I’m excited to share my conversation with Lisa Devlin, founder of Photography Farm. She is an editorial and wedding photographer who actually started in the music industry. Now, she has been in the photography industry for well over 20 years.

Lisa is passionate about educating photographers, particularly those starting out. And she’s going to share with us some pivots that took her places.

Starting out as a Photographer in the Music Industry

Lisa mentions that there are a lot of similarities between the two niches.

She used to be quite insulted when people would know that she was a music photographer. When she started out in music, there was definitely a lot of money to be made in the industry. She also loved traveling and hanging out with celebrities. Over time, she had a transitional frame of mind and wanted to do something different.

Someone asked her to shoot a wedding. Lisa initially said no since wedding photography was very formal and traditional – it wasn’t considered a creative genre. She recommended someone else but the output was subpar.

Ultimately, Lisa helped her out – she’d do it as if it’s a magazine story. That’s her epiphany moment. She believes that “when a girl got to be a princess just for a day, it was such a magical and transformative, special thing”.

Transitioning to Wedding Photography: The Epiphany

Lisa mentioned that she loved the process of the bride getting ready. She loved “how it layers up and the excitement builds”.

She admits that sometimes, it’s carnage, and sometimes, it’s really calm. But overall, it’s fascinating, and fun. People get paid really well to do it.

Wedding Photography as a Creative Genre

When Lisa did a photography lecture as a guest lecturer at a university, hardly anyone intended to become a wedding photographer. But as the years went on, more and more people would say that they wanted to be one.

Lisa thinks there are several factors in that but generally, wedding photography is now a creative genre. It’s an exciting genre to be in., shooting different styles. Lisa believes that wedding photographers shoot and process and deliver high volumes in comparison to any other discipline in photography.

How Lisa Got Into Photography

Lisa had an art degree in college. Eventually, she ended up being in fashion. During summer, she took jobs to pay the bills. She also took night classes in photography – not because she thought of being a photographer but because she still wanted to access the dark room.

Since she couldn’t afford to have things printed, Lisa took photos as part of being creative. A guy in class said something that will change her life – he said that she has the eye and that she should be a photographer.

Lisa initially shut the idea down. She didn’t think that she would understand the technical side of photography. Everything was intimidating to her – such as shutter speeds. But the guy said she didn’t need to know all that stuff. He noticed that Lisa has the eye for light and composition, and those things can’t be taught.

She then tried to find a halfway point between fashion and photography, which was fashion styling. Add that to the fact that Lisa loves magazines!

Life is a Blank Piece of Paper

Lisa thinks of life as a blank piece of paper being handed to you. She says that you can do absolutely anything with a blank piece of paper. It’s the most exciting thing, and the most terrifying, as well, in the whole world.

Lisa went for it and built the pages of her photography career.

The Impact of the Pandemic

As with anyone, Lisa also felt the impact of the pandemic on her business. It made her pause and re-think about everything.

When everything came back up, she didn’t go as deep on weddings and refocused back on training. She refocused on what she could do with the business and how it impacts other photographers.

Delegation: Lisa’s Secret to Growing Her Business

With how busy she gets, Lisa understands the importance of delegation, handing a few plates to a few other people. When you delegate, you free yourself up in your creative space. She says that you cannot grow if you don’t have that creative space.

Lisa also says that we need to switch off and take a break, give our minds the freedom to be creative.

Love to learn more about Lisa’s insights and tips for photographers in the UK market? Listen to the full episode here.

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