Rising Stars: Meet Gretchen Morris

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gretchen Morris.

Hi Gretchen, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I picked up my first camera in 5th-grade taking photos of literally anything, you name it I was taking photos of it – My mom’s garden, the grass, my friends, and trees. Around the time I got into middle school, I started taking more photos of my friends just for fun! They would come over after school and my hometown house has a bunch of open land and fields so we would go walk around and just have a photoshoot! It then progressed into taking some of my friend’s older siblings’ senior photos.

When high school hit, I was in the yearbook and became the Editor-In-Chief for two years. Along with being in the yearbook, my brother and I became super close and he was really into stringing (when you listen to a police scanner and go to the scenes to capture what is going on – a form of photojournalism)

We would go to all sorts of different police and fire scenes at all different times of the day, I would take photos and local newspapers would ask for my photos. Doing that led to us going to protests around Missouri. I went to a lot of different political protests and even tried to go to some BLM protests. Photojournalism became such a life for me I wanted to make a career out of it. I decided I wanted to continue Photography as a career and ended up going to the University of Central Missouri with a major in Professional Photography and a minor in Mass Communication.

While being at UCM my freshman year, I slowly realized that there really isn’t a job in photojournalism and that it is mostly freelance kind of what I was doing in high school. I had always been into wedding photography and I am such a people person. I love hearing about people’s lives, how they met, what they do, their passions in life, and I thought wedding photography was it.

By the middle of freshman year, my brother’s best friend was getting married and had asked me to shoot his wedding. I was absolutely terrified because it was my very first wedding. After, that I ended up second shooting with a couple of older girls in my major and then second shooting for other friends who had been in the wedding industry.

Since then, I have been constantly trying to grow my business and bring my clientele up. A couple of years ago, I had a lot going on personally and took a HUGE step back in my business. It really messed me up, but then after a while, I finally gathered myself together and picked myself up. I have been thriving ever since and learned from my mistakes. I finally went full-time wedding photography back in March & it has been the best decision I have ever made.

Not everyone can say they can do what they love as a job. I am grateful for everything I have been through to get me to this point in my career and I am still learning every day on the do’s and don’ts of a business and wedding photographer, but again I couldn’t ask for a better job.

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?
It has not been a smooth road, but I am grateful for that though. I think if it was, it wouldn’t be as meaningful to me.

A couple of years ago, I had a lot going on personally and took a HUGE step back in my business. It really messed me up, but then after a while, I finally gathered myself together and picked myself up. I have been thriving ever since and learned from my mistakes. I have taken every experience good and bad and improved myself and my business.

I am grateful for everything I have been through to get me to this point in my career and I am still learning every day on the do’s and do not’s of a business and wedding photographer, but again I couldn’t ask for a better job.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a wedding, elopement, and couples photographer. I feel like I am known for my outgoing, bubbly personality and my editing style. I have heard from a lot of past and future couples that you can see my personality in my photos, I thrive to make my couples as comfortable as they can be during sessions.

I am also super big on making an experience that will extend to being friends after a wedding or couple session. I don’t think this career field should be only about being professional, I think you should hire someone who is as personable and clicks with you because at the end of the day that is how you get true emotion and happiness in all of the photos.

A quote of mine I use a lot to my couples is that I am going to be your professional third wheel! I am most proud of how my personality is easily seen throughout my photos!

How do you think about happiness?
This may sound weird, but Arizona and the desert make me truly the happiest. I am obsessed with the desert and Arizona. I plan on moving myself & my business out there in the next year! I honestly do not know really why, but the feeling I have been out in the desert just brings me so much joy.

My friends also make me so happy, I have the world’s best friends, there is never a dull moment around them and when we are all together I get so giddy! I think seeing others happy makes me happy and that is a big reason why I do what I do!

Photography also makes me super happy too! Being able to capture and share two people’s love and happiness with them is unreal.

Pricing:

• 10 hours – $3,000

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.gretchenlynnephotos.com
• Instagram: @gretchen_lynne