Conversations with the Inspiring Seila Stone

Today we’d like to introduce you to Seila Stone.

Seila, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
When I was a senior in high school, I had no idea what I wanted to be in life. I was never really great at anything. There was a sophomore who had a Nikon and she let me shoot with it one day and I was hooked! At the time in 2007, it was the middle or the end of the myspace era so I was taking too many selfies. After experiencing that short time with that DSLR, I wanted to learn more and I wanted my own!

Graduation came and what came next, I was not expecting. My boyfriend, now husband, and his grandmother gifted me with my first DSLR. It was a tiny little Canon Rebel T6 with a stock lens. At the time, I had no idea what a good camera was or what I was doing, but that camera was stuck to me pretty much 24/7. I was taking photos of every single little thing. Weeds, flowers, statues and people. Like everything else, I had no idea what photoshop was, so I was using a website called Pic Monkey, and oh my gosh those color choices were terrible!

When I was asked to photograph my first client, I think I charged her like $40 and somehow she still loved her photos, I look back at them and cringe. In 2011, I got my first wedding, it was my best friend’s mom and I shot it for free, I’m pretty sure she hates those photos but its definitely what pushed me into wedding photography. I started taking classes at Odessa College in Texas and started to learn about Photoshop and Lightroom and most importantly, about color. I studied under Steve Goff and Beckwith Thompson who taught me so much more when I thought I already knew. To this very day, they are some of my favorite humans ever, they inspire me to be a better human and to be passionate about my art.

In 2014, my husband and I finally got married, eight years later, better late than never. That day changed the way I looked at weddings forever! I had already shot several weddings myself but nothing connects you more to an experience than having lived through it yourself. The day flew by, I only remember bits and pieces of it, but when we received our wedding photos I cried all over again. I could feel the love just looking at them. I knew then, that’s the experience I wanted to give all my couples. I wanted them to cry every time they looked at their wedding photos. In 2016, another life moment happened, our son was born, you’d think oh maybe i’ll become a birth photographer? No, it still linked back to weddings, every time the mother-son dance happens, I cry like a baby!

So, even after graduating from college and getting a degree in photography, to this day, I continue to learn, I attend workshops, I do online courses and have even recruited my husband as my second shooter. He’s currently learning video so soon we will be a husband and wife team, be on the lookout for that!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
In a day and age where presets are a huge thing, new photographers pop up on the regular. I have been doing this since 2010 so my biggest struggle has always been comparing myself to others. I was always thinking “well, why am I not getting the business that these others are getting.” I had to stop following a bunch of locals because they were only making me tare myself down.

I started following photographers who inspired me, who pushed me to be better. It lead me to be the photographer that I am today. I’m still not completely where to want to be, but I am doing things to get me there.
My advice to young women in this industry or any industry is to just keep going. Don’t get discouraged just because you are not Benj Haisch just yet. Don’t tare yourself down because you’re not getting the business that you want. Keep pushing and keep growing. It took me till 2016 to finally go full time at this job. Follow people who inspire you rather than make you feel less than.

What should we know about Seila Stone Photography? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I specialize in Weddings and Family Portraits. I also shoot a lot of Real Estate one the side to keep me busy on the slow season. I like to think that I go the extra mile for all of my clients. There have been times that I felt like I was the maid of honor. I like to say that I’m pretty patient and I am good at making my clients feel comfortable. Most of the time, they come to me saying they are awkward or have never taken photos and they leave feeling like total pros!

It would be great to hear about any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve used and would recommend to others.
The one thing that originally pushed me was when I joined a Facebook group called LooksLikeFilm. I was so inspired by the work I was seeing in. that group that it truly was a life changer for me. As far as getting my clients to feel comfortable, I use the Unscripted app and have done a lot of research on unposed prompts. Not all photographers are the same so I recommend doing your research into your favorite ones. A lot of them offer online education. YouTube is the best for free education, there are so many tutorials where you can learn so much!

Contact Info:

• Address: Texas and Colorado
• Website: www.seilastonephotography.com
• Phone: 4322104199
• Email: contactme@seilastonephotography.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/seilastonephotography
• Facebook: Facebook.com/seilastonephotography

Image Credit:
Ashley Hobel Photography

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