Meet Nora Canfield

We were lucky to catch up with Nora Canfield recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nora, 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 my career when I was 14 years old. I had always wanted to be a visual artist like my mother and sister. They are both talented fine artists but I felt lost because I did not feel that talent was passed down to me. During my freshman year in high school, I attended the local arts magnet school, Pearl Cohn Arts Magnet, in Nashville, TN, with a focus on fine arts. While in the art room, I discovered a rotating door that led into a dark room. It was an old black and white darkroom for developing black and white film and prints. When asked about it, my teacher replied with “I’ll rent some cameras and we will do a little course in photography”. I have always taken photos of my friends but never really thought of it being an art or a career until the moment I saw that white sheet of paper turn into a black white image of my art teacher! I was in love with shooting, developing, and editing photos of people from that moment on. I worked at a local thrift store from the time I was 14 to 17 and then started working at a one hour photo lab and then moved up to professional photo labs until 2004. Then a family tragedy struck and I was out of work for a while which forced me to pursue what I actually wanted to do: Photography.
It’s amazing how life works!

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I have been a professional photographer for over 25 years. I absolutely love what I do! I have fun interacting with clients and getting them to come out of their “shell” and accomplish portraits that make them feel confident and happy. One of my favorite challenges are when a client comes in and says “I hate having my picture taken but I have to get a headshot for work”. They end up loving mutiple pictures and leaving thanking me and giving me a hug! It’s very rewarding to give people their confidence back!
My images are bold and bright! I also like to say they have a “pop” to them. My favorite style of portraits that I take are my “Lollipop Photos”. I say they are the anti-headshot because they are usually fun and goofy and involving props!

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?

I would say that being able to compose and light a person properly and being able to edit well are the three skills that are very important to have as portrait photographer. Also being able to make people comfortable. Because a photoshoot, for any purpose, can be very stressful for the subject. If I were to advise someone wanting to improve on their skills is to keep shooting and be yourself with your clients. I always find it helpful to have music playing. I usually start off with 90’s R&B, the Frank Sinatra station, or my own personal playlist. Then I will I ask my client what they would like to listen to. I would say that the number one choice for most of my women clients is Beyoncé. But recently I have just been letting my personal playlist run and my clients have been enjoying the variety!

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

The most impactful thing my parents did for me is being there for me and supporting my dreams. Both of my parents are funny, witty, and kind… so I would say that I get my personality from both of them. I get my work ethic and problem solving skills from my father. I get my creativity and eye from my mother. I love them both and I definitely would not be who I am today if weren’t for them.

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