The gift of a camera from her father on her 16th birthday led Lisa Field to a venture that she still enjoys immensely decades later. Taking photographs throughout high school and completing a class in college confirmed that this was a passion Lisa couldn’t deny. Leaving a job in advertising prior to the birth of her first child, Lisa’s boss asked, “What’s next? Why don’t you come take photos of my kids?” and that was the start in 1992. Lisa’s photography business has grow through word of mouth ever since.
Only producing black and white photographs, Lisa delivers children in a natural state. She loves to capture moments not posed. She says the dynamics of families and siblings is what provokes the most engaging images. The moment where the older sibling taunts the younger sibling or helps the one year old stand up, or the four year old climb a tree, these are snapshots in time that parents want to remember. Lisa calls some of her shots “bedroom shots,” meaning parents may choose to display them in their bedrooms rather than living rooms because they are so special to them, they want to have the memories for themselves only.
Many times parents will call and say, their child just lost their two front teeth or just got braces, and ask to wait for a sitting. Lisa argues that those are the times parents will want to remember and she’s usually right. Years later, clients tell her how grateful they are that she captured those interesting times in their children’s lives. “Kids are completely honest with their emotions,” and she loves to capture those feelings. Most of Lisa’s clients come back to her year after year to have her mark the moments in time of their children’s lives. Creating a style unique to her work has given Lisa a following of clients that covet her photographs. Her method can be recognized by those who know her and this is why clients continue to seek her out.
Taking four years off while her two girls were in middle school gave Lisa enough time off to get her kids launched. Word went out that she was photographing again and bookings came in. She usually shoots from May until October, choosing to have sittings at the magical hour of light, 5:30 in the afternoon. She also shoots while on vacation in Nantucket in the summers and will travel to friends’ homes around the country, having several sittings in various locals. Clients are happy to work around her schedule.
Lisa feels so blessed to have found her lifelong passion early, and by accident. When asked where she might go from here, she’s thinking about a way to combine her talent with her desire to give back to the community. She is exploring offering photographs to those less fortunate families who utilize a local food pantry. She also envisions a town project showing children from her hometown and the surrounding towns or a photo exhibit of the shopkeepers who locals see every day. She has a clear sensibility of telling a story through photographs, whether it’s the dynamics between father and son, brother and sister, mother and daughter, – Lisa elegantly captures those moments and her compelling perspective is seen in her photographs.
Contact: [email protected], www.lisafieldphotography.com
VentureMom Tip
Create a style to your work that is unique to you and can be easily recognized .