We recently had the chance to connect with Brandi Inman and have shared our conversation below.
Brandi, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I love to wake up super early every day. Even on my days off and have a silent morning. I like to just sit with a cup of coffee and no distractions. Some may call it a form of meditation but I just like to start my morning with a clear head. I usually write down a list of things that come to mind for the day and it helps me get the perfect start.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Brandi Inman, the owner and photographer of Barefeet Imagery in Atlanta, GA. I specialize in lifestyle photography for families, brands and businesses. I really strive hard to make sure people are captured as their true selves in front of my camera. I want everyone to show up just how they are in real life. My goal is for everyone to look back at their photos for decades to come and feel like that is exactly who they ere in the timeline.
I started my business out in 2003, shooting on film. Just real, raw, organic photos that were freezing time. That’s what I hope to keep producing forever.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
I’d have to say my mom saw who I was before I knew. I’ve been an artist since before I can remember. My mom never tried to steer me in another direction with that. There was a time in my life where I tried to go another path, change careers to something safe and my mom jumped in to remind me that I wouldn’t be happy doing anything else but art. I’m thankful for that.
When she passed away in 2015 I found several boxes of photos of me growing up where I had a camera in my hand. She saw long before I did that I was born to be a photographer.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
I realized a long time ago that failure and suffering is only part of the process of elimination. All the techniques and business strategies that failed were only lessons that helped me reach success. So now I welcome it. I welcome in failure. I welcome in ideas that tank. I welcome in the strategies that don’t lead anywhere. Because I know that on the other side of those downfalls the wins are waiting for me.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
Absolutely. I am so very lucky to have hundreds of clients every year welcome me into their lives and homes and special occasions to share their true selves with me. It wouldn’t be fair not to show up as my true self as well. I’d like to think of myself as a genuine, caring human and I feel like I take that with me to every session. I believe it helps others open up to me to be documented in their true form. Connecting with people is a huge part of my job. I want them to walk away feeling like they’ve also connected with me as well.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I think about this a lot. Over the past few decades I’ve seen so many families grow, change, evolve. And most of them welcome me back several times of year for photos. I often think about how those family portraits will be hanging on walls or in albums for lifetimes to come. I hope they can look at all of those photos and remember how I showed up and made them feel seen, loved and captured in their true form. I hope they were thankful for me showing up year after year and freezing time that we will never get back.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.barefeetimagery.com
- Instagram: @barefeetimagery
