I’m excited to bring you fun interviews of photographer moms throughout Photo Fun Month! The first one is with Brandy Anderson, a very successful Canadian photographer who takes gorgeous vivid images of kids and families! I especially love her photos of newborns and expectant mommies to be!
Name: Brandy Anderson
Age: 35
Location: Calgary, AB, Canada
Blog/Website/Twitter/FB Page:
www.freshsugar.com
www.freshsugarblog.com
www.twitter.com/freshsugar
www.facebook.com/freshsugarphotography
How long have you been a photographer, and how did you get started?
I’ve been in business since 2005, like a lot of other mom photographers, I got started taking photos of my daughter.
What’s your favorite type of session to photograph, and why?
I love maternity sessions, my clients are always up for anything and I get to try out so many fun ideas. It’s also great to get to know them before the newborn session. I also really love babies around the 7 month age, they are so smiley and adorable at that age.
What are three words that describe your photography?
Fun, Fresh, Modern
Are you a Canon or Nikon girl, and which lens is typically glued to your camera?
I’m all Nikon. There’s always a lot of debate as to which brand is best, but I think they are both equally great.
How do you find balance being a mom and managing your own photography business?
That’s THE hardest thing, and I think the one thing that most photographer moms struggle with. Some things that I’ve started doing are:
Making to-do lists. Even if I have to add things to it that I’ve already done, haha!
Making time to do the things I love. I think when you are a work-at-home mom, you don’t ever “turn off” your business brain.
My husband gets home and can actually relax and not think about work. Why can’t we have that luxury? Scheduling time to do my favorite things lets me shut off the work part of me, and not feel guilty about it.
What’s your best advice for photographing your own kids?
Bribery? Honestly, I know that a lot of photographers have trouble photographing their kids, but mine love being in front of the camera. I just usually have to coax them out of the cheesy poses. I also think we all have a tendency to be less-patient with our own kids, so I try treating it like any other session when I’m photographing my girls.
How do you stay inspired?
I have a personal project list a mile long. I get inspired by EVERYTHING. Books, magazines, tv shows. I use Evernote and always photos, colors, set ideas, etc in there. I’m constantly adding to it.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Television. I watch wayyyyy too much, especially teenage dramas. Pretty much any show on the CW.
What’s the best thing about your job?
I get to meet the coolest people. I think that I am really lucky because my photography draws people who are a lot like me. So when I have a session, it’s a lot of laughing and chatting and friendship-making. I love it.
Brandy’s favorite recently taken image:
