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Life and Work with Lindsay Heighes

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindsay Heighes.

Lindsay, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve always been artistic with words and able to find love in language. I studied Literature with a concentration in Creative Writing at Florida Gulf Coast University and moved to Colorado immediately after in 2015. I started out working in Marketing and Advertising in the cannabis industry and from there moved into social media management and content creation within the industry. When I was growing up, my dad always had the latest tech gear so the camera has always felt comfortable in my hand. Content Creation lit my soul on fire in a way that I didn’t imagine possible. I’ve always felt sparks, but this was something completely different. For the first year of living in Colorado, I tried to work meaningless little jobs in the cannabis industry to make ends meet while I still used content creation as a hobby/second income. In the summer of 2017, I began to be bullied on the internet and tried to be pushed out of the cannabis industry. These traumatic events in my life caused me to question the industry I was so dying to be a part of. I left the cannabis industry and started working for myself full time. I started to step out into other projects, aspects of myself and industries that I thought were unobtainable to me because of where I started my career. It turns out that I was wrong – like really wrong – and that other industries and areas have welcomed me with open arms.

Has it been a smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road. Everything from the way I look to my lifestyle choices has been problems for me in my career. When I first started out, I had a client book a shoot with me for a family portrait session. We got everything all squared away and set in place. Two weeks before the shoot, she sent me a message that said that she could no longer commit to the shoot with me because I use cannabis and she did not want that around her kids. I was shocked that somebody would think that I would be smoking at a family shoot. I am a professional first and a medical patient second. It was hurtful that there wasn’t a conversation about it, but rather just a decision made. I decided from that moment that I wasn’t going to have clients that won’t accept who I am.

My advice to other women who are just starting their journey is don’t stop being you. You cannot please everybody and that’s okay. I know it may not seem like it at first but if you stick to who you are, it will pay off in the long run. Every day, I am so thankful that I didn’t become somebody else to make this career work. I’m unapologetically me and there’s nothing more you can ask for.

Please tell us more about what you do, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
As of today, I run my own Photography and Media business. I specialize in content creation for brands and clients, but I also create websites, manage social media, create marketing and advertising campaigns, consult and photograph other areas such as events, boudoir, fitness, travel, products, lifestyle and so much more.

What sets me apart is my dedication to my clients and the wide variety of things I can offer them. I have companies and brands that I work with that have been using me since they started their business. It’s a real honor to be chosen by so many people to capture their wants, needs and special moments.

Do you think there are structural or other barriers impeding the emergence of more female leaders?
In my opinion, the biggest barriers to female leadership is ourselves (in two different senses). I think as women leaders we are so eager to be on top that was willing to do (almost) anything to get there. This means were either stepping on people to get where we’re going or working solo to get there. If we all worked together, helped each other and lifted each other up it would be a completely different industry. The other aspect of this is that in today’s society we are our own worst enemy. We will talk ourselves out of doing so much for fear of how it’s received or how others will react to it. We need to stop doing this. It doesn’t matter what other people think it’s about how you feel. If posting that photo makes you happy then do it. If wearing that outfit makes you feel like you can conquer the world then wear it. It took me a long time to get to this place but do what makes you happy because there’s so little time for anything else.

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