Life and Work with Teena Moore

Today we’d like to introduce you to Teena Moore.

Teena, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I think I’ve had a camera in my hand since I was a teenager. I was always taking pictures for holidays, family events, vacations, you name it. They weren’t always great pictures but they were memories. After getting married I got into scrapbooking and I so badly wanted my photos to look like the ones I saw in magazines but I just wasn’t getting that professional look. When I was expecting our first child, I took a photography class but things still weren’t clicking for me. Fast forward a few years when I discovered Instagram, I would study those photos then go out and try to duplicate them. After talking with a friend who had recently started a photography business, I bought myself a Nikon d5000, took another basic photography lesson and everything magically clicked. With two young boys at home that I was homeschooling, I had unexpectedly found something that sparked a new joy inside my heart. Now, you rarely find me without a camera. I love photographing my own family memories as well as giving other families the gift of those special memories.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Learning a new skill/hobby is always challenging, but as they say, if it were easy everyone would be doing it. The biggest struggle for my business has been moving from Oklahoma to Colorado and starting all over. I knew I would have to step way out of my comfort zone and get active in the community, where I knew no one, in order to build a new photography business.

My advice to others getting started is to take it slow, don’t expect overnight success, but also don’t give up when it gets hard, that’s when you grow. I would also add that you shouldn’t expect to please everyone as I quickly learned with my very first paying client. She was unhappy with the photos I gave her so I was ready to quit. After talking with her more, I realized she had never paid for a photo session before and had completely unrealistic ideas of her 2-year-old photo session that had taken place outside in December. I learned from many of my own mistakes in that first paid session!

What do you do? What do you specialize in?
I specialize in families, high school seniors, tweens (that awkward stage between ages 10-12 where you get little glimpses of that sweet little kid you have known but then also see the big kid they are becoming), and also adoption finalizations. I have also taught beginner level photography classes for kids ages 10 and up, Kids With Cameras.

Working with adoption attorneys and adoptive families to photograph their adoption finalization hearings is something I am most proud of. No matter what age the children are when they are adopted, the finalization process is a time to celebrate and remember and I am thankful to be a small part of that day and give them those memories to share forever.

Do you think there are structural or other barriers impeding the emergence of more female leaders?
I think women are held to higher standards and have to prove themselves more than men. As women, we need to support and empower one another no matter what role or path we choose to follow. As a stay-at-home mom who has just re-entered the workforce after 15 years, I would love to find a female leader that would support and encourage me in catching up on technology, and I hope to also do the same for someone.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.teenamoorephotography.com
• Phone: 405-740-0876
• Email: teena@teenamoorephotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teenamoorephotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teenamoorephotography/

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