Today we’d like to introduce you to Morgan Sessions.
Hi Morgan, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always had a camera around me. Growing up, it was my dad’s; he filmed everything my sisters and I did. Every annual summer road trip to the mountains, we were each given our own roll of film to shoot and develop. And when I started high school, my dad bought me my first “real” DSLR camera of my own for Christmas. It was a Nikon D3100 (which still rolls off my tongue even though I’ve been shooting Canon for years now) with a 50mm lens that only manually focused—so almost every image I took with it was just barely fuzzy.
I started college as an Education major. I might’ve considered Photography, but at the time, I didn’t have anyone in my life telling me that it would be okay to pursue a creative career like photography. Being a teacher felt like the right and safe choice for me. A few years into the Education program, and I was miserable. My partner at the time simply told me, “If you don’t want to teach, you don’t have to.” He encouraged me to pursue being absolutely excellent in my craft as a photographer. It was the best decision I ever made.
Four years later, I moved to Austin, Texas and made the jump to Photography full time. I’ve been lucky enough to build a career doing what I love, spending my days refining my business, meeting and working with beautiful clients, and building relationships with other talented people in the wedding industry ever since!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think most creatives can agree and relate: It’s a bit of a rough ride while you work out all of the kinks in your business before you can really settle into something you feel confident and proud of. It can be a long process to build a brand that represents you well.
In the very beginning, I struggled with knowing that I wanted, so badly, to make this a successful and fulfilling business, but I had no idea how to navigate my way there. The path was long in front of me and I needed help to get there. And unfortunately, before moving to Austin, I lived in Southeast Texas, and at the time, the creative community was small, and what was there felt competitive.
When I moved to Austin in 2017, I found a great creative community but then struggled with building my clientele from the ground up. Luckily, connecting to other vendors in the industry was an amazing experience. I am so grateful I get to be around people who are great at their craft and willing to share resources and knowledge. They were the reason I was able to navigate growing my business in a place where I had no connections.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I specialize in capturing love—between two people and the love we hold for ourselves. It started with weddings and couples, but I’m now building out a larger boudoir portfolio as well. I love all three types of shoots for different reasons, but the thing that unites all of my work is capturing love in its most authentic and organic form. I think that’s what sets me apart. My photos capture the small important moments between a couple, the real laughter at 6 a.m. elopement; or the natural beauty of a person in their most empowering, authentic form.
My friends and clients would also be the first to say my energy sets me apart as a Photographer. I am the biggest hype girl to have around at any time of day and setting. Life is meant to be celebrated, and I definitely show up with the laughs and smiles to do so.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I am the middle of three girls, and all three of us participated in competitive sports—namely gymnastics—through school. The rivalry between us was real, which gave me my hustle and competitive spirit I have today. I loved being outdoors and challenging myself physically. I especially enjoyed being my dad’s right-hand (wo)man, helping him build fences, mowing the yard, or going on hiking trips annually to Colorado (which we still keep up).
My comfort zone, from a very early age, was and is always when connecting to people. We were fortunate enough to travel a good bit and on every leg of our trips, I would make good friends who I’d traded mailing addresses with to keep up as pen pals. If you happened to be sitting next to me on a flight, it’s possible that we would be laughing or crying together before the end of it. I love people and I love relationships. As a girl, I was outgoing and loud and got excited being productive and being around people. As an adult, I am still all of those things, and it’s helped me build lasting connections with my clients and is a big part of my brand as an artist today.
Contact Info:
- Email: morgansessionsphotography@gmail.com
- Website: www.morgansessions.com
- Instagram: @m_sessions; @m_sessions_boudoir
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morgansessionsphotography
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/morgan-sessions-photography-austin?osq=morgan+sessions+photography
