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

Hi Liz, how do you think about risk?
Risk is JUICY! I didn’t always see it through that lens. I resisted risk. But now, I feel it as an invitation to stretch, to explore, to move beyond my routine comfort zone. As it relates to business, risk is how I keep my vision, my energy and my offerings fresh. As I discover more about areas I can bring added value to people in front of my lens and create portraits that are unexpected, resonant, truthful, joyful—these are all valuable tools for people’s marketing and branding portfolios. Our brains are wired to respond instantly to visuals, our first impressions last. And if their energy is flat, doesn’t radiate a desire to connect and see more, they haven’t delivered their highest value. When I began focusing on inner light portraits, I felt it was a risk. It wasn’t as straightforward as “headshots” or “personal branding.” But it is the most meaningful move I made early on. Amplifying the light I see in everyone in front of my lens, that is the highest service I offer. People always preface a session with self-criticisms like: “I didn’t sleep well so can you erase the bags under my eyes?” or “Can you use the slimming filter?” And what I see, once they feel in a groove and feel zesty, they shift into their vitality and radiance that transforms how they see themselves. When we change how we see ourselves, we show up differently in our lives, with a greater and lighter presence. Portraits are my invitation for you to step into your own light. Risky? Maybe, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My professional career spans decades of diving in to curiosities as a newspaper reporter. book author, documentary film editor, broadcast TV producer, and director of PSAs, shorts and Creative Director for the Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation. Through it all, my camera has been part of my journeying and exploring energies, people, myself. I studied with photographic legends Jay Maisel, Sam Abell, Peter Turnley and David Alan Harvey, and I am grateful my work has won awards and is exhibited in juried shows and private collections. In the beginning, I had a lot of gusto for my craft but I doubted my ability to step into it professionally. After years of studying, practicing and finding my visual voice, I felt drawn to work with people, particularly those who honor their entrepreneurial dreams, creating photography that amplifies their unique story. My greatest lesson in those decades before Liz Stubbs Photography was born: trust myself. We might feel we need approval, likes, etc. to be considered worthy or ready. What we need instead is fire in our heart to make a positive difference and to be true to our own north star. I am super excited to be creating a new body of work with Atlanta encaustic artist Penny Treese–we are combining expressive photography with encaustic, alcohol ink, lacquer, fire, rain water, all kinds of juicy and intuitive combinations of processes in a growing series that celebrates resilience in uncertainty, freedom of expression in our own lives, and re-connecting to our wildness, our true norths. With limitations on gathering sizes, we are exhibiting innovatively this fall, so please stay tuned for our roaming show coming to a neighborhood near you! Our work has debuted in online exhibitions this spring and is opening in New York City in September, in the MvVO Ad Art show. I am grateful now to be sharing my light and energizing you to share yours.

Any great local spots you’d like to shoutout?
Atlanta’s Beltline is unparalleled in seeing the most alive and creative aspects of the city in a lovely way. By cycle, by foot, I would highly recommend touring the Beltline, sampling art installations along the way, and tasting the innovative cuisines in the myriad of restaurants mere steps from the Beltline.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am grateful to be inspired, supported and energized by many wise souls along the way. I’d love to share a shoutout to Montine Blank, https://www.themoreyou.com/, who is an incredibly gifted mentor in Intuitive Painting, a process that allows us to bypass our inner verbal editors and access our inner voice through this particular kind of painting. For over 15 years, thanks to Montine, I have a much clearer connection with my internal compass and clarity around what is most meaningful to me as a creative, as an artist and as a contributor to this world.

Website: www.lizstubbsphotography.com
Instagram: lizstubbs
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/lizstubbs/

Image Credits
All photos are by Liz Stubbs except the photo of me at my billboard with the ArtPop Street Gallery logo and that image is by: Mark Alberhasky

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