We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Whitney Minten a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Whitney , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
I spent many years in school pursuing an engineering degree. I received degrees in Computer Science and Robotics Engineering, and worked many years in these fields. During this time, I worked writing software at an optical spectrometer company. There, I became fascinated with the physics of light, and it changed the way I perceived the world. Later, after I had children, I picked up a camera to document their lives. While studying and working in the field of engineering, I’d always felt something was missing. Now, nothing felt more right than holding that little piece of technology in my hands, and I found a new outlet for the persistent drive I’d always felt to create art, as well. I combined all my loves in this world: technology, light, art, and of course, my family.
Leaving my career for photography has been one of the biggest risks I have taken in my life. I spent 10 years in higher education and walking away from that felt daunting. Having now photographed for a while, I realize I still use those skills every day. I know that I see and think about light differently than most photographers, and I feel like it has helped me accelerate my work to higher levels. I still consider myself new to the photography world, and I am always learning. I don’t think I will ever stop. Finding my passion has given me an inner happiness that is indescribable.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a portrait photographer out of Madison, WI. As advertised to the public, I specialize in Fine Art and Senior Photography, but behind the scenes, I do everything. As I have mentioned before, I have a constant desire to always be creating and trying something new. I think what sets me apart from other photographers is my background with, interest in, and understanding of what’s going on “under the hood”. Prior to becoming a photographer, I was involved in several robotics, spectrometer and camera companies where I was writing code and physically building cameras. Knowing the intricacies of how a camera functions and is built, and understanding light at the photon (or is it a wave?) level has allowed me to bring to bear a diverse technical background that gives a unique depth to my work.
I share this knowledge via video tutorials and in-person training. I’ve developed a series of videos explaining the science of photography, which notably differs from the normal tack of a typical instructional video. Over the years, I kept getting feedback to the effect of, “I wasn’t sure whether x was going to be relevant or interesting, but I’d just never had it explained in a way that I fully understood, and now that I do I’m a much better photographer for it.” As a result, now, even attendees of “typical” trainings I give (say for PPA or WPPA) are likely to find themselves in the midstof red, green, and blue pop-poms being hurled into buckets as we delve into a discussion of noise, gain and ISO.
I’m proud of the body of work I have created in such a short period in the field. I’ve won several prestigious awards for my work. And although awards and accolades don’t define my work, they have definitely helped give me a confidence to put myself out there, to know that my art has value, and to be confident that others recognize that value.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
If you look at my work, I’m admittedly all over the place. It’s because I’m hungry to try everything. If I’m creating the same thing I did last week, I get bored. I want to do it all. I never have the same lighting setup. I’m always moving lights around, trying new techniques, even new genres. Many photographers seem to settle into their style and stick with it. And that’s potentially great for them; they probably make way more money than I do. (Not that I’m not working and hoping to get there…) But, for right now, I am not interested in niching down. I want to explore everything that’s out there. At least for the current step on my creative journey, my aim is to be creative, try it all, and create as much art as I can while I am on this planet.
If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?
I have this constant restlessness. No doubt, some of it can be attributed to ADHD, but I also have this desire to constantly be creating. Sometimes, taking clients can be a blast, but too much of the same work gets monotonous, and I wouldn’t enjoy taking clients full time. I needed to find line of work that both served as a creative outlet, and could generate a consistent base revenue stream. Along the line, I discovered that I really loved designing digital backgrounds. I’ve recently joined with Baby Dream Backdrops / Fine Art Dream Drops, and have been designing backdrops that can be found there. And I truly do love designing backdrops–almost as much as I love photography. It’s been rewarding. I also have a third side hustle creating digital assets for photographers. My close friend, Tiffany Gurholt, and I created a company called WTF: Whitney and Tiffany Fotografy. We create Photoshop Actions, presets, digital backdrops, and overlays–assets other photographers can use in their images. It’s been great, and Tiffany and I complement each other well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.whitneymintenphotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whitneymintenphotography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whitneymintenphotography
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitneymintenphotography/
- Twitter: https://www.threads.net/@whitneymintenphotography
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@wtfotografy/
- Other: Threads: https://www.threads.net/@whitneymintenphotography
Image Credits
N/A