Meet Darcy Troutman

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

Darcy , so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

Before I started my photography business, I worked as a lawyer at a big firm in DC. I often say that my current job is the complete opposite of my former job in every way, including imposter syndrome.

There are a lot of hoops you need to go through to become a lawyer – higher education, the dreaded bar exam, etc. – whereas the road to professional photography is more opaque. For a long time (years really), every time I told people I worked as a wedding and family photographer I expected someone to come out of the woodwork and say I wasn’t qualified enough or that I didn’t belong.

I finally started to feel more confident when the financial impact became real – when our family started upgrading our vacations and staying in fancier hotels. Of course, such things also came at a personal cost, since most weddings occur on weekends, my husband had to take over all parenting responsibilities Friday – Sunday. He became the playdate parent. He planned our kids’ birthday parties (some of which were quite impressive). He went to the soccer games and took my kids’ homecoming photos.

I’ve been working a a photographer for long enough now that I’ve photographed several couples from their engagement all the way through documenting their kids’ childhoods. Some of the kids hug me every time they see me and say “I can’t wait to play with you again” (because we always “play” while taking photos). At times like these, I know I’m not an imposter.

As a lawyer, I helped people “win”, which felt good. But now I get to see people at their happiest and that feels even better.

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 am a wedding and family photographer (I own my own business).

When my first two kids were born, I was working as a lawyer and found the hours exhausting, so I decided to take some time off from office life and become a stay at home mom. The transition was, at times, wonderful and, also, at times, very lonely.

My husband bought me a DSLR camera as a gift and I started obsessing over photography while the kids napped. Taking tons of online classes, googling everything. And, of course, photographing my children a lot. I realized that I hated posed photos, that instead I loved capturing small moments – like how my oldest daughter used to create blankets out of wet wipes for all of her dolls. Or how my son made every table into a fort.

Somewhere along the way people saw the photos I was taking of my own children and asked me to start photographing their children. Slowly my hobby became a business. Eventually, I started photographing weddings too. I really believe that everyday life is often beautiful and worth remembering and I try as hard as I can to capture real memories for clients.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1. As a business owner I think client relationships are really important. Making sure to tell brides how beautiful they look. Playing with and talking to children, rather than ordering them around (I’m a huge believer that family photo sessions should be fun). Trying to forge real connections with people. I’m an introvert, so this isn’t always easy for me, but I think it is important and I work hard at it.

2. My kids always laugh that I went to law school and became a wedding photographer. But I put the same amount of diligence and hard work into my photography business that I put into my education. Having a nonstop work ethic pays off, often in unexpected ways.

3. It’s so cheesy, but never stop learning. We were just in Chicago, so we visited the Art Institute’s Gustave Caillebotte exhibition. The composition of some of his paintings fascinated and surprised me.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

Probably the short stories of Chekov, Alice Munro (though I know she’s been canceled now), Tessa Hadley, and Murakami. I often say that my job is always a short story and never a novel, as I’m so closely involved in one day of a family or couple’s life.

I tend to love books and authors who focus on life’s smaller moments and conversations rather than on big picture issues. My goal as a photographer is to showcase the beauty of the every day, so I find inspiration in authors who focus on similar things.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.darcytroutmanphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darcytroutman_weddings/

Image Credits

Darcy Troutman Photography