Rising Stars: Meet Amberlee Martin of Elgin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amberlee Martin.

Hi Amberlee, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I could try to be brief, but my story into photography is fairly long, but also fast as so much happened in such a short span of time. I’ve loved photography and aesthetic styles and looks since I was a kid. Design, poses, colors and scenery have always caught my eye. I’ve always had a bit more attention to detail than most of my peers. It truly started in 8th grade when I joined my Junior High Journalism class and became the photographer. I was also very socially awkward -and largely still am- and I found the camera as a very useful tool to come out of my shell and become more comfortable with people. Since then, I mostly just dabbled in photography with posing my friends and even myself in front of the camera, then eventually my kids and family. I’ve studied other photographers and done a little bit of online schooling. I’ve been personally invited to events, within my first two months of professionally photographing, I was published four times in three different magazines which felt like such an amazing accomplishment that I felt like I could do anything. But I’m getting ahead of myself. In January of 2021, my husband got me my very own first-ever professional DSLR camera for my birthday and I officially started my business. He has been the first person to ever truly see my goals and ambitions and actually push me toward them – and we have realized this goal together. It started small with local shoots and I have since grown with business plans and better marketing strategies.

This became my goal as of my exit from my time in the military. I was one of the first women to join the Infantry when they first started allowing women to join. I had planned to make a career out of it until I became injured. Upon my retirement from the army, my husband and I knew I needed to find something I could manage without disrupting my disabilities too much but that kept me happy and active enough to maintain my lifestyle. I had borrowed my sister’s camera for a while to take photos of my three kids which my husband had gotten me some items for Christmas for my own garage studio as well which is how I ultimately led to the idea of starting a business.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The words “self-made” come to mind a lot for me. This is because I’ve done almost everything, through the advice and support of my friends and family of course, by myself. I have learned editing, I have learned operating different systems, business practices, HTML designs, I am making my own ad campaigns, I am doing a lot of different things that I didn’t realize really went into this and not to mention the amount of time that it takes to not only learn it all but to actually do it all. Running a business takes a strong amount of will that you are not necessarily warned about and it can consume you, especially if you’re as passionate about it as I am with my business. The thing is though, I still have a lot of goals for myself on what I’d like to accomplish for myself, my family and others, so every day, I am still learning and accomplishing more and more. Along with that, I feel like every new business comes with its own set of challenges and trials. My set have come with many obstacles but a struggle for me personally has been the challenge of overcoming my own self-doubt and wanting to already be at the point where I see so many other successful photographers. It’s like I want to skip the steps and just be this perfect professional photographer and obviously that’s not how this works but for whatever reason that’s what my mind would like to happen.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I find myself constantly trying to find new things that I haven’t seen already being done, on top of affordability in my photography. I feel like what sets me apart is that I am always there for my clients. I offer sneak peaks within 1-2 days, I check in with them and am constantly working with my clients. I don’t want my clients to not be able to have amazing photos and I understand how exciting it can be waiting on them and wanting them to be perfect.

What were you like growing up?
I grew up on the rougher side of life so I didn’t have a lot. I wasn’t familiar with family photos and we don’t have a lot of family photo memories. I really only have one photo of me and my mom. I’ve realized as a photographer that I don’t really want to be in it for the money. I really want to be here for the people and families like I was as a kid that can’t afford nice photos so that they too can have lasting memories which is why I offer highly competitive rates. I want these families to have photos to look back on as they grow older.

Adventurous, hard-headed, always ready to take on a challenge and generally willing to take on obstacles I had no business taking on. I regularly found myself in debates with teachers (all in good fun but sometimes they found themselves rather heated) and was often told I should become a defense attorney. I enjoyed standing up for people regularly, especially the “little guy”. I’ve always found my voice as a tool and one that not enough people use to their advantage and are taught all too often to stay silent on for fear of backlash. You could say I have always wanted to be there for people in one way or another. In my early 20’s I joined the Cajun Navy and started volunteering as a “boots on the ground” volunteer to help with search and rescue missions after Hurricane Harvey and other major disaster hurricanes, all the while taking photos. I did radio dispatch for Hurricane Harvey as well and transported goods. Shortly after that is when I joined the US Army and became one of the first females to join the Infantry on Sand Hill at Fort Benning, Georgia where I earned my Cross Rifles for completing the Infantry training course. Eventually, I was injured in my time in the army and was medically retired and honorably discharged in September 2020 which is what led to my decision to pursue photography.

Contact Info:

• Email: shutterlunephotography@gmail.com
• Website: shutterlunephotography.com

Image Credits
Shutter Lune Photography Taylored Eye Photography Gracie Ortiz Photography