Daily Inspiration: Meet Bailey Meyne

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bailey Meyne

Hi Bailey, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started my photography business during my first year of law school, a season of life in which most almost-lawyers seriously consider switching professions (kidding!). For me, photography was so much more than an escape from the hours I spent pouring over court cases and textbooks. Photography provided an outlet for my creative, adventurous, and entrepreneurial sides!

Like many photographers, I spent my first few years building expertise and honing my style. I am eternally grateful to all the friends who did practice photoshoots with me and to Renee VanderWal, who hired me to second-shoot with her at weddings! Once I developed the skills needed to create quality visuals, I shifted my focus to building a business and creating a brand. It was exhilarating and terrifying to start sharing my work with the world and to learn how to market my business. In the beginning, I worried that others would think I was not skilled or creative enough to be a professional photographer. After awhile, however, I learned how to release other people’s opinions and focus on pursuing my dream.

Over the past few years, I had the honor of working with so many incredible families, couples, and individuals. My style has also evolved into a more candid, documentary-style photography. My favorite shots are of clients candidly interacting with people they love or having so much fun together that they forget I am there! I absolutely love using photography to communicate, in words and visuals, the beauty I see in other people!

About a year ago, my husband and I moved to Raleigh, North Carolina from Athens, Georgia. I am currently focused on building my business in a new area and connecting with other local entrepreneurs! It is always risky to move your business, but I know that this is just another phase of pursuing my dream.

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?
At first, I really struggled to share my work with the public. I am a perfectionist, and so I had a hard time knowing when an image was “good enough”. It was difficult for me to accept that I could not perfect my photography skills overnight – it takes dedication, hours of practice, and willingness to learn from your mistakes! Thus, in order to share my work with others, I had to fight my fears of perceived failure and mediocrity. Thankfully, I am now much more comfortable sharing my work. I learned that it is healthiest for me to focus on sharing visuals I love, as opposed to those that I think will be most appealing to others.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a lawyer, social worker, and photographer. An unlikely combination, but I truly believe that each makes me better at the other. My legal training helps me tackle the intricacies and requirements of running a photography business. Photography, on other other hand, helps me look at legal and social issues from multiple angles (as if I were capturing an image from several different perspectives). I am currently prioritizing my social work practice and photography. I am extremely grateful to have the time and resources to be bi-vocational and do not take this flexibility for granted!

I specialize in lifestyle photography. Thus, I place high value on facilitating joyful moments that create organic images. To accomplish this goal, I do the following: (1) provide posing prompts that generate authentic moments of connection; (2) encourage clients and provide feedback throughout our session. I understand that being in front of a camera is extremely vulnerable, so I do everything I can to make it as fun and relaxed as possible!

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Pursuing photography was, and still is, a major risk for me. Photography requires significant investment in equipment and training on the front-end, so you have to be willing to bet on yourself and go all in!

To embrace the risk in photography, I remind myself of three things: (1) What do I really want? (2) What is the worst thing that could happen, really? (3) Will this risk move me towards the life I want to have in ten years? To answer the first question, I typically have to do some serious soul-searching. I often avoid risks because I am confused about what I want versus what I want other people to think about me. I always have to remind myself, however, that I cannot make decisions based on the opinions of people who do not know me, support me, or care about me. The reality is, those “people” I am afraid of probably do not even think about me! As to the second question, the answer is almost always “failure”. Fortunately, my faith has taught me that failure has nothing to do with my identity and is merely a learning experience that I do not need to be ashamed of! Finally, the “ten years” question pushes me to embrace risks that align best with my values: faith, relationships, adventure, creativity, and giving back to others.

Photography is an incredible gift, but one that comes with risks and vulnerabilities. However, it is also something that makes me come alive and constantly challenges me to grow as a person. I would not trade any of it for a more comfortable life, and am incredibly excited for what is next!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://baileyreidphotography.myportfolio.com/home
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baileyreidphoto/