Join us on a journey behind the camera lens as we delve into the artistry and passion that define wedding and portrait photographer, Annie Eyring's career. Through a series of engaging questions and illuminating answers, discover the inspiration, techniques, and heartfelt anecdotes that make up Annie's photography. We are so excited to get to know Annie better, so let's begin!
How did you get into photography and when did it become your full-time job?
My photographer journey began in 2019 when my husband and I purchased a Canon Rebel T6 when we got married. We had hopes of having a "good camera" to capture our new life together and the adventures we went on. I had some friends and family who knew we had this camera and they trusted my eye. I was able to shoot small sessions for them but it really wasn't anything until April 2020 after COVID hit. As a full time student, I hadn't had much time prior to the pandemic to practice photography on other people and with the spare time that I had, I had asked some friends to be my models and shared some of my work on my personal instagram page.
My husband prodded me to offer free sessions (and he secretly created a photography instagram page for me) because he saw a lot of potential. I posted this on my personal story expecting a response or two and got about 40 responses saying they would love to shoot with me. I did the first five sessions for free and began charging for others interested. In June 2020, with no second shooting or shadowing experience, I was offered my first wedding and it was very consistent from there on out. I graduated from college a few months later in December 2020 and finished my on campus job and decided then that I was going to go full time. I have been full time since January 2021!
When are you the busiest? What does your work/life balance look like?
Because of my focus on weddings, and by nature of the wedding industry in Utah, my schedule is busy year round. I do receive the most inquiries for April-June as people are wrapping up school, however, I try to set a cap for the number of weddings and sessions that I take each month so that I can maintain a good work/life balance. This balance is not something I have always been good at, and historically, May has been crazy for me, but with the birth of my second child this past September, I set clear boundaries for myself and am dedicated to sticking to them so I can avoid burnout.
I used to take about 50 weddings per year, but I've raised my prices and reduced the number of weddings this year to 25. My husband is a medical student, so this number has allowed me to be home nearly full time with my children while providing a suitable income for our family! We live near family and receive a lot of help when I do have to go to shoots and weddings, which I am so grateful for. Any sense of balance would feel non-existent if it weren't for the outside help we receive!
What's in your gear bag? What's your number one favorite lens?
My gear bag is very simple! To all of my shoots, I always carry my Canon R6 and Sigma 35 mm 1.4 lens. On wedding days, I have a Canon 24-70 2.8 lens and a Canon 5D Mark IV as a backup camera body. The Sigma 35 has been my favorite lens to use since I got it and is on my camera 80% of the time, however, I've been itching to purchase the Canon RF 50 mm 1.2. We will see if that's something that appears in my gear bag this season! For wedding days, I also use a Neewer Speedlite TT560 for my external flash. I have had it since I began in 2020 and it has never failed me.
If you had one piece of advice for aspiring wedding photographers what would it be?
My advice to aspiring photographers is to simply chase your dreams and go for it. Invest in the gear, create the instagram account, build the website. Go all in. With there being such a "saturated" community of photographers in Utah, I was so nervous to put myself out there. I felt like there was so much competition that I wouldn't be noticed and I felt so vulnerable sharing my work. I'm so grateful my husband pushed me to get out of my comfort zone. When I did my first few shoots and even weddings in 2020, I could have never imagined where it had taken me or that it could be my full time job. I think that everyone has something unique to bring to the table which gives space to all creators.
What's been your most memorable moment as a photographer?
One of the most memorable moments in my career was within my first year full time when a couple I had photographed was featured in the New York Times Magazine. If that happened to me at any point in my career, I would have been excited, but being so new in my career, I could believe that my photos and my name were featured in the Times.
Huge thank you to Annie for giving us an inside look at her photography career and how she's been able to become so sucess in such a short amount of time. She really is an inspiration to other aspiring photographers to just go all in.
Get to Know Annie:
When we got married, I had the absolute best experience with my photographer, who gave me exactly what I wanted and more. This is one of the things that pushed me to photography.
For a while I had been taking photos of family and friends, but had never really thought about taking it further. Then I had a huge realization. What if I could give other couples what I had? Those timeless memories meant so much to me and I wanted to be able to give that to others. So here I am, helping couples document their story in a way that they’ll fall in love with again and again.
For more on Annie, head over to her website or check her out on Instagram.