Today we’d like to introduce you to Claire Thorn
Hi Claire, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up always being interested in cameras and photography as my mom is also a photographer so I was consistently around it. Always snapping polaroids and making videos out of our family vacations and trips with friends. I knew I loved being creative but didn’t think I could actually make a career out of it. I went to college for Animal Science with the intention of being a vet and would take family portraits, business advertisements, and senior photos on the side to make money. It wasn’t until I realized, a few years ago, that I could shoot what I actually wanted and be creative in the way I wanted that I really started to develop my business. As soon as that clicked, I went all in 100% and thankfully people have been interested and super supportive and it has really taken off from there!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Even though my mom is a photographer, she shoots newborns on digital cameras and I was more interested in weddings, brand work, and film photography which I quickly found out is completely different than shooting a baby. I taught myself so much through trial and error (lots of error) and so much research and reaching out to other photographers. Learning to not take it too personally when a client goes a different direction and finding my personal style instead of comparing it to everyone else was a big challenge that I still have to remind myself not to get hung up on.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a photographer specializing in wedding and fashion photography. I enjoy shooting on different film mediums in interesting locations and telling a story whether that is for a brand or for my couples on their wedding day. I’m super proud of how far I have come since I started. I really knew hardly anything starting out and it has been so fun and challenging to grow so much. Shooting fashion has helped my wedding work become more editorial inspired and shooting weddings has helped me better tell a story for my fashion clients. I love the connections I get to make with the people I work with. Whether that is the brand owners, models, or couples, I’ve been fortunate enough to experience so many relationships far past the day of the shoot.
Any big plans?
I’m looking forward to continuing to grow, to create experiences for other photographers like myself looking to learn and to strive for projects that I once thought would never be a possibility. I’m excited to grow our team as well which I think will only make us that much stronger.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hillerphotography.com
- Instagram: @hillerphotography & @hillerweddings
