Today we’d like to introduce you to Ian Schneider.
Ian, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
For my wife and I, photography started as a way for us to document our travels, but it has grown into an exciting and always evolving passion to freeze life’s moments that pass by so quickly. We specialize in lifestyle photography now and love stretching ourselves in this realm. We generalize the term “lifestyle” to encompass a lot of different things, including client sessions for couples, families, and weddings, but it also supports our collaborations and the partners we work with through our lifestyle blog, The Southern Trunk. For Victoria and I, photography will always evolve and grow with us and our experiences, so we make sure to give the art and our creative sides room to experiment and develop.
Has it been a smooth road?
I don’t believe anything worth it, in the end, comes from a smooth road. Sure it would be nice for things to work out well all the time, but we grow more through the valleys than we do at the mountain peaks. We are extremely grateful in both times, and make sure to show that, but through the struggles, we’ve produced some of our best work because there’s something about giving art everything you have when you feel like there’s nothing left. Through our struggles, we’ve refined out photography style into something that’s our own and can speak for our art.
Has there been people or an institution that has played a pivotal role in your career?
Over the years, there have been a number of incredible people who have encouraged me, pushed my abilities, kept me accountable and supported me through many ups and downs. Over the recent years, the one person who deserves an enormous amount of credit is my wife, Victoria. She has always pushed me beyond what I thought I’d be able to do and kept me accountable if my pride took hold.
The most credit though goes to Jesus Christ and my personal relationship with him. I wouldn’t be where I am without His love, grace, and sacrifice, and I truly believe everything I do would be worth nothing unless I give it all back to him.
Do you have a favorite type of client or project?
We actually don’t have a specific client we like to work with. Victoria and I have worked with a variety of different people and products, with different styles and personalities. This is a big factor in why we love what we do. Sure there can be situations that are more difficult and require my brainstorming / strategy to figure out how to best photograph the person or product, but we honestly love that part because it constantly stretches us to get our of our comfort zones.
What have been some of the most important lessons you’ve learned over the course of your career?
If I started over and could tell the younger Ian a piece of advice, it would be to trust in your own ability and follow your creativity. Just like any artist, what makes them unique is how they see the world, so trying to shape your vision into what you believe everyone else likes, hinders where your inspiration could take you.
I do also believe it’s a balance when working with clients. It’s trust earned by hard work and believing in not only my vision for something but that my way of thinking might not be the best way of going about something.
All that to say, I doubt the younger Ian would listen anyways, so I believe in learning through hard work and saturating yourself in the work / tools. I’ve learned almost everything I know now by throwing myself into the craft and absorbing everything I can.
Pricing:
- Lifestyle Sessions begin at $200 for 45 minutes
- Wedding Packages begin at $2250 for 8 hours
Contact Info:
- Website: http://thesoutherntrunk.com
- Email: ian@thesoutherntrunk.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goian
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSouthernTrunk
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/govictoria
