Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Hindi.
Hi Stephanie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Gosh where to start, I’ve always loved photography, and when I was a kid I had a pink Polaroid camera I brought everywhere, taking photos of everyone and everything. As I got older, I traded my Polaroid camera in for disposable cameras. My poor Mom would pick up a disposable camera from Walmart almost every week for me when I was in middle school, it was just always on her grocery list: milk, bread, cereal, Stephs disposable camera. In high school, I took a film photography class and it was my comfort space. I would go to the darkroom just to hang out during my lunch breaks. I never considered photography to even be an option as a career so when I graduated I never really found a passion for anything.
Fast forward five years, I met my future husband, and we had two beautiful babies. I was constantly setting up “photoshoots” of my kids using my cell phone… and they were terrible. I so badly wanted to have beautiful images of my babies and I complained… a lot. For my 27th birthday my husband bought me my first DSLR camera. Little did he know that such a kind gesture would turn into my future. I enrolled in a Photography course that summer and did my best to balance kids, school, laundry and homework. It was overwhelming and exhausting but I’m so proud of myself and of my family for working together so I could graduate with a degree in Photography. I feel confident behind my camera and I love my job! Today, I have found my passion, and I get to create beautiful art for my clients!
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?
This Photography journey has been a doozy. I enrolled in school with two preschoolers at home and 1 year into my photography program I found out I was pregnant with baby number 3. I left my fall semester nine months pregnant and came back for Spring semester with a baby girl in tow. She actually came to most of my classes with me at 1 point or another; I cant express how grateful I am to my instructors for allowing me to bring a newborn to class, I don’t think I would have been able to finish school without their patience and understanding. Feeling supported during an extremely challenging time meant everything to me. Since graduating in 2019, I had our 4th and final kiddo and grew my business. Balancing photography and my kids is a daily struggle. Feeling like I’m not doing enough with my children or I’m spending to much time on my computer, crosses my mind constantly. At first I was charging basically nothing or working for free for my sessions, so all my time was being taken away from my kids. I got some great advice from my mentor who told me that I have to know my worth and value my time. If I feel over worked and that photography is consuming my life negatively, charge more, my time is valuable! I try to remind myself that my kids are watching me work at something I love and while some days are harder then others I know they are proud of what I’ve accomplished. I’m a Mom first and understanding how to my balance my time has been the greatest lesson I’ve learned.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a Fine Art Children’s and Maternity Photographer. I love planning my sessions, listening to my clients ideas and creating something magical. I love whimsey and creativity in my images, if I can get away with adding a fairy, butterfly, rainbow, little critter, etc. I’m going to add it! I could easily spend 6 hours editing 1 image and be perfectly happy. Touching every piece of an image to make it “unbelievable” is my goal. I LOVE every session I’ve done and a cherish every one of my clients!
How do you think about happiness?
What makes me happy is I finally found my people, my photography community is filled with friends and family and I’m so grateful for them. I’m happy that I have beautiful images of my babies! Photos that I’ve taken of them, photos that my photographer friends have taken of them, I have so many beautiful moments of my children forever, and its so special to me!
I also love seeing my hard work start to circulate on social media. Delivering sessions and then seeing my clients profile and cover photos change to one of my images is a great feeling. Knowing that my clients love their photos just as much as I do is a huge compliment.
I think every artist feels happiness when they’ve finished a piece of art; spending hours thinking and planning and touching every pixel of a photo. Stepping back and seeing what I’ve created always makes me excited to share my art with the world!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hindirosephotography.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hindirosephotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hindirosephotography/
