Today we’d like to introduce you to Gina Her.
Hi Gina, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hello! My name is Gina Her. Thank you for your interest in my photography business story. I’ve been taking photos for the past 13 years and here is my back story on how I got started with photography.
Growing up as an immigrant shaped me to be who I am today. I was born in a refugee camp in Thailand in 1991 and soon after we fled to the US in 1993. We then made Saint Paul, Minnesota home to us. My parents have always taught me the value of life and to work hard in order to get what I want in life. I’ve always lived by that rule. My mom had a stroke after giving birth to me and never really recovered since that incident. Although today she has a speech impediment and can’t move fast anymore, she motivates me to dream bigger than what I was taught in school. When I look at her smile and hear her laughter at the little things in life, that motivates me to start my own photography business. Capturing people’s little and big moments in life is what I live for. I am honored each time someone picks me to photograph their special moments. Nothing in life comes easy and I plan to continue to work hard to make other people’s dreams come true through my vision with photography.
When I was in middle school my English teacher asked us to create a book about what we wanted to be when we grow up. At that time, I knew I wanted to be a photographer. I have always loved taking photos as a kid. I would often take photos with a disposable camera and develop the photos. I still have some of those photos till this day. That’s the thing about photos, they’re clips of our memories that we can look back on years from now. Fast forward to high school during my senior year, I started working at a grocery store to save up to buy my very first camera. Since then I started to shoot my friends and family for fun then soon became a business. I never stopped shooting since then. I now specialize in self portraits, family portraits, fine art photography, and weddings.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road to success has not been easy. Even till today, I’m still trying to figure out what I want to specialize in. Every year I take on too many sessions and often get burnt out by the end of the year. But, for the first time in 2021, I felt like I finally have a system that works. Meaning I know how many clients I need to book a month to be satisfied. Some of the biggest struggles for me is being consistent with my editing. Maybe I’m just being hard on myself, but I always feel I can do better.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Like I mentioned before, I specialize in self portraits, family portraits, fine art photography, and weddings. I feel like my style of editing is a mixture of light and airy and natural tones. From what I’ve been told, people love how I frame my subjects/clients. In a way, it tells a story of the session.
Photography to me means so much more than just taking a snap shot. I love capturing my clients’ special moments from when I direct them to look at each other to the moment they no longer feel like I’m there. From the beginning of 2021, I thought I was going to be more of a cinematic photographer and take more candid photos, but I’ve learned that I each enjoy directing and posing my clients. I believe they also like that more as well. I think what sets me apart from others is the way I photograph my photos like how I would if I were to shoot a fine art photo.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I did open my first studio rental business at the beginning of 2021 so I’m excited about how I’m going to use that space to help new photographers explore their talent. My studio is called Her Canvas Studio and I’m located in Saint Paul, MN. I offer hourly studio rentals to the public. In the next 5-10 years I can see myself being more of a mentor than a full-time photographer and hopefully create more art through photography. There are always new techniques I can learn with photography.
Contact Info:
- Email: ginaherphotography@gmail.com
- Website: hercanvasllc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginaherphotography/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ginaherphotography/
Image Credits
LLovelyphotography
Ginaherphotography
