Meet Hannah Lorsch

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Lorsch.

Hannah, before we jump into specific questions about your business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My teenage years were full of emotional ups and downs. The greatest rollercoaster of emotions came when I found myself carrying an unplanned pregnancy before the beginning of my senior year. Despite my wish to keep the baby, I ended up choosing to place him for adoption with a stable family, who I felt could offer him everything I couldn’t at that time. I see that era as the starting point that leads me to where I am today.

Because of the heartache associated with that time of my life, It was hard for me to have feeling a sense of belonging or purpose. I had a hard time connecting with other people in my age group, because they were worried about things, that I felt didn’t matter in comparison to the loss I was trying to heal from.

I would go from one job to the next looking for a distraction. I didn’t want to think about how much my heart ached to not have that little boy with me in my arms. I didn’t wanna think about how badly I wanted to be his mom.

I didn’t want to question my decision. All I wanted was to have peace with my decision and to have my heart feel whole again. I didn’t care where I worked, who my friends were, or what I was doing. But outwardly, I wanted to convince everyone, including myself that I was perfectly fine, that I was productive, thriving, successful and happy. But inside, I felt a huge hollow space. Nothing REALLY mattered. But even then I tried to find purpose.

At that time my family relationships were strained, and I felt like I needed to be independent of everyone and everything. And if I’m being completely honest I just wanted to run away. So I made a plan to go off to hair school in another state, in the hope that I could change the way I felt about my life.

Hair school was everything I thought it would be! For a little while anyway. It was the perfect distraction. I was in a new place, surrounded by new people, and that meant endless opportunities for new and vibrant friendships and a chance at a NEW START. I told myself the first day I arrived, that this was my fresh start. Unfortunately, after the newness wore off, I began to feel the same hollowness I had been fighting for so long. I found myself creating shallow “friendships” that were more to my detriment than to my growth. And after while darkness set in that, I didn’t know how to navigate. I lived STEPS away from the school, and in the mornings I would wake up, only wishing to be asleep again. At first, I would still go to school. I’d clock in reluctantly, and I’d sit in class, feeling fatigued after doing LITERALLY NOTHING DIFFICULT, and I’d sluggishly go about my day highly disinterested in something that I had felt so inspired and excited about, just weeks prior. The days felt endlessly long. Everyone else seemed to show up so effortlessly, they seemed to have so much fun! I wanted to feel how it seemed my other classmates were feeling, but I was faking my smiles. I started to come to school late occasionally…then late most days. Eventually spiraling into not showing up at all.

I didn’t feel like I was capable of doing anything. I felt betrayed by my body when I would wake up because I knew what I was supposed to do! I knew I needed to get up and go to school and make the best of every day! I felt angry at myself because I knew how lucky I was to have this opportunity to be at such a fun school! To have teachers (learning leaders they were called) who were fun and energetic and excited to help us succeed! But I didn’t know how to make myself do it. I didn’t know how to make myself get out of my bed. It was as if I was in a constant state of broken, and I hated myself for it. I felt like a failure. As enough time passed having consistently disappointed myself, I decided to give up, and I came back to Arizona. I decided I needed another “new start”. I gave up on hair school. But I couldn’t do anything. So I tried something else.

As a teen, I hadn’t finished high school, (I had obtained my GED to get into hair school ) and that always kinda bugged me because in my head it was just another thing that I didn’t fully finish. I wanted to feel “normal”. I wanted to feel like I could accomplish things and better my life. Eventually, I signed up with job corps in Phoenix, who sent me their center in San Marcos Texas. There I started training to become a pharmacy technician, as well as took courses to finish high school and obtain my high school diploma. I was determined. I wanted to FINISH. I wanted to prove to myself and to my loved ones that I could finish something.

I learned so much during my time at Gary Job Corps. I learned that I had so much more control over my life than I had previously given myself credit for. I learned that I was bright and that If I combined that with a little determination, that I could achieve anything I set my mind to. I remember the day I finished “high school”. I remember crying and calling my parents because I was so proud to have finished something. The depression I had previously experienced began to lift. Just as with most experiences, there were times that it was very difficult to be at the Job Corps center. There is opposition in all things, so there were times that I wanted to leave the program and go home. But once I got my high school diploma, it ignited a fire and confidence in myself that fueled me and pushed me to also finish my pharmacy program. A typical pharmacy course (most courses were self-paced) was six to ten months. With the help of my amazing teacher and lots of late night study sessions, I finished the course and passed the exam in four months.

I thought I had finally MADE IT! I thought this was the start of my balanced, happy, independent and successful life. I headed back to Arizona where a well known pharmacy hired me weeks after my graduation, and I started making goals and plans. I was going to buy a really great car, and have a cozy apartment, and live the dream!

As it turns out, I was only working as a CPhT (Pharmacy Technician) for a little under six months, before I began to feel like I had made a huge mistake. While I really enjoyed the company I worked for, the work itself left me feeling disenchanted, bored, and lacking in purpose. It was high stress for me, and I consistently felt like I was going to make big mistakes. Nothing about this job came easily for me. I felt like I was fighting daily to remember important things and do well at this job that I had invested so much time and heart into.

I knew it wasn’t the right fit, but I wanted it to be, because of how much I put into it. Quitting seemed like another failure. And failure was the exact thing that would drag me down into my previously depressed state.

Meanwhile, a friend of mine was doing photography on the side. One night, while hanging out with her at her home, she pulled out her laptop to edit some pictures. She showed me how she could brighten the eyes of her subject, and make them extra sharp and sparkly. As I watched her, I thought that it would be unto try, so I asked her if I could take a whack at it.

I messed around for a few minutes, and she told me I had a natural talent for editing. It came pretty easy for me, and I thought it was fun! That was my first intro to the photo.

From there, I played around and started offering to take free photos for people. It was exciting! When I had someone in front of the camera, I could see in my head how I wanted it to turn out, before I even posed them. I’d find ways to articulate what I was seeing, and together we would bring that vision to life. It was teamwork. And when they liked what we created together, I felt a sense of pride and again, that accomplishment that I so often was looking for.

As I started to take an interest deeper into photography, my dad took it as an opportunity to bond with me. He told me about his days in high school where he did sports photography for the school, and how he took photo classes. And then he planned a trip with me to Paige Arizona, Antelope Canyon. I wanted to spend some quality one on one time with my dad, and I loved road trips, so I remember being excited and looking forward to the trip for weeks!

At this point, for all the photos I had taken I was using his Canon Powershot point and shoot digital camera. (ALWAYS in AUTO might I add)! Mostly because I didn’t know anything about shooting in Manual until he mentioned it on the drive up to Paige. As he tried to explain to me the delicate balance and relationship of ISO, Aperture, and shutter speed. (shooting a camera in manual mode), I half tuned him out, because I felt highly confident that I could produce something breathtaking in Auto Mode.

Boy oh Boy, was I in for an important photography learning experience. My mom is great at planning out trips, and she had my Dad purchase a photo tour with a guide, so we could have someone take us through the slot canyon to point out the beautiful, and most recommended frames.

Again, I thought I had listened enough to wing it in Manual mode. We arrived at the office where we would meet our guide, and he started explaining how I would need to “bump MY ISO to 800” because certain areas would be dark, and have a tripod to avoid shaking with slow shutter speed. We had bought a flimsy one, earlier that morning from Walmart.

At last, we made it to the canyon, and I was so distracted by how beautiful it was, that as the guide tried explaining how to set my camera, I again didn’t listen very well. He asked if we were ready, and I nodded, excited to get started. We walked into the Canyon and felt the temperature drop as the shaded areas caressed us with a slight chill. He pointed out the first shot to take. He was ushering us to move quickly but I couldn’t get my tripod to stand straight or connect to my camera in the rush. So I decided to just do it free hand, to the great disappointment of our guide. I took the first photo without a tripod, and on a slow shutter speed. The result was a slightly blurred, very dark, underexposed image. My heart sank. I was blowing it! You could barely make out the image! We had everything ready for us, this beautiful and awesome experience and I was messing it up because I didn’t understand Manual mode functions. I thought about how many hours it took us to drive here, and didn’t imagine I would be back anytime soon. So in my effort to salvage the rest of the tour, I popped the camera onto the tripod to appear obedient and switched the camera setting from the “M” (manual mode) to the Green “AUTO”. Through the rest of the canyon, AUTO was where I stayed. From the viewfinder, everything looked just great, and I wondered why anyone would use Manual when the camera seemed to know exactly what to do without me interfering.

I’ll never forget that trip with my Dad. When I was taking the photos, I was focused on seeing the beauty in the world, instead of cycling through the sadness that usually clouded my view. On the way home It was a great time of getting to know each other better, Jamming out to his old school music, and listening to the crazy shenanigans of his high school days. We gushed about how much we enjoyed the magic of the slot canyons and kept the cameras available in case we saw something else great on the way home. (We stopped several times) I knew I had been bitten by the “photo bug.”

When I got home from the trip, I immediately dumped the SD card onto my laptop. As the images became available on the screen, my excitement lessened as I examined the photos more closely. On the viewfinder, they looked perfect!!! What I was seeing up-close was highly grainy, STILL slightly blurred, low quality images. I could not believe my eyes. I thought auto was the answer!!! I showed my dad and he explained that Auto mode chooses what it assumes is the correct “recipe” to achieve good exposure – But that it may overcompensate with the wrong amount of sensitivity to light, causing grainy, or blurred photos.

That was the moment I knew I needed to REALLY learn how to use a camera. I didn’t want to ever see something beautiful ever again and not be able to capture it! To look back at it, and feel like I was a part of sharing something so lovely with others. Seeing beauty distracted me from the parts of myself I didn’t like. Creating made me feel worthwhile. I wanted to be really good at creating.

That trip catapulted my drive to know how to use my tools. It was never a lack of vision, rather than the inability to use my tools to help me achieve the vision I had in my mind. So I studied. I learned. I read books and watched videos, and I got out there and practiced. I became obsessed with taking photos. After a time, and practice and patience I started to produce quality photos that I could be proud of. I played with light, and different settings, and posing, and started to invest in better equipment.

My hard work coupled with my talent was the recipe for my success. I made many mistakes along the way, deleted some images on accident, made poor lighting choices, etc. But I continued to keep at it.

Eventually, I decided I was going to BE A PHOTOGRAPHER. My renewal date was approaching for my pharmacy license, and I had to decide whether I was going to try and re-certify and keep up with that or project my focus into my photo. I considered doing both. But my final decision was that I was going to leave behind any and all safety nets, and dive head first into this new world of photography that had set my heart on fire. I was going to live my passion. I was going to take the risk, be really broke for a while, and try to make my art the center of my life.

The past six years since that decision have been a blur of personal growth and change. There wasn’t some crazy day where I woke up and found my calendar suddenly full of clients. It’s been a consistent growth, on a trail of victories, mistakes, regrets, good and bad decisions, confusion, joy, and learning. I have moments over and over where I don’t feel good enough. Moments where I lack confidence because I see that I could improve and be better. But I stay open to learning, and I give myself grace and time to grow. The thing is, that photography has been the first consistent thing in my life that I have stuck with. It’s become something I rely on. It makes me better. It held me accountable. It gives me purpose and meaning.

Photography has been my teacher. I have learned so many valuable lessons as I have chosen this path. I have learned that the magic is not in being a machine, and producing lots of photos quickly. The magic is in the way I see the world. Because of my experiences, and my soul, no one can see the world quite like Hannah Lorsch. And the same goes for whoever is reading this… No one sees the world quite as you do! Our views are as unique as the good and bad times we have been through. And it’s the hard times, and the beautiful times that fueled my desire to capture the good. It’s the human element- my pains, joys and longings that help me to focus on the beautiful things the way I do.

Just like everyone, my story has had its ups and downs. But I’m continually grateful for photography being an “up” I can count on. Being a part of recording people in settings and moments that matter to them gives me purpose. On the down days which come and go I am reminded of the beautiful moments over and over and over again. When I see a father who overcame a serious illness just months prior, get to walk his daughter down the aisle, I’m reminded of hope.

When I see a mother hold her newborn baby, and I see them look lovingly into each other’s eyes, I’m reminded of the importance of relationships. When I work with a high school senior, I’m reminded of our ability to FINISH to accomplish. When I work with small businesses, I’m reminded of our ability to dream! There are so much light and goodness that photography floods into my life. That very light and goodness have brought me to a place of peace. And because of that, I’m creating for others something that brings them happiness, and to me that is everything.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Bumps along the way have included trying to find balance. As photography became full time for me, I felt the need to say yes to all jobs that came along the way. Eventually, that leads to burn out and I have had to set time aside for myself and my family. When I reach burn out, I’m less inspired, and that results in a lacking final product for the client. So finding balance is something I continually have to evaluate.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I specialize in candid and posed moody, storytelling photos. Some of my most popular images include starry backgrounds or other dramatic skies, with a bride and groom in the foreground. I’m most proud of the fact that I always want to give my best. I always want my images to create emotion for the viewer.

There are many amazing photographers out there, no doubt! I think a popular perk that sets me apart is my turn around. I try to get the majority of my clients (weddings excluded) their photos back within two to three business days. And, Weddings usually within a week.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I was named one of the best in Phoenix by Bark for 2019 and was awarded the certificate of excellence.

Contact Info:

• Website: hannahlorsch.com
• Phone: 480.800.7315
• Email: hlorsch.photography@gmail.com
• Instagram: @hannahlorschphotography

Image Credit:
Janessa Lin Photography

Suggest a story: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.