Today we’d like to introduce you to Xijing Gloria Liu.
Hi Xijing, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up in China, then moved to Australia when I was 17. I lived mostly in the coastal city Brisbane. I went to high school and then university there, and then got my Master degree in Chemical Engineering. I also met my husband during my time in the university. We moved to the US in 2015, as my husband took a job offer with Samsung Austin Semiconductor in Austin. Now I’m a stay-home mom of two girls (6 and 9) living in the US.
In October 2020, I picked up our old DSLR that my husband bought long time ago but doesn’t bother to touch anymore, started documenting our family time at home using that camera. In just a little over a year, I pressed my shutter over 30,000 times. I guess my engineering side of mind has led me to dig deeper into the photography world. From trying to get my subject in focus, to get the right exposure, till now light and shadow become my second instinct.
I began to shoot family photography sessions for my neighbors and friends for free during this period. I received many positive feedbacks and many thoughtful gift cards for my work. Then in 2022, I formally launched my photography business. But I haven’t stopped exploring my own photography styles. I kept asking myself what is the one thing that made me so passionate about my photography. After more than 20 photography books, from travel photography, food photography to portrait photography. And after many photography jobs with various settings and age groups, I finally found my answer. I think I am most fascinated by people’s life stories, and my photography calling is to tell people’s stories.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
After being a stay-at-home mom for the past 10 years. I have always wanted to get back out there. Leaving Australia, leaving all my social networks behind, moving to America, and starting over was definitely not an easy thing to do. As much as I enjoyed having a supportive group of close friends and neighbors, I do miss having a social network that is based on professional relationships. I am not an extrovert or good at self-promoting. As I decided to turn this pandemic hobby into a business, it often requires me to get out of my comfort zone when it comes to contacting potential clients or asking for favors.
Another challenge I had was, without any art or software background, learning photo editing has not been a smooth journey. Even when I finally learned how to use the photo editing software, I often still don’t know how my photos should look like for my clients. I then started taking art classes, getting art books to better understand how color works. I took over hundreds of hours of online classes, to watch how other photographers edit their photos; till today, I’m still learning!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Currently, my main focus of work is family photography, that includes newborns, maternity, or any kind of family-related photos.
My sessions are laid back and truly focus on capturing the family bond. I want my clients to remember how they felt about each other in this time of their life, so my sessions always focused on doing things that allow for these feelings to show. I often ask my clients to play, to hug, to joke, to chase, to tickle, and to laugh. And as their love for each other play across their faces, I’m there to capture the magic. I aim to capture the emotion, the connection, and all the small details that clients never want to forget.
Other than family photography, I have done brand photography for local pre-schools, and I have my first wedding photography session coming up this weekend which I am very excited about.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I have very fond memory of traveling with my parents all over China during school breaks when I was little. And they sent me over to Australia alone at very young age. So, I guess I grew to be a very independent person. I enjoyed all the trips and appreciated all the journeys along the way. I also loved problem-solving as a kid, which is probably why I chose engineering for study. It was also because of the drive to solve problem and my independence I became passionate about photography, not only the technical stuff but also how to cope with different clients, locations, lightings, and social settings.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.littlememoriesaustin.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/little_memories_austin/
