Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Burns.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I fell in love with photography when my brother gifted me a 35mm film camera on my 13th birthday. I was hooked on walking around my small town with my friends doing “shoots”. Though those photos are both highly entertaining and embarrassing, that was the catalyst for my entire photography journey. I loved everything about the creative process, from the styling to figuring out a location to match. I still do! After high school, I moved to Orange County and merged my obsession with photography with my infatuation with the beach lifestyle and continued shooting for fun with my friends. That really just snowballed into the career I have now! 10+ years later and I’ve shot just about everything at this point – weddings, motocross (lol), campaigns for both big and small brands, you name it. After I had my son in 2020 my style and focus shifted from predominantly swim(wear)/influencer type shoots to… well maternity/motherhood swim shoots, as well as small brands with a similar laid-back, summer-forever kind of style. That’s the beauty of photography – if you just shoot what’s in your heart and have fun with it, other people will connect with it and want similar photos of/for themselves. I just think that’s so cool that we are in a time where you can make a career out of that!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Oh gosh, no. There is a lot of rejection in this industry, and it took a long time for me to realize that not being everyone’s “style” is a good thing! Learning who is and isn’t a good fit and being comfortable turning down jobs that don’t align with my style/vision was (and can still be) an uncomfortable process, but an important one for sure.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Right now my focus is largely on maternity/motherhood and mom/kid brands – because that’s the season I’m currently in. I think that’s the key (at least for me) to staying passionate and being able to deliver my best work because I can connect with what I’m shooting. If you hire me for the content I’m currently shooting and sharing then you can guarantee it will be from the heart and not forced. I would say that’s something I’m proud of, to have that confidence to only take jobs that I feel like I can deliver with heart and be okay with turning other jobs down if I don’t feel that because I know there’s another photographer out there that can serve those clients better than I can.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
My favorite way to connect with clients and other photographers is through good ol’ Instagram! You can find me at @rachelburnsphoto! Otherwise, my website is a great place to get in touch and that’s at www.rachelburnsphoto.com
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rachelburnsphoto.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelburnsphoto/
Image Credits
Rachel Burns Photo
