Meet Courtney Gunter

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Courtney Gunter. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Courtney below.

Courtney, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I found my purpose in one of my darkest moments. Pursuing photography started as an escape from all of the pain in my day-to-day life. I had been living in an abusive relationship and lost all sense of myself. Photography reminded me of everything I had lost about who I was, it showed me what good I could do for others, and how I could create a safe space for creativity that could be healing and empowering.

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 am a photographer and an advocate for model safety. I have worked very hard to create a safe and open environment for creativity with an emphasis on education on how new creatives can create safely and how to best protect themselves from unsafe environments. My niche for several years now has been boudoir and empowerment while also pursuing more high fashion and editorial work, but I can honestly say that I have found things to love about every genre I’ve worked in over the years. The ability to tell a story, to capture moments of joy, of love, they are all so incredibly special to me and with every shoot I am reminded of all of the reasons why I love what I do.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I would say that the three things that were most impactful in my journey over the last few years, was having had a history of work that focused on customer service, always remembering to take the time to pour into projects that inspire my creativity, and to take every single opportunity to further my education. I would say that the best way to improve on your skills and to push your creativity is to stay active in the creative community, attending meet ups with other photographers, and finding groups on social media to connect with other photographers and creatives. There are so many local and national level online groups where you can learn from other professionals and learn what works best for them when it comes to the business and creative sides to their work.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

I would say that the most impactful thing that my father did, was to follow his creative goals and to show me that a future in the creative field could make for a fulfilling career. Being able to see that as an example growing up was such a motivator when it came to pursuing my creative interests.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crportraitphoto
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559321906743

Image Credits

1st photo: @kimberann.model on Instagram
2nd photo: @biancathechameleon on Instagram
3rd photo: @mokaaa_x on Instagram
4th photo: @maricharlson on Instagram
5th photo: @samantha.macharia on Instagram