We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andy Grotheer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Andy, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
I was always a shy kid growing up. I have picture after picture of me poking straight down at the ground because it was so hard for me to hold my head up high. I don’t know where it came from or why I had this shyness. I had plenty of friends and life was good, but I hated the fact I was so shy. In my senior year of high school I decided to make a change. I sold off my gaming systems, and decided to combat shyness. I decided that when I go back to school this year, I’m going to be myself, I’m going to be weird and have fun. Turns out, after a while of forcing myself out of my comfort zone, it WORKED! I became confident. I was loving life! It lasted throughout my college years! It was so much fun! It allowed me to relate with others who were shy or socially anxious and develop relationships with them as well.
Fast forward a couple years down the road, I started this business – The Grotheers (wedding photography). It was a day when we had 3 photoshoots in one day – 2 in my hometown, one in Kansas City (a couple hours away). On my way home, I got hit with my first panic attack out of nowhere. I remember telling my wife to drive to the hospital because I thought I was dying… This panic attack set off a series attacks that lasted a solid year to 2 years. I could barely leave my house on days for fear that I was just going to suddenly die. It was awful. Finally, as I started forcing myself to go to town, go to the gym, hangout with friends, etc – it became manageable. However, it seemed to suck away all my confidence that I previously had.
Now I’m back on my journey to just being myself. Choosing confidence. Realizing that I can be myself for who I am, and some will like it, others won’t, but I’ll be living freely as myself. I don’t have to shy away anymore.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a documentary / editorial destination wedding photographer! We (my wife Laci and I) photograph plenty of local weddings, but we LOVE any chance we get to travel to a beautiful destination.
Our approach to wedding photography is to add to our clients day rather than take away from it. What I mean by that is – we don’t want our clients staring at our cameras all day – we want them to truly live in the moment on their wedding day. Take it all in. That way, when they see the photos we have taken for them, they see the MEMORIES – They remember the FEELING they had in those specific moments.
The goal with our photos is to create timeless photographs that will just get better and better over time as our clients age.
We strive to pair our documentary approach with art. To us, that is the perfect mixture that creates a masterpiece.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Failure is not final. Failure is not a bad thing. You can learn from failure. Realize what went wrong, fix it, and try again.
2. You can always learn. You will never know it all. You can have countless hours of experience, but there is always more to be learned. Be eager to lean. Be excited.
3. Don’t take yourself too seriously. You can take your work seriously, but remember to have fun. Life isn’t all about work. If you spend all your life working – where is your time for living?
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
As wedding vendors – we are always looking for friends who share a similar vision as us! We love any chance we get to make a new acquaintance! We meet with other photographers, wedding planners, or anyone in the field! If you want to talk, we’re open! We love building relationships with everyone in order to make our clients have the best wedding they can!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thegrotheers.com
- Instagram: TheGrotheers
- Facebook: The Grotheers
Image Credits
The Grotheers
