We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Annika Burns. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Annika below.
Annika, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
I love challenging myself and I appreciate the clients that will shoot something a little out of their comfort level to come up with that perfect photo. Whether it may be getting a little wet by the ocean or rubbing sand on their face for a beachy vibe (their idea, still one of my favorite photos I’ve taken). I look at other photographers work as well and save my favorite photos of theirs for inspiration.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’ve had the love of photography since I was a teenager. I would use so many throwaway cameras, the cost of them to be developed accumulated. I began my photography career while working at a matchmaking service in LA. My coworkers and I would look at the blurry photos, photos with sunglasses, photos of the client from 10 years ago and photos with the clients exs. We would ask ourselves, how can we match a client with a potential match with these photos? I saw a niche market there and began reaching out to other matchmaking companies offering my photography to their clients. Since then, I have branched out to shooting family and lifestyle photography as well. Throughout the years I’ve learned the art of photography through photographers I’ve shot with as well as classes and true life experience. I love the creativity it entails as well as the long lasting relationships I have with my clients.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Perseverance- Being a photographer is an entrepreneurship, you have to just keep going. Everyone will have their highs and lows in their career. All that matters is that you make your best effort and keep learning from others to make yourself better. Never be afraid to reach out to someone else in your industry, my retoucher (also a photographer) has become a close friend and my go to about how I can improve shoots.
Creativity- Thinking outside of the box for photoshoots is a lot of fun. The laughter I get out of my clients being silly for a great photo is the best reward.
Resilience-The reality is we will not get every job we will apply for. A no seems negative but a better opportunity may be coming. My mantra is everything happens for a reason. I have been disappointed numerous times and then have been surprised by a better offer!
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I would love to collaborate with everyone! Please feel free to connect with me: FB: Annika Alexandra Photography
Website: www.annikaalexandraphotography.com
Email: [email protected]
Contact Info:
- Website: www.annikaalexandraphotography.com
- Instagram: Annika Alexandra Photo
- Facebook: Annika Alexandra Photography
Image Credits
They are all images by me and the clients have approved their images to be in the article.
