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Meet Lyndsey Leach

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Lyndsey Leach.

Lyndsey, before we jump into specific questions about your work, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
How did I get started… uhh the million-dollar question. I really don’t know. I have basically been attached to cameras ever since I found out what a camera was – which was probably in elementary school, and by a camera, I mean disposable Kodaks. I remember taking those with me to summer camp and being the first person to use all the film on the first day of camp on something really interesting like the ground or the legs of another camper – rarely did I get a good one.

As I got a little older, the photos got a little better and my parents grew less pissed that they just wasted $10 on a camera and printing services to print photos that didn’t turn out well or at all. I believe it was when I was in the 4th or 5th grade, that my parents bought their first digital camera, which was when they were making their debut. I just thought it was the coolest thing! I remember carrying it around everywhere, taking photos of anyone and everyone and everything. My family members got sick of it pretty quickly so our family dog became the primary subject along with myself – I hit my selfie peak when I was around 10 or 11. That digital camera was likely the catalyst to the photography rabbit hole.

My middle school and high school days were spent doing a variety of activities but I always made time for photography and my newest hobby, scrapbooking – I was like an 80-year-old in a 13-year-olds body apparently. Digital cameras were getting better and better and less and less expensive, which was a good thing. I have always been very clumsy and still am, which sometimes is mistaken for carelessness (by my parents, in particular), so we had quite a few camera casualties during that time frame. There were a few times where my friends and I would be doing something that we shouldn’t be doing that causes me to fall or to take a swim and the cameras went with and I would blame it on my clumsiness. For the record, during this time, my photography skills never got any better really. Now that they had the photo viewer screen on the back of the camera, it was pretty foolproof in regards to where you were taking photos. So rather than taking photos of the ground and people’s legs, I was able to get faces but nothing was compositionally sound and the camera was always set to AUTO everything.

After high school, I moved north to Ft. Collins for college (go Rams)! For the first couple of years, I would say that photography took a little bit of a back burner. My flip phone took photos of beer bongs and college parties. I also didn’t need to have my parents’ camera cards and cameras filled with the incriminating evidence. It wasn’t until my junior year of college that I hopped right back into the game. I moved into a house close to campus with three people I did not know beforehand, and it was awesome! They all happened to be photographers for the school paper. One of my roommates I was particularly close with, taught me some of the basics of a DSLR camera and let me play around with his a bit.

I remember going out with him from time to time and when I held my phone (iPhones were out now) up to take a photo, he would move my hand around and help me with the composition of the photo. After I was able to play around with that DSLR camera, I was hooked and I knew that I wanted one. It was a couple of years before I got one but my parents gifted me a Canon Rebel for Christmas in 2013. It was right before I was leaving on a two-month backpacking trip through Southeast Asia so I was so stoked to take some awesome photos.

I came back from that trip and something had changed for me a little bit. My love and desire for more travel and adventure grew even stronger than it was before, but I became passionate about photography and I knew that it was something that I wanted to pursue as a career. I started shooting everything that I could for free just so I could get some practice. I start investing my extra time and money into education and equipment. In 2016, I created my business, Lyndsey Leach Photography. At this time, I had another full-time job, so I was working around the clock trying to build a sustainable photography business. 2017 and 2018 were no different. I was working a full-time job that was miserable but I was too scared to commit to my photography business and I still had a lot to learn.

At the beginning of this year (2019), I had a, what else do you call it besides a “come to Jesus” moment. I decided to quit my job and go for it and I have never looked back!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has definitely not always been the smoothest ride and it still isn’t. There are always going to be limitations with any job, and while I have a lot of them, I am still trying to work my way around them.

I started out shooting for free just to get practice. When I started to charge, I didn’t charge much because I wasn’t valuing myself, time or work. I wish I would have done things a little differently now that I know – but hindsight 2020. The costs of starting a photography business, or any business for that matter, are not cheap. Photography equipment, photo editing software, storage, insurance, website packages, graphic designers, accountants, lawyers to write your contracts, etc. all add up and add up quickly. I felt like I was investing most of my income from my other job into my photography job. I am glad I did because I wouldn’t be where I am now but there were a couple of years where it was a struggle.

Even this year, when I was contemplating quitting my job and pursuing photography full time, I was scared. Not just scared, terrified, really. I was worried that I wouldn’t have a steady income and that I would have to financially rely on my partner and I did not want to do that. I was worried that people wouldn’t like my work and wouldn’t want to book me.

Those ideas still haunt me a little bit but I have already gotten past that hurdle so I am onto the next one.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am a wedding and portrait photographer! I love shooting and working with people. Weddings/elopements and engagements/couples are my specialty! If you are getting married in Denver, in the mountains, or Tahiti, I will be there, ready to go!

I am new to the Boudoir world but I love it and plan to start offering more sessions come the new year. I am all about empowering women and making them feel comfortable in their bodies.

And families… I get to work with so many amazing families every year and I love capturing that family bond!

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
If I were to write down everyone’s name who has been a support system and cheerleader, the list would be a mile long. I don’t just have a tribe, I have a village supporting me. It’s amazing!

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Image Credit:
Lyndsey Leach Photography

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