Today we’d like to introduce you to Imani Waterfield Payne.
Hi Imani, 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 grew up in a house that took portraits seriously. My parents taught me early that a family photo isn’t just a picture. It’s a record of who we were and who we loved at a moment we’ll never get back. That lesson stayed with me, and I’ve carried a camera for most of my life.
Professionally, I spent more than 12 years in People Operations and HR leadership. At its heart, that work was about listening to people’s stories and helping them feel seen and supported. The whole time, I was also photographing the people I love most. Looking back, those were never two separate paths. Both were about making people feel seen.
In 2025, I left corporate to bet on myself. A close friend had been encouraging me to pursue my art for years, and it finally felt like the right time to go all in. I haven’t looked back. Today I run Imani Waterfield Photography here in Austin, where I bring both halves of my experience together: an eye I’ve been developing since childhood, and a decade of knowing how to put people at ease.
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 don’t think any honest entrepreneur would say the road has been smooth the whole way, and mine hasn’t been either.
The first challenge was finding the confidence to walk away from the stability of a corporate career. Doing that while raising young children was scary, to say the least. But my kids get to watch me pursue my passion, hone my craft, and see firsthand what it takes to build a business you’re proud of. Some mornings they wake up to find me editing at my desk at 5 AM, and they know I’m still working long after they’ve gone to sleep.
The other challenge is financial. Photography is expensive, and doing your best work takes real investment. It’s not just the camera and lenses. It’s the software, memory cards, lights, stands, studio time, and travel expenses (I have clients across the country). Every piece of gear I own and every trip I’ve made to photograph clients out of state, is a bet I made on this business, and on the clients who trust me with their portraits.
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?
My photography is honest, intimate, and authentic. My best work is almost always the in-between moments: the shot between the shot. I think that comes from my years in HR. I know how to put people at ease, and when people relax, the real moments show up.
Alongside my editorial portraits, I offer in-home and on-location sessions. I also love the pace of high-volume work, so the long days of school portraits and corporate headshots are some of my favorites.
What I’m most proud of is building a business around the things I love. I’m lucky to have clients who book me across the country, so my work and my love of travel get to live in the same place. Every session is a chance to build a relationship with someone new, and I’m proud that those relationships now stretch across the country, and hopefully soon, across the world.
When I’m not photographing people, I’m on the trail photographing birds. I’m an avid birder, and I love the stillness of waiting for the perfect shot.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I’m really curious to see how photography changes with the rise of AI.
We’re entering a world where it’s increasingly hard to tell what’s real and what’s fake, and where you can ask a computer to make your image look like anything. My hope is that people never forget the value of art, and that we hold on to the value of capturing a moment exactly as it is.
That’s what a real photograph gives you: proof that you were there, that your kids were once that small, that you laughed like that. No prompt can recreate a moment that actually happened, and I think that will make honest photography more valuable, not less.
Pricing:
- School photos
- Headshots
- Family Photos
- Graduation photos
- Boudoir
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.ImaniWaterfield.com
- Instagram: @imaniwaterfield
