Today we’d like to introduce you to Lael Primrose
Hi Lael, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I bought my first camera when I was 19 after I had experienced my first heartbreak and separation from a community that grew and grounded me. I named my instrument Ebenezer and made a commitment that I would take a picture of something beautiful everyday until I felt happiness, until I believed life could be beautiful again. I know it sounds cheezy but thats honestly how it all started. That same summer my sisters started falling in love and needing engagement photos. Soon after my cousins started getting pregnant and wanted maternity shots. I spent my college years shooting for friends and family and exploring my personal style, and then grafted into the thriving community of Minneapolis lifestyle shooters when I moved to the Twin Cities in 2016.
It was a lot of emotional work for me to make the jump from hobby photography to professional shooter. I even remember that in ordering my business cards, everyone thought I had made a typo. They read “Lael Primrose – Photographer” rather than the trend at the time to add “photography” at the end of your name. I need something, even just a tiny piece of card stock to affirm in me that I was indeed a PHOTOGRAPHER, someone talented at seeing and capturing the honest beautiful moments that this life has to offer.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not at all. Growing my photography business alongside the global fascination with posting every moment on social media has been exhausting. Everyone has a camera in the palm of their hand and thereby believes they are capable of doing the same work. The most painful struggle is the people that hire you for your equipment exclusively. I tend to not work with clients that give off that vibe; that you are checking a box on their list of needs. I want my relationship with clients to be mutually respectful, I capture the love they want to share, they respect the eye and style with which I capture.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
This might not be what you want to hear, but my passion isn’t photography. My passion is people, I love people. I love their origin stories, their quirks, their feelings and their dreams. Photography is a way I can show people themselves, how fascinating and special they are; how loving and tender they are; how passionate and ambitious they are. Photography is a lens through which I get to reflect the beauty I see in an individual right back at them.
I have many other mediums I use to also administer my passion for people. During the 2020 shutdown I taught myself graphic illustration and love making art for people that immortalizes special moments in their lives. I’m also working on a few children’s books to help teach children how to better navigate this world of feelings so they can love themselves and others with authenticity and integrity.
My driving ambition in all these mediums has always been TO KNOW PEOPLE AND HELP THEM FEEL KNOWN.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My sister Rachel Primrose Warner has been a constant support/challenge/and sounding board for me. We didn’t know until our late 20s what a gift we had in one another when it came to ideation. Anytime I’m brewing a new creative project, she is the woman I call first to talk through the details, navigate any road bumps and start project planning. I’m so grateful to have her in my life, she is an ever-flowing fountain of creative juice that paints itself across walls, cookies and children, she is a master artist of life.
I would be remiss to not also mention my friend and mentor Michelle Allen, she is a fellow shooter in Minneapolis who was the first woman in my creative sphere to teach me about collaboration and generosity. She is always lending me gear, opening studio doors and inviting me in front of her lens. My favorite portraits have been some of her talented work. She taught me so much about finding light and organizing work flow. I’m forever in awe of how she navigates the sway of business and intention.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Laelprimrose.com
- Instagram: Lael_Primrose
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaelPrimrose
