12 Things
&
One Confession About Me
Hi! I’m Andrea.
Why call it Artisan?
For the record, I chose Artisan, way, way before the whole "Artisanal" movement started. I wanted a name to reflect my values, what I delivered, what it feels like working with me. Quality. Hand craftsmanship. Authentic. Bespoke. Intentional. Lasting. Skilled. Valued. I wanted to give people photos like those I grew up with. Our house was filled with large prints.
Get a look at this little cutie. I had this in my room growing up, 24x36, back when an 8x10 was "a big photo". My brother had his. My dad was a fighter pilot and we had some wonderful photos of him at work from the Air Force. They made me happy. Still do.
I don't chase trends. I don't rely on the latest presets or Photoshop actions to change up the look of my photos. I actually think that kind of ruins them (over time). It takes away, far more than it adds.
Sure, it's trending, buy years from now, when your best family photos are are all tinted yellow for a couple of years, cool blue the next, then sporting a burnt orange pumpkin spice vibe, you might start to wonder...
Why wasn't the focus more on You and Your Kids?
Your family photos are a body of work, created over a lifetime. Trendy should stay where it belongs, hairstyles and clothes, you know, like this:
In my defense, this was the 90's. I lived in Texas.
Big hair was a thing. AND I NAILED IT!
My photos are extremely consistent. Well composed, beautiful lighting, natural. Timeless even (yeah, that's cliche, but it can also be true). Every time I see some of my photos reposted on Facebook, 10, 15, 20 years later... and they still look soooo good, I get an involuntary little smirk on my face. Told you! Really great photos do not go out of style.
Founding Story
How I didn't become a photographer
What do you want out of life?
That is the question that kept me from becoming a photographer.
I was 17 and my father sat me down at the kitchen table. I wanted to be a photographer. I didn't want to be rich or famous. I wanted to buy a home, travel a little bit and have the means to take care of myself. The fact that finding a husband was optional did not sit well with my mom. I wanted a life on my own terms.
My dad said ok, then you don't want to be a photographer. You want to study engineering, medicine or computer science.
Hard as it was to hear, he was right. I studied computer science, graduated in three years and started my new career as a developer.
Or not.
I was hired as a developer and then chosen to take care of this new database software they were purchasing. Something called Oracle.
I cried.
I worked so hard to be a developer and now I'm going to babysit a database? You've got to be kidding me.
They weren't.
Turns out, I was pretty good with databases, Oracle started sending customers to me, to see how to do things right and then they hired me. A couple years later I was recruited to the US. Crazy times, the dot com boom! So long ago, Google wasn't even a verb yet.
By the flip of a coin, I met Greg at Oracle, moved out to California, we got a house, rescued a couple amazing pups, did some serious traveling and then that question again.
Another kitchen table, thousands of miles and many years apart, "What do I want out of life?
Same question, different answer.
I knew I wanted to spend time with my children when they were little. I didn't have any children. I loved my job, but those two were on a collisions course. And I still wanted to be a photographer.
So, we worked for 2 years remodeling our house. Inside and out. Nights. Weekends. Greg got lots of snazzy power tools and let's just say, I know my way around tile and grout these days. We built up a little equity, sold and moved to Arizona (2x the size, 1/2 the price) and built a house with a photography studio. Our second "forever home".
It was a lot of work, but we got to spend some serious time with the boys when they were little. We have so many memories and stories and photos from those years. I cant imagine not having them, for any amount of money.
We are now in our third "forever home" and I really really hope this is the last one. We love Carlsbad, the boys love Carlsbad and I cannot even imagine a better place to live. We landed here in 2012 and never looked back.
