We are honored to introduce you to Lisa Hu Chen, and her photography business. Lisa specializes in documentary photography. She has a great eye for large group shots and action photography. She also has a very successful business that is well represented in social media. Below Lisa shares some valuable insights about her art and her business. If you would like to reach out to her, use the links at the bottom of the page.

What gig work do you do? What made you decide to do this? How long have you been doing it?

I am a documentary photographer specializing in travel, event, food, and family photography, and social media. A graphic designer by training, my love for photography blossomed from a hobby into a business. It has always been my passion.

What training or education did you have? How did this inform your career path and/or your side-Gig?

I am completely and unabashedly self-taught. My background in graphic design and marketing allowed me to transition smoothly into a second career. Over the years, I have attended conferences and taken workshops and online courses that have helped me grow artistically. I have also invested in a few critical mentorships with photographers who have provided me with valuable critique and effective feedback. As an artist, I feel it is important to be continuously learning and improving and having trustworthy and supportive peers to help along that path is essential.

What is the best part about gig work?

I love being my own boss and having the freedom to decide the projects I do and do not want to take on.

What was the hardest part about starting with gig work? How would you advise others about this?

The hardest part was having the confidence to make a career change and believing that I could pull it off. Because my journey began as a childhood hobby, I have always struggled with taking myself seriously.

How have you leveraged social media and the web to grow your gig work?

Social media has played a huge part in my work, particularly my self-marketing efforts. It's free advertising and I take advantage of it fully by posting and engaging often. It wasn't always this way; I started out a skeptic and was much more a voyeur than a participant. As the breadth of social media's benefits expanded, I learned that what I put into is pretty much what I get out of it.

As a result, I've connected with other like-minded photographers, some of them half a world away, in ways I never would have been able to before. I been given opportunities, gained exposure, met clients, formed partnerships, found collaborations – all positive benefits because I made a decision to use this incredible platform to my advantage.

Many people start doing gig work to reach financial freedom. Has it been profitable?

When I decided to switch careers, I knew the first few years would be about learning the business, carving out my place, trial and error, and getting my name out there. I started out obsessing about how I would monetize the business; ironically, it was when I let that go that the sales and profit came easily. Word of mouth and responses to my social media took flight and I’ve never looked back.

How do you balance your gig work with your personal life (family, vacations, leisure-time, etc.)?

I am always trying to balance the scale between work and personal life. It's an ever-changing, fluid dance that I choreograph in my mind over and over, every day. I feel very lucky to be able to work from home and actively raise my four kids, but it is also the hardest, most demanding and stressful job I've ever had.
My Instagram feed is a diary of my family life – a love letter to my kids – and I attribute my success as a documentary photographer largely to them. They are the reason I started taking my camera more seriously and they have been the driving force in my desire to be a better photographer and business owner.

How has your business adapted to the sudden changes of the past couple of months?

When lock down first started in March 2020, everything stopped including all the projects I was involved in. But soon the pandemic turned out to be the best thing to happen in terms of my personal work and my journey as an artist. It's something that I never expected but am so grateful for. Life slowed down to a pace we had not experienced in a very long time and it forced me to focus inwardly, not only towards my family but also within myself.

What is your goal in the next 5-10 years?

My goal in the next 5-10 years is to continue growing as an artist and businesswoman by creating better and more intentional photographs, building strong professional relationships, and making valuable contributions to my community.

To Find out more about Lisa Hu Chen Photography, use the links below:

Email: lisa@lisahuchen.com
Instagram: @lisahuchen
Website: LisaHuChen.com