We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cassell Archinuk a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Cassell, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
With photography, imposter syndrome is definitely a real thing! Since we are in the age of social media, and there are so many ways to share your work, which can be seen by many people, It is definitely something I struggled with at the beginning of my photography career mainly because I wanted to see what other people were doing. Unfortunately, I started to compare my work with others and especially other photographers that were in the business a long time and have perfected their craft. I had to make a decision that I would only compare my work with my previous work and improve from then on. And that’s what I’ve done all along and it has really helped.
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 wedding/elopement and landscape photographer who started 10 years ago with landscape photography. I fell in love with it and five years ago decided to get into wedding any elopements with a little portrait photography. This was a new challenge for me and I was intrigued by the fact that I could get people enjoying the outdoors and nature on a special day or event like a wedding or elopement.
I was with my landscape photography, I have prints in local stores, of my accomplishments have been published in magazines, and most recently travel Nevada reached out to me to have my photo on their state map last year.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think one of the biggest things is consistency especially if you have an audience on social media and people can see your work. Next I would say resilience, especially with the wedding industry as it is not the easiest industry to be in as it comes with its challenges, but also rewards. The last thing I would say, would be to manage your time and try to avoid burnout as that can easily happen when you are your own boss. As for my workflow, I try to set a certain amount of time to edit or do other aspects of the business and then have some downtime like go for a hike or hang out with friends. Balance is very important!
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
My ideal clients would be those who want good quality, classic looking photos that are timeless so they can look back and the photos don’t look dated. I am an easy-going photographer, but know how to direct and get things done. I value the relationships I have developed with past clients and communication is very important and getting to know my clients it’s a good way to do that.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cassyarchphotography.com
- Instagram: @cassyarchphotography
- Facebook: Cassy arch photography
