Meet Brooklyn Harrison | Local/Destination wedding and family Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brooklyn Harrison and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brooklyn, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
I love this question! I think that our values should affect every aspect of our lives and that people watching us in our daily lives should be able to get a good idea of what we value without us ever verbalizing these values to them. For me a lot of what I value and the principles that I have built into my life come back to my faith and desire to honor Christ in my life.

I want to give my all in the work that I do, whether that be in my business, like the integrity and honesty that I strive for with each client or taking extra time on a wedding day to make sure my couple or their family feels relaxed and loved. To see beyond the “job” and seeing the person and what they need in that moment.

It’s all about people, I hope that I leave people feeling more loved and more seen after a conversation or interaction. For me I can find myself very focused on the task before me and want nothing more to accomplish it but over the last few years I’ve realized more and more that no task completed is as important as the person that you come into contact with in the process.

Please tell us more about your art. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
Something I love about my work is how each session or wedding is different from the other. I find inspiration from the unique aspects of each client, whether it be a wedding, family or brand session for another business. I love it all and aim to photograph each session in a way that makes the client’s beauty or location shine.

Inspiration comes to me through traveling to new locations, architecture and how it compliments my client, music, light and shadows, textures, or the client’s personality and how they carry themselves.

A healthy balance of fueling your creativity while also covering the maybe not as fun aspects of business is so important. In the beginning of building my business it was a mix of exciting and so overwhelming and a lot of times I didn’t know what I didn’t know. That’s why having people who are knowledgeable in the areas you lack in are so important and to not be afraid of asking for advice and help. I had some amazing business friends who were generous to share their wisdom with me and even offer their time to help with things like contracts. I also spent countless hours doing my own research and figuring out what options worked the best for my business.

My business and photography has come such a long way from where I began however I’m still eager to continue to grow and perfect my craft. Like many others, I am my worst critic, I tend to hold myself back because of fear and while I’ve gotten better at turning off the negative, unhelpful thoughts it is still something I struggle with. I’ve realized that making leap forward (even when it’s scary or uncertain) will often put me into motion for taking more leaps of faith and making decisions that ultimately bring growth in me personally but also in business.

I recently heard Bobby Gruenewald speak and something he said resonated with me, we tend to look back on our past and see how much we’ve grown, yet we very rarely think about how we have so much more capacity to grow in the future. Pursue a future that demands growth.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
One of my favorite conversations with people is sharing our favorite spots! I much prefer locally owned businesses, whether that’s a shop or cafe. Some favorites that I would want to share that are in and around Atlanta would be,

-Star Provisions (the Thai Shrimp is a favorite!)

-Fellows Cafe, the environment is amazing and worth the visit alone but the coffee and food is just as amazing.

– We would probably find some out of the way antique markets

-Delbar for amazing Middle Eastern food

– walking and enjoying the sunset at Arabia Mountain

-Pick out a pretty lake to spend the day paddle boarding (my favorites are South of Atlanta)

– An evening at the Fox Theatre

– A day trip to the Blue Ridge area would also be a must! So many beautiful natural spots but also Blue Ridge has some really fun shops like Blue Ridge Beauty Barn (for clean skincare), coffee at Mountain Mama’s Coffee Lounge and then drive to The Folk Collaborative (a little outside of Blue Ridge) for apples, a yummy lunch and to shop in their apothecary.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people that have encouraged and pushed me forward in my business and photography over the years. Some very close to me and others who have no idea the impact they had on me. Truly there are too many to list off here but the two who have had the biggest impact would most definitely be my parents. They have encouraged and helped me through my biggest seasons of discouragement. They have believed in me and pushed me to get out of my comfort zone when needed. I grew up seeing my dad run a successful business and he has helped me in countless ways with the details of running a business. He is someone who I always go to when I’m unsure of the next step in a situation I haven’t encountered before.

I am forever grateful!

Website: https://www.brooklyn-photography.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__brooklyn___photography__/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrooklynPhotography1

Image Credits
My photo taken by Liz DiTaranto Portfolio photos all taken by myself