Today we’d like to introduce you to Gina Spinelli.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Gina. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up listening to my dad tell wild story after wild story, shuffling through photos taken with his old Nikkormat camera. I was absolutely fascinated and my passion for visual storytelling was born. On my tenth birthday, he gifted me my first camera, which I used as most 10-year-olds would. Many selfies, off-kilter, blurry, and questionably framed photos later, some skill developed and I realized I had a true passion for photography.
In high school, I bought my first DSLR, thrifted a couple of film cameras, and took a film class. I always had a camera on me and would think of how cool it would be to be a photographer, never actually thinking of it as an attainable career.
I started college with a major in journalism before a few friends saw some of my photos and encouraged me to switch to photography. It was a perfect fit for me while it lasted, but by the following semester, I had transferred to another school that didn’t offer photography. I ended up graduating with a degree in New Media and continued to practice photography haphazardly.
Fast forward to last year, something clicked inside of me. I finally recognized my skill and realized I could turn this hobby into a career (read: live my dream!) I invested in a better camera, created a website, and started marketing myself as a photographer. Within days I was booking family and friends, and soon after that, their family and friends. It’s certainly been a journey, and it took a while for me to step into my potential, but I’m infinitely grateful that I finally did. Having the opportunity to create timeless images to share with people who will love them forever truly is a dream come true.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Oh, absolutely not. A lot of my early struggles stemmed from lack of confidence, which is incredibly frustrating to realize now since it was always something within my control. But everything is a lesson. Overcoming what was ultimately fear of what others would think was wildly freeing. Almost as soon as I let go of that fear, I was rewarded.
That’s not to say I no longer face challenges (what fun would that be?…) My husband is in the Army, so we have a few years of relocating in front of us. It’s not exactly easy to move a business, so heavily dependent on networking and word of mouth, around the country, but I trust it will all work out.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I’m a fine art photographer with a photojournalistic approach. I shoot weddings, couples, families, businesses – I love it all. Whenever I’m behind the camera, I work to bring the in-between moments to life – details that otherwise might go unnoticed. Formal portraits are nice, but in my opinion, there’s nothing more magical or captivating to me than capturing raw emotion unprompted by a camera lens and the natural unposed details of the world.
What were you like growing up?
I’ve always been extremely sensitive, which is, I think, part of what makes me good at my job. I mean, it’s not like I’m going to start crying at any given moment (although, I have cried while working before – sometimes the love I’m witness to is overwhelming). Emotion has never been a foreign concept to me. It’s something that I understand and something that I welcome as it lends itself directly to creativity.
Contact Info:
- Website: ginaspinelliphotograp
hy.com - Email: ginaspinelliphotography
@gmail.com - Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/ ginaspinelliphotography/ and instagram.com/ginaspinelli_ - Facebook: www.facebook.com/
ginaspinelliphotography
Image Credit:
Photo of me taken by Melissa Ollison of The Photo Brief
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