Daily Inspiration: Meet Linsley Schneider

Today we’d like to introduce you to Linsley Schneider.

Hi Linsley, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
After I had my first child, I so badly wanted to freeze time and keep him small. My husband decided to get me a “nice camera” so that I could take good pictures of him and all of our adventures together. Very organically friends and family began to ask me if I would photograph them and I found myself really enjoying the whole process- from photographing to editing. I started to take some online classes and decided to market myself for holiday cards to a local moms group in 2015 and the rest is history! One thing led to another and together, my husband and I started a full-blown photography business all while having and raising four gorgeous children.

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?
For us, the road has not been completely bump-free. Honestly finding the balance between mom and business owner has been challenging. Starting a business can be all-encompassing so I found (and still find) myself using every spare moment away from my kids, whether they are at school, napping, or in bed for the night, working on galleries, improving the business side of things, or continuing to learn about the art of photography. I don’t think anyone is ever completely satisfied. I tend to dream big and won’t stop until I see progress towards my goals.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Although I started out my photography journey photographing any job I could land I have found that over the years, my passion is newborns and families with a story-telling approach. I have niched down to these two specialties and have really honed in on what lights my creative fire. This job has also been an outlet for this once-stay-at-home-mom to find pieces of herself again. Having four kids can become incredibly consuming if I allowed it to take over, so having something for me has been life-giving. As a family photographer, I am most proud of how much I have been able to learn in the industry in such a short time while raising my children. Then using that knowledge to truly implement it into my work. I think that my priority as a mother has set me apart because I know from experience what small moments will be important for families to cherish in the form of photographs. I truly believe what I do is immensely important and the value of my photographs will only increase over time.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I have had several mentors along the way. Rachel Vanoven was one of the first photographers that got my attention because of her joyful colorful images of families. I had never really seen photographs like hers of families loving each other in gorgeous light and I knew that I wanted it for my own family. She was also the first BIG investment I made for my business and the first in-person workshop I ever went to. I also attended a workshop for newborn photography with Bethney Baukhaus and Danielle Hobbs, which shaped the way I photograph newborns and helped me zero in on the style of newborn photography that I love. I’ve been mentored by Kayla Locke of Locke Photography. My mentorship with her helped me achieve the editing style I love and gave me a good idea of how to polish my work and elevate it to the level I wanted to achieve. Stormy Solis is another photographer whose online courses really gave me a good understanding of how to shoot from my heart and how to draw authenticity from families at my sessions. I am looking forward to learning from her in person this July!

As far as cheerleaders go, I am incredibly blessed to have family and friends that have cheered me on and believed in me from the second I said I wanted to be a photographer. I come from a large family so to name them all would be lengthy, but I should definitely mention my supportive husband, Justin and my parents. Without them, I can confidently say I would not be where I am today. Whenever I have doubted myself or questioned my own artistic ability they have lifted me up and encouraged me.

Pricing:

• Signature sessions start at $500

Contact Info:

• Email: linsleyschneiderphotography@gmail.com
• Website: www.linsleyschneiderphotography.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/linsleyschneiderphotography
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/linsleyschneiderphotography

Image Credits
images by Linsley Schneider Photography