admire not only as a fellow photographer, but also as a wonderful human being and friend, told me, “You are a wonderful senior photographer”. She gave me the encouragement that I needed to, in the words of Dory, “Just keep swimming”. And that is what I’m doing. I also have a huge supports system of my husband, my kids and several friends and family who encourage me to keep doing what I’m doing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://stephanienewmanphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephanienewmanphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephanienewmanphotography

Image Credits
Stephanie Newman Photography