Today we’d like to introduce you to Elise Dunn.
Hi Elise, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My journey in photography is one I will treasure forever. I first picked up my camera as a pediatric ICU nurse. I took photos of patients who were sick enough to be admitted immediately after birth – too sick to leave for a newborn photoshoot. It was a time when I knew little about camera settings and nothing about Photoshop. I was as new as the babies I was capturing, but thanks to the most sincerely kind families, these memories are some of my sweetest. This was how I discovered my love for photography. A few years of practice later I was able to make toy passion my full-time job!
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?
I feel like I’m the beginning I thought in order to be successful I needed to be able to define myself. I felt stressed by not able being able to confidently call myself “a wedding photographer” or “a portrait photographer”. Now I realize I don’t need a definition to have a successful business, I just need to shoot things I’m passionate about and the rest will come. Now that I’ve let go of that stress, I am so much happier with my business and truth is I still am nowhere closer to defining myself.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am so lucky to photograph a lot of different types of important moments in people’s lives – from wedding days to engagement sessions, parents first newborn, to creatives putting their inspiration to life, I love to photograph it all! Every session I walk into I have one goal: to make every family, every couple, every creative look unique. I want to tell their story without having to say any words. I think sometimes creativity is over complicated. I photograph what makes me passionate, what makes me feel good, and I think it shows in my work!
What’s next?
Well, I am still doing a small amount of pediatric nursing. I hope to never fully give up or lose that skill not matter how busy photography gets. I love to be a nurse. This is my first-year full time as a photographer, still so weird to me, so really just building the basics! So excited to see all the fun this year brings.
Contact Info:
- Email: Elisedunnphotography@gmail.com
- Instagram: elise_usesacamera
- Facebook: Elise Tadros St. Louis Photographer
Image Credits
Elise Dunn Photography
