Rising Stars: Meet Emily Hodge

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Hodge. 

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I bought my first camera (a canon rebel) after my son was born in 2013 but my passion grew after my daughter was born in 2014 because I wanted to capture more than the yearly stressful Christmas card photos. I wanted to capture the essence of their childhood. The dirty feet, the messy hair, scraped knees, drinking from the hose in the backyard, or playing superheroes with towel capes…capturing the raw beauty and innocence of childhood. I would describe my style as rustic, organic, wild, and moody. I recently quit my job as a registered nurse to pursue photography full-time. I am a volunteer photographer with Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep and the Gold Hope Project and host workshops and mentorships for other photographers in the mountains of Colorado. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Never! I started taking pictures of my own kids to preserve those memories, but before I knew it friends and family were wanting family photos, and then it just snowballed from there, and before I knew it, I was in above my head in a somewhat unintentional thriving business. I have hard to learn a lot of lessons the hard way, and I still fail on a daily basis, but it doesn’t stop me from trying or moving on. If I don’t know how to do something and want to learn, I keep trying until I figure it out, I’ll check out different courses and tutorials. We all fail, but it’s the people who persevere and keep going that come out through it. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I primarily photograph newborns and families, but I am probably most well known for having a more creative outlook on things in photographs. I love experimenting and trying new things, like double exposures, turning a photo into a watercolor image, things like that. I’m constantly thinking about how I can make something different than what I see when I scroll through Instagram every day. I feel like I’m also known for the photographs I take of my daughter and the way I am able to capture her wild spirit that really comes through in the pictures I take of her. I am most proud of doing hard things. I am naturally very introverted and shy, so the idea of hosting my own workshops, or teaching, in general, was pretty scary to me. But people kept asking for it and so I went for it and haven’t looked back. My most proud moment in my career through, was when my favorite photographer Stormy Solis hired me to take her own family photos last year. 

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Very shy! I think people who didn’t know me probably thought I was stuck up because I never talked, but I was honestly just terrified of people. I always enjoyed art though and could really get lost in it. It was so cathartic for me and I really looked forward to art class. I’ve also been pretty determined. Once I’ve made up my mind, I want to do something I usually pursue that thing pretty hard. When I got older, I became fairly adventurous and loved living in the mountains of Colorado where rock climbing, rafting, and hiking were all just a few steps out my front door. I took up slacklining and highlining and it has taken me to some really beautiful places. 

Pricing:

• $750

Contact Info:

• Website: www.simplyblessings.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/simply.blessings.photography
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/simplyblessingsphotography

Image Credits
Emily Hodge
Simply Blessings Photography