We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Samantha Vanderson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Samantha below.
Hi Samantha , you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?
I have a spirit of generosity to love and serve people that’s deeply seated in my heart. It is one of the most fulfilling things being able to help or love people well by being generous with my resources, talents and time. While I have worked very hard for what I have, life is about being generous with what you have and this is something I try to model for my children.
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?
The longer I continue to document and preserve people’s memories and milestones, the more I want to continue. I feel like there’s always a reason to take photos! Besides the experience itself, photos are one of the most tangible ways to preserve memories. Even in the most unexpected places it’s amazing to me what you might want to remember someday. My aunt, Zita, understands this and always takes so many photos when we are together as a family. She takes them on her iphone and I feel you don’t always need a professional camera to capture a moment that could otherwise be forgotten.
I place a high value on the experience and images I provide to my clients and I believe that while there is so much beauty in the grand details of a wedding, party or event that there are so many little things that may otherwise go unnoticed but truly matter. I actively anticipate those in between moments and look for the small things that others might not notice.
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?
I have found one of the most important things I can do as a photographer is really learn and understand who people are! We are human and humans love any point of connection. When you establish several points of connection with people you can quickly build rapport. I believe when people can see that you genuinely care about their experience they simply trust you! It’s so important to me that anyone I work with feels significant, confident and loved.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
The first thing I do when I get overwhelmed is I make a list! Once I feel like my thoughts are more organized, I can actually start working on the steps towards completing my tasks. Taking a brief walk is helpful and sometimes I call a trusted friend or mentor to talk about my overwhelm if I just need to process.
I’m also still learning to extend the grace that I offer others to myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.samanthajamesphoto.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/samanthajamesphoto
Image Credits
All images taken by Samantha James Photography Portrait of Sam taken by Kristi Pflug
