Daily Inspiration: Meet Stephanie Barnhill Neal

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Barnhill Neal. 

Stephanie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started my photography journey in 2001 with a point-and-shoot camera and a roll of black-and-white film. I was a teenager then, but I started to take photos of everything around me, mainly my peers. With a friend, I started going to Downtown Fayetteville, taking photos of abandoned alleyways, under the bridges, and the landscape. I was also taking a journalism class and that really started my interest in both of those things. Funny enough, I set photography aside as my life as an adult grew and I had a family. I worked in the arts, as an interior designer but hadn’t really picked up a camera in a long time. Over the last few years, I’ve reignited that passion and transformed it into a career. I started doing family and boudoir photography, but I’ve progress as my career has grown to doing photojournalism projects and fashion shoots. I enjoy telling stories or conveying human emotions in a photo. When I’m taking street or landscape photography, I just really love examining the lines and lining up a shot. Overall, I think there’s something pretty amazing about sharing the human experience. As I’ve gotten further along in this craft, capturing real human experiences is so important me. What I love about this work is that you’re constantly pushing yourself to be more creative and knowing that you don’t always have all the answers. You are continuously growing, learning, and fine-tuning your work. Working in the field as a magazine and freelance photographer puts my ability to think on my feet to the test. I always feel a challenge, even when I don’t get the results I intended. My desire to continue to be creative and share the environment around me is what fuels the work that I do. After years of working 9-to-5 in an office and not being able to see my children, photography and magazine work enable me to work mostly from home, so that I’m able to spend more quality time with my family, which is very important to me. I get to combine the things that matter most and that’s something I am extremely thankful for. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
A smooth road? Certainly not. Truthfully, photography is saturated. The market is flooded with some truly amazing photographers already, so getting started in this dense field was not easy. I am extremely fortunate to have the clients that I’ve had. It took a lot of work to define my style and honestly, get better. The pandemic knocked me backward. Even when things started to open back up, I really struggled. During that time, I created Lillington Living Magazine (soon to be Urban Fringe) and I was finally able to share my work again. However, creating a magazine from scratch was incredibly difficult. I didn’t know anything about printing. The first magazine I printed was teeny and had words in the folds. It was a painfully expensive lesson but one that I’ve grown from. Every issue or every new client I just work to be and do better. We still struggle with trying to find our stride or brand ourselves but life is about learning. I look back on all my experiences and see them as stepping stones to something better. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
To put it bluntly, when the doors closed, I cut a hole in the wall and walked through. Being a family photographer after a pandemic wasn’t working for me anymore. Not only did I not find work, the market was extremely tough. I wanted to continue down this path and expand my subject matter. I created an indie magazine to not only showcase my work but the work of my colleagues and fellow artist. Being able to capture musicians and other talented artists is such an incredible thing. I recently partnered with another photographer for big fashion shoot in Angier, NC with an entire team with makeup artists, a stylist, and set designer. For a moment, I allowed myself to just stand and absorb it all because it was such an amazing experience. Not only to work with such talented people but to know that you were a part of something so tremendous. I was and am, so proud that I put all those forces together. With this line of work, I’m able to donate my services and I routinely volunteer for local LGBTQ+ Pride organizations. I did a free portrait event with Fayetteville Pride over the summer and it was an emotional experience. I felt such a kinship with the volunteers and the people that came out to have their photos taken. It was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. My passion for reaching people and creating is what keeps me going, even when I’m struggling. I may not be the best photographer in the world, but I have tenacity. Even when I fail, I keep going — and I’ve failed a great deal in my life. I take the lessons, apply them going forward and keep moving on. 

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I feel incredibly lucky when someone chooses me. My favorite phrase is, “If you threw a rock, you’d hit 20 of us (meaning photographers). Working in such a competitive field is tough and sometimes it’s really luck when someone picks you out of the crowd. It’s also a huge honor to be chosen amongst so many other incredibly talented photographers. For the magazine, hands down — was getting Rhett and Link from Good Mythical Morning to say, “yes” to being in our little indie magazine. We email a lot of folks and most of the time, we barely even get a response. Having Rhett and Link agree and even use our magazine in a skit was absolutely mind-blowing. I feel incredibly lucky every day to be able to do what I do. 

Contact Info:

• Email: lillingtonlivingmagazine@gmail.com
• Website: www.lillingtonliving.com
• Instagram: @lillingtonlivingmagazine
• Facebook: @lillingtonliving
• Other: www.briarpatchphotographers.com

Image Credits
Stephanie Barnhill Neal
Kremer Johnson
Shira Rose Photography