Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Neild.
Hi Hannah, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have always been a creative person. From early childhood, I was constantly making chalk art on my driveway, creating dances with my friends, and writing stories in my downtime. This continued through my middle school years and into high school.
While my whimsical imagination began to leave with the oncoming of my adolescence, I still craved being creative. Like every other high school student, I had to take all of the courses you have to take in public high school. While I didn’t mind my math courses, I didn’t love them.
Where I thrived was in my art courses. In my junior year of high school, I took Intro to Basic Photography. At the time, I just needed a class to fill my schedule. I knew I enjoyed art classes and I was a fan of my art teacher so I thought why not? Looking back, this class pivotally changed the course of my life.
Within this class, I learned all of the basics of working with a DSLR and how to shoot in manual mode. I also had the opportunity to dip my toes into film photography and develop my own film. What started out as a filler class on my schedule quickly turned into the class I looked forward to going to every day.
Each day, I was learning more about photography, and each day it was slowly becoming something I truly loved. The following year, I ran for one of the yearbook editors for my school yearbook. I was becoming very passionate about storytelling through photos, and I thought that was the best way to capture my senior year.
Throughout the year, the editors attend school events and captured images for the yearbook. In addition to taking photos for the yearbook, they also build it. The pages, the cover, the content. All of it. I was thrilled to have such a large part in the making of this piece of memorabilia.
As the year was coming towards a close, seniors had to submit their senior photos. I realized quickly how many seniors didn’t have senior photos to submit. At my high school, if you didn’t submit an image they used your ID photo, which for most, wasn’t our best photo.
As a senior, ID photo day was a blow-off since it was solely for your ID card. I wanted my classmates to feel proud of their accomplishments, and feel proud of the photos they had in the yearbook. So over the rest of the year, I took photos of my classmates for their yearbook photos.
I wanted everyone to feel happy when they got their yearbook at the end of the year. Looking back now, this was when I began to realize that I love photography. Not because of what it does for me, but for what it does for those who receive the photos.
At the end of my senior year, I was hesitant about college, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. A lot of my friends were heading to large universities in the fall and I had plans to stay back at a community college to get my associate’s degree. I wasn’t sure what I wanted out of my life, all I knew was that I loved photography.
As the year ended, I was becoming more nervous about what was to come, and what was coming was the unknown. I had no idea where I was headed but looking back there was one conversation that stuck with me. I was sitting with my art teacher, Mr, Riel, (who in fact, was really cool) and was talking about photography, I told him I loved it, and that I was going off to college and hoped that I would still do photography in the years to come.
He had been along with me on my journey of learning how to take photos and he believed in all of his students. He told me not to let what other people believe is my path deter me from what I knew I loved. He said, “Keep it up Hannah because I really think you can go somewhere with this.” To this day, I still remember this conversation, and I credit a large part of my photography journey to him.
I am forever grateful that I filled my schedule with a random photography class when I was 16 years old because I truly don’t know where I would be today if I hadn’t.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This journey that I have had as an entrepreneur has been anything but easy. Then again, anything worth having never comes easy. Starting a business so young is something not a lot of people have done. Sustaining a business that was started so young is an entirely different beast.
Starting my photography journey at 17 was incredible. I had all of this motivation to be the best that I could be, and all of the drive to get me there. I was riding the high of being a successful entrepreneur for a while. What I didn’t realize, and what many people don’t realize until it happens to them is that motivation doesn’t last forever.
As I was entering my higher-level courses for a finance degree at my university, I began to lose motivation to want to grow. My business wasn’t growing and I didn’t care. I felt as though my passion had burned out. I was done and needed to find something new.
What I didn’t realize is that the best entrepreneurs out in the world aren’t motivated every single day from the minute they wake up. They aren’t chomping at the bit to pop out of bed in the morning and be their best selves every day. But they still do it, because they’re dedicated. They’re dedicated to their dream and determined to achieve what it is they want.
We are programmed nowadays for instant gratification. We tell ourselves that if it doesn’t happen fast enough, it’s not going to happen. I fell victim to this mindset early on in my career. I wasn’t seeing what I had envisioned as success and it tore me apart. We are our own worst critics, and my mindset is the toughest challenge I have faced to date.
I changed my major with one year of college left. I moved out of my hometown. I moved from the midwest to North Carolina without knowing a single soul. All of these were challenges that I faced, and each of them affected my business.
Undoubtedly though, conquering imposter syndrome has been the toughest obstacle I have incurred over my career, and it’s not a challenge I have defeated yet. But I will.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a lifestyle photographer who specializes in couples, families, and editorials. I primarily shoot engagements, weddings, and couples sessions but I have a sweet spot for families as well. As a lifestyle photographer, I pride myself on capturing the little moments that mean the most.
On your wedding day, I’m not just your photographer. I’m your personal attendant, your problem solver, your day of coordinator, and your friend. I am here to showcase your love in the most truthful, candidly authentic form.
With my love of travel and my passion to capture the world, I have had the opportunity to travel to some pretty amazing places. Each one taught me something new. I love knowing that in each session that I have with someone I am capturing a moment that is truly so special, and it’s something I truly wouldn’t change for the world.
In addition to my work with couples and families, I often work with brands as well. I have loved having the opportunity to sit down with companies and combine my marketing degree with my photography skills to create exactly what it is they are looking for.
Helping brands establish themselves has been something new in 2022 but I have enjoyed every minute of it.
What matters most to you?
My circle. One thing that has stood with me for many years, and will continue to matter years down the road is that you are a combination of the 5 people you spend the most time with.
You’re a culmination of your environmental factors. Knowing this is vital so that you are making sure that you have people around you who support you in your journey, push you to be the best version of yourself, and want to see you succeed. What matters to me is who I chose to be around, and how I chose those people.
I want to be the best version of myself, I want my friends to reach their highest potential and I want to be surrounded by people who believe that I matter. That will never change.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.hannahneildphotography.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannahneildphotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hannahneildphotography/
Image Credits
Hannah Neild Photography
