We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tina Parmelee. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tina below.

Hi Tina , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the story of how you went from this being just an idea to making it into something real.

I have always loved taking photos, that love was nurtured in high school in the many photography classes that I took. Now I am going to date myself… because in high school we used actual film and learned how to process a roll and take it to a print. I loved the dark room and learning how to take a picture from film, develop it, using dodge and burn manually and the other processes, and then seeing the finished print. It was so fun. But then as I went to college and started a family, my love for photography was put on the back burner. But as my kids grew, and photography went digital I jumped in again, taking pictures of my kids. Then buying my first Nikon “professional digital camera” and taking pictures of everything.

I started with offering free photos while I learned how to use my camera. People got free pictures, and I got to practice my skill. As I got better I started charging, but was still mostly just a hobbyist. I tried my hand at all the photography focuses. babies, families, sports, engagements, weddings, high school seniors, headshots, and lifestyle. After a couple of weddings, I knew that genre wasn’t for me. It stressed me out, I wasn’t enjoying myself, and I just didn’t like it, so I phased that out of what I would take pictures of. I then focused on families, babies, seniors, and sports. For years and years I did this, increasing my prices as I got better.

With shooting everyone and everything, I started learning that I really LOVED high school seniors. The were excited to be there, they would come up with creative ideas, and would do anything (within reason) to get an amazing shot. I loved being able to show them what I saw through the lens and how amazing they looked, and to be able to showcase the person they are by adding their personality in there with taking pictures of them doing what they love. I learned that senior photography was my passion and my art

I also learned that families were not my favorite, because they generally were not happy to be there. Most dad’s are not fans of getting their pictures taken and are there to avoid a fight with their wives. Most moms had just spent the last couple of hours yelling at everyone to get ready, to not mess up their outfits or hair, and they better be good and smile. Kids were sad because mom just yelled at them and an argument was happening between mom and dad on the way there about why they had to get pictures done. I would try to get kids to smile and mom to let me take charge and be the boss, cause I’m a little more fun (and brought candy), but that didn’t happen often. Family pictures to me were exhausting. I still loved being able to capture “happy” family pictures but my joy was in seniors.

After a couple of years of realizing that, I decided to jump in with both feet, to focusing on high school seniors, and that has filled my soul with smiles and made my heart happy! For the most part, they love being there, and if the don’t, by the end of the session they have at least enjoyed it a little bit and are glad they have gotten their pictures done. When I decided to make this the focus of my business I started searching for anything I could that related to the senior picture industry. I found that there are many companies that publish senior magazines, there are workshops, and tutorials, and conferences, all focused on high school senior photography. So many things, and that’s when my business changed. I went from a hobbyist photographer to a serious photographer. I invested in my business with classes, online videos, getting a mentor and really elevating my talent and business. I learned that running a business is not easy and is very time consuming. But it’s worth it to be able to capture photographic art with my high school senior clients, and do what I love!

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.

Hello, Welcome to me….

I am a high school senior portrait artist and I love to take pictures of High School Seniors and capturing their moments in time that can never be replaced. My clients and family have looked forward to their senior year starting in Kindergarten! And then in a blink of an eye, it’s here. And everyone is wishing they were back in kindergarten. So my job is to capture their true selves. Who they are, what the love, the things that made them, them. The growth that happened from kindergarten to their senior year.

I love to have their personalities shine through and I encourage them to bring the things that make them them, so we can get the closing of their high school year saved forever. I like to showcase their talents or the things they love, so often times our sessions are filled with their sports, or love of reading, cars or gaming, whatever makes them them is what we capture. We get personal with their pictures so they don’t just look like everyone else’s.

Not only do I provide portraits, but I walk families through the whole process, because not everyone has had a senior and done senior pictures before, and it can be a little overwhelming. We talk about deadlines, I remind them about the deadlines. I help them figure out what pictures and products would look best in their home. I remind them when to order all the things they need for graduation (in regards to pictures) and provide them with products for their senior parties. It really is an all year thing!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

So my husband is an accountant and a non-creative. He thought that I was crazy for stepping into photography full time. He would say no one is going to pay that much for senior pictures. But I studied and learned that there are ideal people who value great portraits, just like I do and would pay good money to have great portrait art to hang in their home. I learned from my mentor that there are ideal clients and not ideal clients and that everyone values things differently. I just needed to find the people that valued portrait art and make them my clients. I have done that, and I really love when people love my work! They get it!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a portrait artist is seeing the people faces and reactions when they get their products and get to see how beautiful their images are. How beautiful they are! And with it being focused on senior photography, the emotion that comes with seeing their “baby” all grown up and captured forever, brings on a lot of emotions and tears. The best compliment that I can receive is when they say, “oh you have captured my senior and their personality perfectly, that smile is so them!” This truly tells me I am doing exactly what I should be doing, and it makes my soul smile.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tparmeleephotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tparmeleephotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tparmeleephotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-parmelee-18477b148/

Image Credits
they are all mine T. Parmelee Photography