Today we’d like to introduce you to Leslie Arnold.
Hi Leslie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I began my photography journey 5 years ago now, in 2018. I was in college and had to take a photography course, and I had to ask my professor how to turn on my camera the first day! While exploring photography’s artistic side and learning the craft’s technicalities, I absolutely fell in love. I’ve always been involved in the arts; before this, I had never really had much luck with the visual arts. This tapped into that desire and helped me see that I could create art through photography, and I was thrilled. I quickly began taking photos of everything, from cool landscapes and buildings to friends and pets. When I started dabbling with friends, I found that I loved portraits. Once I began pursuing the craft more seriously, I got a mentor for a period who allowed me to shadow gigs and second shoot with them, and I really got to learn the professional process. I began taking clients of my own and growing my portfolio, and bookings started to take off.
With this success, I learned more and more about photography and got much better. I began shooting concerts and events, working with my church’s media team, and even getting corporate clients. I enjoy my corporate work because it allows me to flex my creativity and professional muscles. I also work as the Marketing and Program Director for the Athens Area Council for the Arts in Athens, TN. This marketing background has given me a wonderful foundation to take corporate photos. I can better see what they would need and use in websites and media, and with my creative touch to these standard stock photos, I found my corporate portfolio booming. Over the last year, I’ve finally taken the next big leap in my photography career — travel. I was honored to work with Pilot and Sync Communications in Knoxville this past summer for a week on-site in Arizona and Las Vegas. Then, this fall, I boarded a plane for my first travel wedding in New Orleans, Louisiana.
I’ve also had the immense pleasure of working with people through so many seasons of life. I have several clients now that I’ve shot their dating and engagement seasons, weddings, pregnancy announcements, maternity, newborn, and family sessions. Seeing and capturing people grow in their own lives is such a joy to me, and I’m so thankful to see it every day.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
While I’ve seen so many blessings and am so happy with how much I’ve grown over the last five years, it is certainly not without its fair share of challenges. A year into my photography journey, I was in a deeply abusive relationship. When things came to a nasty ending, one of the things my ex took back from me was the camera I had been shooting on. I had been borrowing it from him for the last year, and due to the financial abuse also occurring, I could barely afford necessities, much less a new camera and gear. I had to make the heartbreaking decision to stop, or at least pause, my photography. I was heartbroken. Bookings had just started to take off, and I was finally seeing some of my hard work pay off. I had to call clients to cancel sessions.
Amid this heartbreak and pain, my loving mother decided enough was enough. She agreed to fund me by getting a replacement camera. She helped me research, get recommendations, and choose my camera, which was all mine to use and create with, and something inside me came alive again. I was able to get back into my work and begin rebuilding my business, and I’m so incredibly thankful to my parents for helping me during this time in my life in more ways than one.
Since then, I’ve upgraded my gear to professional photography gear and bought and sold many lenses and bodies in search of the perfect fit for me, but I will never sell that camera. That camera represents something that money cannot buy to me. It represents that season of my life when I was rebuilding myself and finding myself again and my parents’ love in my desperate time of hurt.
Additionally, last summer, I suffered a flare-up of an old back injury that resulted in a herniated disk in my upper back. I was essentially bedridden for several months, barely able to lift my phone, much less a camera, and much, much less execute a session with clients. I had to take almost 5 months off from professional photography work to recover, and even after I began again, it was painful and would leave me sore for days. I was terrified that after this, I would have to start over again, but as I went to physical therapy and orthopedic doctors and worked through the issues, I was able to get back into it and grow again. I found my clients completely understanding, and I was able to wean myself back into photography by the grace of God.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a photographer! I am a jack-of-all-trades with experience in portraits, weddings and events, and corporate photography. I do a lot of work with families and seniors in the area and have several regular corporate clients I partner with in and around Knoxville. Based on reviews, I’m known for having a more creative eye for photography and my ability to make people comfortable. I’ve always been involved in the arts and work in an arts center, so it makes sense! I love exploring different ways of seeing things.
Additionally, I have always been the one who hates having my picture taken. I’ve always felt awkward in front of a camera, and I realize how limiting this can be for people who deserve to capture the joy in their lives! One of my goals is always to make my clients comfortable and help them capture their authentic selves. In corporate photography, I am typically a favorite among marketing professionals. I, too, work in marketing in my other job, so it’s easy for me to lay out images and structure photos to be easily used in many ways. It’s an absolute necessity for a business! Adding a touch of creativity to the standard stock photos for an organization can also be a game changer, and I offer that. Corporate photography allows me to help businesses stand out worldwide and create images in all forms and media to help people see what they are and what they have to offer.
Let’s end by discussing what matters most to you and why.
Shew! This question could go a lot of ways. My relationships matter most to me. My relationship with God, my friends, and my family — relationships are essential to living life! I find my purpose in my relationship with God and share his love with people around me. Sharing this life with my friends and family is such a joy.
Professionally? What matters most to me is perseverance. Any kind of job where you are your boss is hard. There are seasons of growth, seasons of stability, seasons of loss, everything under the sun! The perseverance to work through everything and continue pushing forward is essential; It’s how you and your business grow!
Pricing:
- All packages are included on my website, leslieclairephotography.com
- General Sessions start at $200
- Weddings start at $2500
- Corporate Photography starts at $150/hr
Contact Info:
- Website: leslieclairephotography.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/leslieclairphoto
- Facebook: facebook.com/leslieclairephoto
Image Credits
The main photo I submitted needs to be credited as “Photo by Brooke Morris Photography, Editing by Leslie Claire Photography.” All other professional photos (aka just the ones without me in them, haha) are credited to Leslie Claire Photography. (Also, though I know I submitted more than requested, you don’t have to use all or any of them! I just figured I’d include a few behind-the-scenes shots of myself that I have and my usual “portfolio quick shot” examples! Please let me know if you have any questions about anything!)
