Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Head
Hi Amy, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My story never really “began”, so much as it evolved from a series of big life transitions I was unprepared for at such a young age. After graduating high school early at 16, my high-achieving, people-pleasing, “good girl” reputation was quickly put under scrutiny when I became a single teenage mother with a dream that suddenly seemed unattainable.
In short, I had a big wakeup call. But I was determined to find a way to balance being a single mom with also being an entrepreneur, even if I had to do everything the hard way and learn by trial and error.
I’ve always been a creative, artistic person, ever since I was little. From drawing and painting to music and dance, the arts have always made my soul happy. In college, I studied graphic design (combining art with technology), but photography soon claimed my heart, and provided an outlet for expressing what I couldn’t always find the words to say.
I started my photography business when my daughter (the original muse) was a baby, and before the convenience of social media existed. I grew my business through word of mouth and photographed everything from children and families to weddings and concerts. Every genre had something to offer, but I always felt especially connected to women’s portraiture. I wanted to build a business around the experience of a transformation, and providing women a way to build their confidence and feel beautiful. In the beginning, the focus was more about the glamorous hair and makeup transformations, the wardrobe, and the high end retouching. Over the past 20 years, it has grown to be a unique business and source of holistic healing, empowerment, and helping women discover their authentic beauty and prioritize self-love.
Throughout my journey as a photographer, I also studied cosmetology but ultimately received my esthetics license and expanded my business to offer more beauty services such as cosmetic and paramedical tattoo.
These days, my passion for inspiring and empowering others has become my primary focus and I have transitioned into coaching and mentoring others on their healing or creative journeys. I am also a licensed esthetics instructor, where I help the next generation of future beauty professionals achieve their own dreams. Although it’s taken almost 25 years, my journey has come full circle and I’m grateful for every peak and valley I’ve experienced along the way that has led me to create a roadmap for others following in my footsteps.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
From becoming a single teenage mom, to experiencing trauma, PTSD, and depression through toxic and abusive relationships, losing my father to cancer, becoming a 3-time beauty school drop-out, enduring multiple failed marriages, and being met with countless roadblocks and obstacles, none of it has been smooth. I could easily point the finger and blame others for the pain I’ve experienced (and I used to), but I’ve learned the meaning behind it all, and I’m grateful for those people who taught me some powerful life lessons, which have all made me stronger, wiser, and more mindful. I believe that we are not simply meandering through life, flailing around for no reason, but instead presented with opportunities to learn something valuable that will help us expand and elevate to our highest selves on our journey through life.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
For the past 20 years, I’ve specialized in wedding, event, and portrait photography. I am known for my dramatic lighting and vivid style in weddings and boudoir, my self-portrait work, as well as my makeup and hair work. I’m particularly proud of my recent 40 Over 40 portrait campaign, which I launched 2 years ago. I gave 40 women a luxury portrait experience, including professional hair and makeup, wardrobe styling, and a custom photoshoot. At the end of the campaign, all the ladies got a custom magazine featuring their images, and were honored at a gala I hosted where their portraits were on display in an art gallery.
I’m so grateful for what photography has provided for me, including the relationships created, opportunities to travel internationally and photograph amazing models, and learn from mentors I’ve admired throughout my career.
Since becoming a licensed esthetician and instructor, I have expanded my beauty services and specialize in cosmetic and paramedical tattoo. I offer powderbrows, lipblushing, and 3D areola restorative tattoo for breast cancer survivors.
Over the last few years, I’ve expanded into coaching and education, offering guidance to women on their journey through life transitions and starting over after things like divorce, relocating, and getting older, as well as business coaching to current or aspiring photographers and beauty professionals.
What sets me apart from others is that I am a one-woman show, and I never stop trying. I started when I was young, before lots of conveniences like social media, apps, and AI existed. I had to teach myself or DIY a lot of my large projects. As a result, this has made me extremely innovative and resourceful, allowing me to help others on their own journeys. Although my expertise is varied over several industries and modalities, my purpose has always remained the same: to inspire and empower other women to feel more confident and to rewrite their happy endings.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
For me, success is about alignment and fulfillment rather than just reaching a certain milestone or checking off a goal. It’s about living authentically, where your actions, values, and passions all align.
It’s also about growth and resilience. Success isn’t just about the wins; it’s about how you handle the losses, the lessons you learn along the way, and the person you become through all the ups and downs. It’s finding joy in the journey, not just in the destination.
And, of course, success involves contributing something meaningful to the world, whether that’s through your work, relationships, or just how you show up every day. It’s about making a positive impact, leaving things a little better than you found them, and feeling good about who you are and what you’re doing with your life.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.lucidlifephotoandbeauty.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lucidlifephotoandbeauty
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lucidlifephotoandbeauty
