Meet Hannah Rose Gray

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Rose Gray.

Hannah Rose, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My grandfather collected every NATGEO magazine since 1920 and they were all stored in our musky cottage basement. As a child, I was enamored by the yellow bookshelves that lined the walls with stories and photographs. So much so, I would pull them down and go through them regularly. I’ve always had an adventurous wandering soul at heart but these magazines gave me a new world to explore, and I knew someday I actually would explore. One day, I found the image of the Afghan girl (the most iconic photo in the world) with her eyes piercing blue/green looking at me through a 7×10 page. She pulled me in so much, I wanted to know who she was and what was her story. I flipped to the back and felt something for this human I knew I would never meet and never know what it’s like to live like her. At that moment, I knew I wanted to take photographs for generations in the past and present to understand what it’s like to be that human, even just an ounce.

My love for photography started with an image before I ever picked up a photograph but soon I fell in love with Polaroid’s. I took a photography class at an Art Museum and knew somewhere deep down, this is for me. Throughout my childhood and high school years, I photographed everything from flowers, friends parties, sunsets, families, senior photos, and food. I was obsessed with this ability to document history. Photography and adventure have always been in my blood. I am named after my Great Grandmother- Hannah. She and her husband George would go on six-month adventures in the 1880s around the world on large ships. George was a photographer and I recently found hundreds of his film slides from Israel, Africa, Japan, Italy, etc. I felt some sort of connection to these people I come from but had never met. Photographs have a way of pulling us into what it means to be human and where you come from. I photograph weddings because of this reason. I hope the images I photograph for families and couples will be cherished for years and that they would be passed down to their great-grandchildren so they are able to understand the legacy they come from. It’s a special thing to be a historian and I take it as an honor.

Back to my story- I ended up majoring in Fine Art Photography at Indiana Wesleyan University where I spent more time in the darkroom than in my own dorm room. I fell in love with how photography started, the chemistry and math (which I actually hate both, but love in the photo world!). I studied all sorts of photos- product, documentary, editorial, studio lighting and on. I loved all of them. That was my issue, I wanted to specialize in all varieties of photography but my professors wanted me to pick one. So, I started shooting weddings because in a 10 hour wedding day I get to photograph all of those and more. From detail shots, family photos, couple portraits, and receptions, I get a taste of everything I love. I started shooting weddings in the middle of college and really my business just snowballed without me trying. I was actively trying to travel with nonprofits doing more media/humanism photography. But my friends kept getting engaged and kept asking me to photograph them! I can’t pass up a fun opportunity to dance at a wedding reception and do what I love most, so I’ve been shooting weddings for almost seven years and love it. I also photograph for a lot of restaurants because, let’s be honest, growing, cooking, and eating food is my first love before photography! I am all about documenting what it means to be human. I see myself as a historian and writing a legacy for generations to come.

Recently, I’ve been able to get back into the world of documentary/humanitarian photography. I was feeling a lack of reason for the last few years. Maybe it’s because I’m an Aquarius or maybe it’s the heart I’ve been given, either way, I have this deep desire to give back in all that I do. My business supports 10 little girls in Bangladesh as they get their education and end the cycle of child marriage. In August I will be traveling to meet them and also to photograph for their organization called Speak Up For the Poor. I’m excited to tell their stories because their stories are worth being told and documented.

I moved to Flagstaff, Arizona after a fail attempt at moving to Hawaii ( I will end up there, in due time). I had college friends live in Flagstaff and told me the sun always shined, I was sold. I’ve lived in Flagstaff, AZ for the past four years but traveling more than half of that time. I shoot 50% of my weddings in Arizona all over the state and 50% all over the world. I’ve photographed weddings in Singapore, England, Mexico, California, Oregon, Indiana, Massachusetts, Colorado, and everywhere in between. I specialize in outdoor events. The sun is my best friend. I’ve learned to work with her as she works with me. I’m known for my colorful, joyful, romantic sun flare shots in beautiful locations on mountains and in the ocean. But more importantly, I am known as the crazy photographer dancing and making best friends with all your guests at the wedding.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Most definitely, it has not been a smooth road. The road has been lit by moonlight but I’ve had to do all the cutting and whacking away to create a clear path to walk. What I mean by lit by moonlight is that running a small business in a creative space has been in my blood on both sides of the family since my great grandparents. I don’t believe I chose to be a photographer rather is has chosen me and keeps choosing me. I’ve literally tried to get away from the field because it hasn’t been an easy process but without fail, I keep finding myself picking up my camera.

The number one struggle I’ve had with running a small photography business and being a photographer is boundaries!! Creating personal and work life separation. I travel 50% of my job so to save money I work out of my home office in my bedroom. I don’t mind it now but the first three years it’s been one of the hardest things to do is learning to just “turn” off. When you run your own business you are the photographer, editor, social media manager, client communicator, designer, accountant, the one who puts out all the fires. It’s just me (as of late) to run the whole thing! My friends will make comments about how I’m never around or on my phone/email checking things constantly. I get up in the morning and see my computer- so I just start working! I would easy work 10-12 hour days before I put boundaries up I have learned to implement morning routines (work out, breakfast, journal, meditate). I would come home at 10 pm from something and feel the need to just check my email real quick which would lead to another hour or two of work. I struggle with ADD and focusing. It went undetected growing up due to my brother having larger issues than I. Through college it took me to double if not triple times to do the same project as another classmate and it doesn’t help I don’t drink coffee! Learning how to not only being a creative right brain person but also a left brain businesswoman has been more difficult than I imagined it would. I wouldn’t trade ANYTHING for the last seven years of figuring it all out. It has taught me perseverance, determination, patience, grace for myself, grit, how to say no, and stop listening to negative self-talk. Even if I went to business school, I don’t think I would have gained the skills I have if I didn’t push through learning how to do it all by myself.

For some people organization, efficiency comes naturally to them- it does not to me. BUT I have trained myself to do so. Client experience and communication matters JUST as much as photographing. I’m convinced people will remember how you make them feel over what you produce for them. That goes from the first moment they inquiry, to their wedding process, to the entire wedding day, and after.

Another struggle for me has been the comparison game. Which REALLY comes down to confidence in myself and what I create in this world is enough. Instagram has not helped in this area but has helped me define who I am and what I want to be about. I have this thing where I’m really caught up on being proud of what I create. For years I hated everything I created. I put the struggle on myself and my art. For many artists, this is our main struggle-comparison and self-criticizing our work. For thousands of years, you can look over art history from painters to sculptors to poets and writers and see their inner struggle with creativity. I know I’m not alone in the process but believe there is more for each artist to step into. Elizabeth Gilbert talks about how you cannot demand your creativity to be what it’s not and you can’t look at your art like a child, that it needs to be able to stand by itself. I’ve learned over the years, it is what is- what I create but I am not attached to it. It does not define me, it is not my identity, it is apart of me but it’s not me. Once I released myself from the grips of perfectionism and comparison, I’ve been able to create freely. More than anything my experience of being present while I create has shifted most.

One last bump in the road on this photography journey is breaking the status quo. Growing up in a well to do small midwest town- we were expected to go into the oil company which headquarters are loaded in my hometown, become a doctor or dentist, or a homemaker. Nothing is wrong with ANY of those. They are amazing career paths but they are not for me. Thankfully, my parents let me fly free and explore my creativity. I don’t think anyone would have guessed I could make it being a traveling photographer as a living but I have! And in doing so I have broken many status quo’s from my hometown and friends across the country. It’s not a normal job and to do this day I get people looking at me funny when I say I’m a full time traveling wedding photographer as if it’s not possible. The last seven years, I’ve heard people scuffle at me trying to pursue a dream. I’ve had a lot of push back, a lot of questions, a lot of “that’s not a sustainable income.” But I can tell you it is!! Doing what’s deepest in my heart is the most sustainable and the best thing I could possibly do with my life. Far too many people do what their parents want them to do- what society thinks they should do without searching for the path of what they are made to do.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Hannah Rose Gray Photography LLC story. Tell us more about the business.
I am known for my colors, how I capture the sun, and the emotion or what I like to call the magic between humans. My style is natural light documentary photography with a twist of joy, warmth, and romance. I like to chase the sun every night with my couples laughing, dancing, and enjoying nature. I photograph primarily weddings, families, and brands. Although, I’ve been getting more into birth photography, I shoot mostly weddings. I love the documentary aspect of the day. I like to document what I see instead of posing. I believe when I document two people that space between the two happens nowhere else in the universe. And I believe it’s my job to document that space. You can see it when two people are so in love that you are drawn in. There is this energy that you can feel and that is what I’m drawn to documenting. It’s also my job to get clients to be comfortable to be themselves in front of the camera.

There is something to be said about beauty and how it invites us to rest and take a step away from the chaos of the world. Each wedding does this for me. It’s not about the flowers or the cake or the venue. It’s the moments that are shared between two families coming together, friends who haven’t seen each other in a long time, and a ceremony that only happens once a lifetime. Weddings invite us in for one night, to reconnect, eat good food with good friends, and have fun dancing like a kid again.

I am most proud of my documentary work- the magic. Those moments I see and I’m there for and get. Whether it be moms face as her son says his vows, the moments right after the couple walks down the aisle or something funny during the reception! I think I am set apart from other photographers because of how diverse I am. I know how to read the sun, I know where to be at the right moment, I know how to make people feel so comfortable their walls come down. What sets me apart on a wedding day is how I make people feel. You will truly be one of my friends after you are a client. It might be my personality or the way I was raised but I loveeeee meeting new people every weekend at weddings and pulling them into my life. There is always room at my table for more. More friends, more clients, more experiences together.

So, what should we be on the lookout for, what’s next in store for you?
Moving forward in my business I am looking to move towards returning to why I was drawn to photography when I was 12. Which was travel documentary work. I have dreams of creating a network between photographers and nonprofits around the world to help tell the stories and connect individuals. Far too many nonprofits don’t have access to solid media work and sadly without good storytelling in our image-heavy culture currently, nonprofits don’t thrive in ways they could. I want to create this network where photographers can offer, give, and serve for nonprofits as a way of giving back all over the world. I have dreams of photographing more stories that go untold of people in remote places. I believe we are all apart of this human experience and as a historian, it’s my job to tell everyone’s stories- not just the Instagram influencers, business owners in my hometown, or my wedding couples. They are ALL worth being told and will add to the history. Like I mentioned above in August, I will be traveling to Bangladesh to photograph for a nonprofit there along with telling the stories of the girls.

I recently hired a Brand Manager who helps me with all things marketing, branding, social media, and client experience. She has been essential for my workflow and growth. I also have an editor who helps me edit half of my weddings throughout the year. I have the desire to grow a larger photography team in Northern Arizona where we can document the most important moments of one’s life. From graduation high school to getting married, to birthing your children, to anniversary and family moments.

I also want to either live half the year in Hawaii or a South American country on a farm where I raise my babies and they swim in the ocean daily, of course, photographing along the way!

Pricing:

• Wedding collections starting at $4,000
• Family Sessions starting at $225
• Branding Sessions starting at $375

Contact Info:

• Website: hannahrosegray.com
• Email: h@hannahrosegray.com
• Instagram: @hannahrosegray3
• Facebook: Hannah Rose Gray Photography

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