Today we’d like to introduce you to Maddie Wilson.
Hi Maddie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was first exposed to design and photography when I joined my high-school yearbook team my junior year and later became editor-in-chief. My passion led me to want to innovate and learn all there was to know about graphic design and capturing quality photos. Fast forward to college, and I got ahold of a friend’s camera that had a film lens on a digital body. Learning how to do everything manually really forced me to teach myself how to make a fairly inexpensive camera look expensive. Eventually, I started shooting senior photos on my college campus and developed my editing style. The editing process began with trial and error, as I tried replicating edits from photos I liked on the internet. My personal style came out of learning new techniques in the process, and understanding how the photo responds to changes in lighting and shadows. Meanwhile, I was also investing time into design and creating my design portfolio through working for my school’s Marketing and Communications department. Developing my design knowledge while also shooting photos consistently throughout the year, helped me to grow in both areas.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Through investing time and effort into photography, my confidence in my capabilities as an artist has grown tremendously. Being someone who constantly doubts my abilities, I struggle a lot with knowing how to price my photos and whether or not people think I am good enough. But, one thing I have learned throughout this journey is that as long as you are confident in your work and willing to learn, people will always support you.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am an artist specializing in photography and design. I run a design business under the name Cried Joy Creation and shoot senior photos on my college campus. As a current college student, I work for my school’s Marketing and Communications department as a design intern and am pursuing a double major in Business Administration and Graphical and Human Interface Design. In the three years that I have been in college, my photography business has picked up and I shoot consistently throughout the school year. Looking back at where I started, I can see so much growth in my work, and I am most proud of the fact that people are trusting me to capture a special moment in their lives. Every year I am learning new things and developing a clearer style and image, all thanks to the people I have been able to shoot for throughout the years.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
One interesting lesson that I have noticed coming out of Covid-19, is people’s desire to capture every moment of their lives in an aesthetic lens. Knowing this as a photographer, it places a lot of pressure on me to perform and give my clients exactly what they want. I have had to develop my social media presence to build brand awareness and provide an image of my work that is easily accessible. While Covid-19 made finding work hard, the growth in my brand identity has been positive and has allowed me to reach a larger audience.
Pricing:
- Two outfits, 75 edited photos, one hour shoot $200
- Three outfits shoot, 100 edited photos, one and a half hour shoot $250
Contact Info:
- Email: Madisonjoyphoto@gmail.com
- Instagram: @criedjoycreation
Image Credits
@CriedJoyCreation
