We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stephanie Neiheisel. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stephanie below.
Stephanie, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I truly think it’s ingrained in me to work hard. I blame my Capricorn placements. I wasn’t necessarily a great student but when I graduated early and entered the workforce, something about working toward something felt different. Even when I had jobs I didn’t love, I was known as a hard worker. It’s less about having high expectations and more about showing up and doing what you signed up to do. There have been times in my life when I’ve had multiple jobs simply trying to pay for school and the bills that come along with being a young adult but also trying lots of things to find my passion.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah but have primarily built my name and business in Phoenix, AZ. While I’m a mountain girl through and through I have found a great love for the desert and the creative local community in Arizona. 20 years ago if you had told me I would be a successful photographer and agency owner today I would have been elated! But that’s not how my story went and getting to where I am now didn’t come without a lot of trial and error and a rollercoaster of just getting through your 20’s. Photography found me the summer after Junior High before going into High School when I went to Seattle, WA with my then-best friend. Her father lived there and was a documentary-style photographer (among other things) and he had a great photography studio in his home. We dressed up and he shot some gorgeous black and white editorial-looking imagery of us. It was the first time I realized I loved being in a studio and I loved the idea of capturing imagery.
After that, I signed up for Photography courses all three years of high school and I proceeded to take a class during one semester of college. My first serious relationship out of high school and my first few years of college was with a guy who was also passionate about photo and video and we would often make “movies” and go on adventures to take photos.
But all while this was taking place, I was struggling as a young girl with bad skin. The skincare and makeup world had me in a chokehold. The next thing I knew I was obsessed with one thing and one thing only- having good skin. And the girls at MAC were SO COOL. I had a new mission- become that girl. I had a few years working at a natural makeup line and then made my way to the dark side. I had finally achieved clear skin and now I was wearing all black, colorful makeup, and little did I know my identity for the next 11 years was in motion. After being a makeup artist for two years in SLC, I moved to Phoenix in 2011 and continued to pursue that career. While I scored two full-time gigs upon my move, after 6 months of being in AZ I quit one of the jobs and went full freelance. I did this for years and still found ways to use my love for photos by capturing my makeup looks as well as the looks I would create on models. I crossed paths with another makeup artist and we joined forces to start an agency of artists here in PHX. We did this for 6 years together and through the entire experience I always felt like I wasn’t in my passion. I wasn’t in my highest form. Year after year that feeling and sadness got deeper and stronger.
In 2017 I started picking up a camera every day learning everything I could on top of being a freelance MUA and agency owner. I was young and single, and I had nothing but selfish time. I shot photos for a skincare and makeup company for two years under the radar and in 2019 I started taking clients outside of the state creating online makeup looks for them and shooting beauty and product photography. That was the year I started slowly putting it out in the world that I was doing photography. I felt like I needed to earn my keep in the industry.
In the Fall of 2019, it was no secret I was transitioning to the world of photos. I put out a statement that I would no longer be a makeup artist and would fulfill my current commitments but would no longer be taking on clients. In January of 2020, I found out I was pregnant and then the world shut down. It was the perfect time for me to go full-force into photography. Since 2020 I have built a strong agency that offers photography, videography, production, retouching, and all sorts of miscellaneous services that help our clients take their visuals to the next level for their marketing.
My most important role of all is Mom. My daughter is everything to me and I’ve been so fortunate to find my passion, continuously grow it, and be with her.
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?
Working retail (specifically at Nordstrom) brought me out of my shell. I was very shy most of my life and had very low self-esteem and when you are in those environments offering customer service AND hitting sales goals, you can’t bring those qualities to work. I think I did a great job of being self-aware to understand that this job was helping me break through those mindsets versus burying them and “faking them.” I truly was able to see just how shy and unconfident I was and I asked myself, “WHY?” I knew why. But man that job required me to work through that. And I’m grateful for that. My first boyfriend’s family was such a great influence on me and they believed in me. I hadn’t had that kind of support from people in my life and they truly made me feel like I was capable of achieving anything. And at a young age, its wild how important that is. I know there are so many aspects of who I am today because of them.
As far as qualities go, I’m truly not afraid to fail. You win or you learn. I wouldn’t have built all the dreams I’ve built if I wasn’t constantly ok with diving in head first and taking what comes my way.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
This has been a reoccurring feeling for me lately and one that I know I’m on the precipice of overcoming. I know I’m so close to taking myself and my business to the next level and whenever that happens, I feel a resistance in my body. These ring in my head-
“Why would anyone want to work for me?”
“Am I really even that good?”
“Am I capable of juggling more?”
“Do I deserve it?”
I know this looks and sounds like imposter syndrome but I don’t feel like it is because I know how good I am at what I do and I know I do with the care, intention, and passion for my clients and myself. I have built strong foundations of trust and communication with my team and that translates into the work we produce for our clients. So maybe it’s the fear of the unknown? Maybe it’s the fear of letting others down. The thing I’ll say is that I’m not in a rush. I enjoy the journey and I know as long as we are doing what we love and doing it with care, we’ll get there.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gothgloss.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goth.gloss/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegothgloss
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gothgloss/
Image Credits
All imagery owned and taken by Stephanie Neiheisel, Gothgloss Clients: Melt by Melissa, Two Fifty Jewelry, Jen Woodburn Aesthetics Models: Alek Maduk, Emily Teague, Mallory Jade, Eliana Baldwin, Katelyn Mackey
