We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sydney Phelps a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Sydney, 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 believe finding my purpose happened by two things I love, helping people and having memories to look back on.
Having photos of memories is something that has always been very important to me. Being able to look at a photo and feel every emotion you felt in that moment is absolutely incredible. Looking back at old photos and seeing how much change and growth has happened through life is a beautiful thing. Giving people the special gift of freezing a moment in time is something I feel extremely passionate about. I am so happy that I can capture moments for other people, and I truly feel that is my purpose.
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 based in Lee’s Summit, MO. My goal is always to capture natural moments not just poses. I want my clients to look at their gallery and feel all the emotions behind each and every photo, and to feel like they can see the essence of them. It is so exciting to me to freeze time at the click of a button and capture moments that people don’t usually get to see from the outside looking in. I have so much fun meeting so many new faces and being able to give them something they can cherish and look back at forever.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back, I think being laid back, being alert, and having an artistic eye have been very impactful on my journey.
I think my quality to interact and have fun with almost anyone I meet has helped so much. Being laid back and outgoing helps my clients feel more relaxed and have fun, which makes for more natural and fun photos. Being alert and always looking at the entire surrounding while I’m working has helped me to capture raw moments where my clients don’t even know I’m taking a photo. Having an artistic eye is definitely important as a photographer. Being able to be creative with shoots, know composition and lighting, and edit are all artistic qualities that I have developed stronger over the years.
My advice to new photographers to gain these skills and grow is, take as many photos as you can get! I started with taking photos of my friends in high school just to get comfortable behind a camera. It’s important that you feel comfortable behind your camera so you can be outgoing and laid back, which makes your clients feel the same way, and create better photos. Another piece of advice is to practice being alert and observant. Sometimes just letting the clients be themselves for a few moments when they aren’t expecting you to take a photo creates the best memories captured. Lastly, it is important to work on your artistic eye. Practice with composition, editing, creative ideas. Don’t be scared to try new things and meet new people! Other photographers are such a great resource and almost always willing to help with critique and advice.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
Personally, I think it’s important to be well rounded. I am constantly trying to look at my business, and myself, and see what I can improve on. Whether that is my interaction with clients, my social media presence, my editing style, etc. (The list of things you can work on is never ending!). I feel there is always something about yourself or your business you can focus and improve on just a little bit. To do this lately, I have been trying to advertise for clients that I don’t get a lot of. I want to grow and learn as much as possible so I can do better, and give better results to my clients.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sydneyphelpsphotography.mypixieset.com/
- Instagram: @sydneyphelpsphotography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sydneyphelpsphotography?mibextid=LQQJ4d
