Meet Emily Feinsod

We recently connected with Emily Feinsod and have shared our conversation below.

We recently connected with Emily Feinsod and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
The female genes run strong in my family. Both grandmothers lived well into their 90’s healthy, strong and living their best lives. They demonstrated and modeled leadership, strength, passion and courage. Especially for women of their generation. My mother is also a pillar of strength. As my rock, she provides endless support and inspiration for myself, my two sisters and my two daughters. Her brilliance is inherent, she always has the answers- although it took me well into my 20’s to admit it. I look to all these women who have been role models and how they fought through the hard times to inspire my resilience today.

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?

Photography, to me, is about connection, people and authenticity. I get excited by light and how it plays with the environment to create a mood or feeling. Anyone can pick up a camera or use their phone to document a moment, but it takes a special vision and heart to give that moment depth and meaning. I work with families in all stages of their lives, capturing maternity, newborn, small children, older children, multi generational portraits, and once in a while a celebratory event. Preschool fine art portraits have become a large part of my portfolio since Covid times. I find the uninhibited personalities of preschool children liberating and a joy to work with. I continue exploring photography as an art form for myself as well using my own family and environment as inspiration. I am currently working to launch a new branch of my business working with architects and interior designers, capturing the essence of their spaces using light, color, and texture and careful composition to convey the mood.

I live with my family (2 kids, husband, 2 fluffy orange cats + 1 mini bernedoodle pup) in a creative centric NJ suburb of NYC. There is always something fun and interesting going on, concerts in the park, art walks, book festivals and cultural events. Photography runs in the family as I am a third generation photographer. I have early childhood memories of working in the darkroom with my dad! I naturally studied art in college, then got a Masters in Art Education and taught art & photography for 8 years before having my first child. Wanting more flexibility, I began photographing babies and families of friends. That was in 2011 and I have been growing my business since then!

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?

  1. Always look for opportunities to learn new things.
  2. Make connections with experts in your field and ask a lot of questions!
  3. Talk about what you love (to everyone who will listen). It will convey your passion and excitement for your ideas and goals. People want to work with those who deeply love and show passion for what they do!
  4. Get involved with your community, take classes, and learn everything you can about your subject.
  5. Meet others (local or online) who are interested in the same thing and help each other. Community over competition fosters collaboration, support and mutual growth. As a business of one, it has been imperative to my survival to have local and online groups of photographers to provide moral & technical support, share experiences, most of all friendship.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
Being overwhelmed is a very familiar feeling. Not only is the mental load for real, I am a creative brain running a business. Raising a family, running a household, caring for children, pets, and managing a business simultaneously is no small feat. Over the years, I’ve collected some tools to help when things seem unmanageable.

  1. I make lists. SO many lists! They are everywhere
  2. Planning the week in advance. On Sundays, I sit down and look at the calendar. I plan what I am hoping each day to look like (on paper!), blocking in shoots, editing time, the kids activities, and any appointments I may have.
  3. Exercise. Building in time to exercise keeps my body strong and mind sharper.
  4. Outsourcing the things that are not in my zone of genius. Social media planning, book keeping for the business and a math tutor for my kids takes those tasks that seem impossible off my plate.
  5. Practicing mindfulness helps to manage stress, anxiety, perspective and focus.
  6. Coffee with a friend! However, nothing beats a good friend + conversation to rescue and reset an overwhelmed mind.

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