Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Maisel.
Hi Hannah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I fell in love with the concept of photos when I was just a kid. Photography was my “dream job” since I was about 7 years old. I just loved pictures. I would sneak into my parents’ room, pull out from my mom’s massive collection of photo albums, and spend hours looking through them. Their wedding album was the one I pulled out the most. Those photos somehow transported me to that day, even though I hadn’t actually been around for it. The whole concept was just amazing to me. So, at a young age, I started my own collection. I had my little film camera with me everywhere I went. School field trips, family trips, gatherings, and so on. Then, when I got into middle school and high I took every chance I could to dive into it more, taking photos for the Yearbook, requesting photography as an elective, and so on.
But it really was just a “dream job” to me then. My parents, having 6 kids, had a tendency to focus on keeping more traditional, “safe” jobs, doing the best they knew how to care for our family. My older siblings never considered pursuing something they actually loved, so neither did I. I believed that I would graduate high school, find a “stable” job as a secretary like my sister, or perhaps as a bank teller like my brother. And when people would ask me what I wanted to do, those jobs were what I would always tell them. But in the back of my mind, those weren’t really the things sparking my interest.
One day an old friend asked me, “Hannah, what career do you want to pursue?” My response, “I don’t know. I’ll apply for jobs and find something at the school district or something.” He proceeded to ask, “No. That’s what your parents want you to do. What do you ACTUALLY want to do?” My response, “Well, I’ve always kind of wanted to do photography.” That conversation changed my life. I was 15 years old. From that day forward, I decided that I would become a photographer.
I started taking photography more seriously, wanting to really understand everything about it and cultivate a skillset in it. In the midst of this, expecting to not be an established photographer until sometime later, I was eager to start working. Job hunting was a frustrating process, being 16, inexperienced, and in the middle of a recession. I could hardly score interviews, let alone jobs. Then, one day, a friend of a friend contacted me on Facebook, asking if I could take anniversary photos of her and her husband. Of course, I was already ecstatic, but she then proceeded to ask, “How much do you charge?” I couldn’t believe it! I had no clue what to say, so I told them they could just tip me. In October of 2009, I had my first official paid photo shoot. It was the most exciting $30 I’d ever received! After that, I decided my job hunt was over. At 16 years old, I was the owner of my very own photography business.
It has been 14 years now, and I’m still at it. After trying out various fields of photography, in time I learned that my heart was primarily in portrait photography, geared towards weddings, couples, and families. I am so grateful for all of the incredible people I’ve had the opportunity to work with, the special moments in people’s lives I’ve been entrusted with capturing, and the many breathtaking places I’ve been able to visit, thanks to this career path.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t always been smooth. While photography can be considered fun work, it’s still work, nonetheless. Having to invest as much time and resources into learning and performing the business side of it as I have was not something I anticipated at 16 years old. I’ve had to navigate that over the years, and I am still navigating it to some extent. Some things I’ve learned the hard way, even in recent years. This is a common challenge for many photographers and other creatives, as we may excel at the craft itself, but not so much in business. So that has been quite a journey.
Of course, there have been plenty of other ups and downs, but I’ll share one more. Being in a creative field can, at times, be very hard on one’s emotions and self-esteem. Between going through slow seasons to comparing yourself to the work and success of others that you’re bombarded with on social media, it’s easy to be very hard on yourself and feel like you’re not good enough. When you’re not booking as much as you’d like, not hitting a goal you had hoped to, or not getting much action on a post on Instagram (as silly as that sounds), it’s easy to take it personally because your creative work is VERY personal. It’s something that you’ve poured your time, energy, and heart into, and it can hurt when you feel that it’s being rejected. Every business has highs and lows. During my lows, I’ve had to remind myself many times that these things are not personal and that I have much to be grateful for. For any other creatives currently going through this, remember to celebrate your wins, big or small, and be proud of the progress made in both your business as well as your craft.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As previously mentioned, I specialize in portrait photography that’s geared toward weddings, couples, and families. I’d say I’m primarily noted for my work being very candid and documentary-style. The majority of my clients specifically tell me that is what they notice in my work and what moved them to contact me. I love that! My goal is to capture people for who they are and what little characteristics and nuances they’re known for by their loved ones, which tends to come out the most in real, candid moments rather than staged shots. I never want to make my couples feel like they need to be someone they’re not when I’m photographing them.
One thing I take pride in is that I’ve really tried to hone in on making people of all sorts feel comfortable in front of the camera. Not all people are naturally comfortable being in photos. In fact, many are not. But they recognize the value of having these occasions documented, which I appreciate very much. So, I always make it a point to make them not only feel comfortable on the shoot but have fun with the process and love how they look in their photos when they see them after the fact!
What do you like and dislike about the city?
Oh my. I’d have to say the variety we have throughout LA, really throughout all of California. We have such an abundance of incredible places to photograph. And because we have so much variety, from beaches to cities to deserts and so on, after 14 years, it still never gets boring. We also get some gorgeous golden hour on most afternoons as well!
Least? I think we can all agree that we most dislike the traffic!
I also wish that more people in Southern California were more considerate of nature. Many of the beautiful landscapes we have here are inaccessible because people, sadly, just can’t be trusted to not ruin them in some way. This isn’t the case in other states I’ve visited, which made this issue stand out to me more here. Wouldn’t it be so wonderful to be able to enjoy more of our landscapes up close, without fences, littering, or vandalism?
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hannahmaiselphotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannahmaiselphoto/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HannahMaiselPhotography
Image Credits
Yugen Films
Hannah Maisel Photography
