We recently connected with Stacie Huckeba and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Stacie, so happy you were able to devote some time to sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our community. So, we’ve always admired how you have seemingly never let nay-sayers or haters keep you down. Can you talk to us about how to persist despite the negative energy that so often is thrown at folks trying to do something special with their lives?
Hahaha! I love this question because there was a time when that kind of stuff really got under my skin. These days, I not only persist, but strive to bigger success just to spite them and inspire others to do the same.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’m what some people would consider a “celebrity” photographer, but regardless of my higher profile clients, I love working with everyone. There’s nothing like being able to show someone the light they radiate into the world.
Right now seems like a very electric time for me career wise. I’ve basically spent the the last three years working with Dolly Parton on her album covers, perfume campaign, her wardrobe archive and finally culminating in acting as The Director of Photography on her new book “Behind the Seams, My Life in Rhinestones” that will be on shelves in October.
That was a dream come true but now that the contract is complete, I’m back freelancing and working with people from all walks of life and its so fun to reconnect like that. I’ve also just opened my first photography studio, The Glitter Bomb which I am also using as an event space, selfie studio and for other photographers & videographers to utilize. It’s been really inspiring to see all the creative ways people are using the space.
I am also working on another art book with a colleague of mine, Laura Amaral. We secured a grant through the Nashville Arts Commission to help produce the book. It’s a cultural and historical look at our neighborhood here in Nashville, called Madison and focuses on small business owners, artists, characters, local leaders and the like that make up this special little spot. I’m a bit of a history nerd so the historical implications of something like this makes me wildly happy.
And I am also starting the laborious process of going back through my own archive to digitize my still photos and negatives from back in the 90’s and also going through all my hard drives to create a database that will hopefully become my own book; a 40 year career retrospective. And I suspect as I cull through it, I may have an art book in there as well.
There’s a lot happening and I am loving every part of it.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I also think I’ve grown as an artist in ways I never imagined. I spent a long time in dark rooms taking photos of clothes (gorgeous clothes, amazing and historically significant clothes) but coming out of that to the vast array of clients that were on the other side of that has renewed my love of what I do and has reminded me why I do it. It is the people, it has always been the people. Making someone feel beautiful or powerful or collaborating to pull off a concept is one of greatest thrills. It feels more like a service and less like a job and I am in love with it all over again. And I find that I am using so many of the “commercial photography” tricks I used on the archive and book on live people and it’s creating some of my strongest work, in my humble opinion.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
My biggest area of growth and improvement in the past 12 months have been learning to trust myself and my instincts. Some people thought I was crazy to come off of a lucrative contract and step back into the hustle by taking on the financial liability of the studio. But it was also one of the only times in my life that I had the capitol to take something on like that. So far, it has proven to be one of the best decisions ever. I have it for my gear, backdrops and for my own photoshoots, but it has also become a community based space where all kinds of creatives are utilizing it for all kinds of things and through outside rentals, it has become a nice little side hustle business on its own.
I also think I’ve grown as an artist in ways I never imagined. I spent a long time in dark rooms taking photos of clothes (gorgeous clothes, amazing and historically significant clothes) bur coming out of that to the vast array of clients that were on the other side of that has renewed my love of what I do and has reminded me why I do it. It is the people, it has always been the people. Making someone feel beautiful or powerful or collaborating to pull off a concept is one of greatest thrills. It feels more like a service and less like a job and I am in love with it all over again. And I find that I am using so many of the “commercial photography” tricks I used on the archive and book on live people and its creating some of my strongest work, in my humble opinion.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.staciehuckeba.com
- Instagram: @eastsidestacie
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eastsidestacie
- Linkedin: StacieHuckeba
Image Credits
Madison Thorn
