Amanda Sutton : Portrait and Wedding Photographer

Photo by Amanda Sutton

Daniel White: That's amazing! What were some of the first projects you worked on that you can remember? 

Amanda Sutton: One of the first photography projects I worked on was called Project 365.  It was a personal project where I took at least one photo every day for an entire year.  It forced me to pick up my camera every day, even when I felt too busy or discouraged with my work.  I took a LOT of photos of my dog, friends, family…pretty much anyone who would let me practice on them!

Daniel White: I know you worked at a bank for a long time before you transitioned into doing photography full time, can you tell us some of the biggest obstacles you faced when doing that? What are some of the advantages?  

Amanda Sutton: I’m sure any entrepreneur or creative person can relate when I say it’s hard to focus in a 9-5 job you don’t love when you have a million creative ideas running through your head all day that you’d much rather be working on.  I think that was the biggest struggle for me.  I had a great job, but I wasn’t passionate about it.  And at the end of the day, there wasn’t much time left for me to work on what I loved. Unfortunately, I let that get the best of me and suffered some serious burnout until I finally quit.  I definitely didn’t feel “ready” to take on photography full time.  But to be honest, if I had waited until I felt ready, I’d probably still be working there.  On the bright side, having a background in IT and customer service has been helpful in running my own business.  I code and manage my website on my own (it’s not perfect but it gets the job done) and it taught me the importance of building lasting client relationships.  

Daniel White: That's great! I know that taking a chance on yourself can seem extremely risky but it seems like you made the perfect choice following your heart. I know that you mostly do weddings and I know they are some of the hardest events to capture, what keeps you motivated to shoot them?

Amanda Sutton: I love all the feelings and emotions that happen on a wedding day…excitement, nervousness, laughter, tears, happiness.  Every wedding day is different, so it always keeps me on my toes.  But most importantly, I think it’s crazy cool to witness two people, who were once complete strangers, being joined together by God forever and ever…AND getting to document it and preserve those moments for them.   It really is an honor to be a part of that.  I like to imagine the bride and groom, forty or fifty years later, looking back at their wedding photos…showing their grandchildren and reliving those memories over again.  I know that sounds cheesy but for me, that’s what matters. Creating something that, when times get tough, might help them remember the joy they felt in those moments.  Providing them with their story in tangible form, so that they can pass it down and share it with their families for years to come.