Today we’d like to introduce you to Hunter McRae Lawrence
Hi Hunter , we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was fortunate to study photojournalism at UNC-Chapel Hill with some of the most wonderful and accomplished professors in the country. I was completely hooked on a career in photography after participating in a documentary project about apartheid in South Africa, an internship in NYC with National Geographic Adventure Magazine, a documentary about a music festival in Galicia, Spain, and a documentary for the Special Olympics in Shanghai, China.
After graduating, I moved to Colorado where I interned at the Longmont Daily Times-Call and then The Gazette in Colorado Springs. I chased my career back to Savannah, Ga. where I worked as a photojournalist for The Savannah Morning News for three years and worked double duty as an associate photographer for a wedding business in town on my days off.
The news work environment became a bit too depressing for my optimistic personality, and as newspapers began to decline I bought my own camera equipment and a plane ticket to California with the money I had saved up from my side work as a wedding photographer. I took a solo journey by train from San Francisco to Vancouver to be there with my camera during the Olympics (making lots of stops along the way). After some soul searching, I journeyed by train back across the country with my camera to start a wedding and portrait photography business in Charleston.
My business took off much faster than my feet could follow, which was a huge blessing, but after several years led to burnout. I met my husband and scaled back to have babies and raise toddlers and now that my babies are school age I am back in the swing of things, mostly focusing on corporate events, fashion photography, family portraits and selects weddings. Of course, my favorite thing to shoot is my children and our family adventure travels!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been a beautifully smooth road! My biggest challenge was in the early days of my wedding photography business when I was doing every aspect of the business myself. It was too much for one person to handle at the rate my business was growing! I eventually learned how to delegate.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Travel photography and portraiture are my specialties. I think what sets me apart is my background in photojournalism, as I have a deep understanding of how to tell stories through my pictures. I try to be in the moment and allow a heightened awareness of emotion, personality, and feelings to capture real, candid moments.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
After stepping back and focusing on my children for several years, I’m finding myself with more time now that they are in school and I’m ready to soar! Photography has provided many unusual and exciting opportunities in my life and I can’t wait to see what opportunities are ahead.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.huntermcrae.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/huntermcrae/
