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Meet Heather Smith of Fortuitous Photography in Denver

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Smith.

Heather, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I don’t really know where to begin with this question, but I suppose I’ll “focus” on photography as its pretty much my entire existence. I’m sure, like many, my interest in photography began with my mother’s pursuits of the hobby. I don’t know why she got into it, but I have fond memories of looking at her camera with her and when she’d bring new components home from the PX. I don’t remember her actually teaching me about it, but I remember how much it seemed to bring her happiness and that made me happy; and sometimes, she’d let me take pictures. I haven’t seen those pics in decades, but I know there’s a shot I took of her in her wicker fan chair and she was so regal looking in the photo. That’s where my love of photography started memories with my mom. But it wasn’t until we moved to Colorado that I really took up the interest as I realized more and more that I was remembering less and less. I’ve had the worst memory since…well, forever that I can remember. Hahahha! Ironic, I know. See< I’ve had a few TBI’s in my life and I’m pretty sure getting hospitalized from several head-on car crashes (one of those times, I was so severely injured, I wasn’t supposed to live) is what makes my memories so fleeting. But once I realized that I could pretty. much only remember things by triggering the memory with photos, I think that’s when I really became “addicted” and began my journey down the tech rabbit-hole and experimenting with a variety of cameras trying to find the best solution to my memory problem I needed to document everything.

Now, this was WAY before the notion of social media, so I documented with fury and have cases and cases of negatives stored away in my years of crap that will probably never see the light of day, which is highly unfortunate. But fast-forward to the advent of digital and social media and I am IN MY ELEMENT! throughout my youth, I always packed some kind of camera with me and once I advanced into SLR, I always had a bulky SLR on my body or near my person. But NOW I carry an amazing camera in my back pocket and social media allows me to share what I document it’s a little slice of heaven for me and my memory issues. Over the years I have been able to reconnect and grow and remember some of the most mundane and trivial experiences thanks to snapping pics. Snapping pics to hold onto my memories turned into a need and desire for those snaps to tell a story and that need to grow turned my hobby into a habit and into a profession that has profoundly changed how I live my life and the quality of my life; and even though I have cried and continue to cry tears over the endless frustrations of trying to make a living out of what I love, I know now that I can’t live without it. The reasons run deeper than I can express…but it truly has saved me in so many ways.

Has it been a smooth road?
Anything worth doing is worth struggling to do or something as such, isn’t that a saying? I’m still struggling every day is a hustle and I am happy to be hustling at something that I enjoy and that brings me so much fulfillment and joy. I don’t know if that’s how “Passion” might be defined I don’t actually care for the word as it’s overused, but it drives me and it fuels me and I’ll be plugging away as long as I’m physically capable.

Tell us about your company. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of as a company? What sets you apart from others?
The name of my company is Fortuitous Photography and how I came to the name and how well it exemplifies my business is so sympatico, it’s awesome. I have SUCH a common name that I couldn’t brand my business after my name and I was brainstorming ideas with a co-worker and while trying to write my bio I came up with the tagline that “the best moments in life are fortuitous” because that’s when I caught the best photos of people. I was really good at candids and frames-between-frames approach to shooting. I realized I was, like a magician, distracting the subject long enough to catch them off guard and get the moments in-between the subject’s expectation of the photo. The in-between moments, when the subject is genuinely unaware of the camera and genuinely relaxed and momentarily they’re somewhere else…those moments are the ones I seek and they’re very serendipitous and fortuitous. I know that sounds incredibly pretentious but I learned that’s what I love the in-between moments that happen when the subject isn’t expecting anything.

That being said, the name also reflects that I too am anything but what you expect and my “style” is adaptive. It has to be if you’re seeking moments that happen when people aren’t expecting them or in unexpected or not ideal situations or setups. My “style” is run’n’gun. I am not as good at being stationary or overly scripted and posed. Sure, I can do them because I’m a professional but I love a photographic challenge WAY more than a stagnant environment. Give me a camera and a subject and an idea about what you want or need and watch me go. But I that means my portfolio is incredibly eclectic and inconsistent in what I produce. I would love to say that you could recognize my work if you had to pick me out of 100 other photographers…but I don’t think you can. When I peruse my Instagram feed it’s all over the place. It’s chaotic, cluttered, colorful and incongruous, but it’s honest and raw and random just like me.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love the diversity in texture and landscape and seasons and people. I love that I can do a shoot and go 20 minutes in any direction and shoot on plains or deserts or mountains or lakes or I can give you an urban or country or a combo. I am never hindered by climate or weather because it’s constantly changing and I am so good at adapting and this weather is always photography weather!

The only thing I dislike about Denver is how dramatically the landscape is changing and how expensive it is to live here now and it’s making the definition of “struggling artist” all the more acute!

Pricing:

  • Portrait sessions start at $399
  • Headshots in Studio start at $150

Contact Info:

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