Today we’d like to introduce you to Paige Tingey.
Hi Paige, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have always had two sides of me – one side loving sports while being outdoors, the other side loving art and creating meaningful things. I have bounced around in my passions, from playing soccer and running track to being a dance major in college and loving to paint. I felt like I was interested in everything so it was hard to focus on something specific.
When I was 24, my partner and I had just gotten married and were moving to San Francisco to work in Tech. I’d always liked taking photos but could never afford a nice camera so it was an exciting moment when my husband got me my first one!
San Francisco is a beautiful city so I took my camera with me everywhere! I started finding photographers on social media that also did photography in the Bay Area and slowly began to make friends. Honestly, if I wouldn’t have been in a new city where I didn’t know anyone, I don’t think I would have challenged myself to get out there the way I did.
The next few years seem like a blur. I would travel most weekends to many beautiful places throughout California. These weekends consisted of hiking, little sleep, and lots of driving. It was exhausting yet exciting to be getting a sort of crash course in learning photography. It a lot of ways, I miss the early days when I was learning so much so quickly.
I had finally found something that combined the things I loved – being outside, exercising (hiking) and creating art!
Fast forward to today at age 29, I have been fortunate to have worked with massive brands such as Royal Caribbean, Columbia, Adobe, 5-hour Energy, and many more. I’ve sold 3 of my most successful photos as NFTs for ~ $10,000 each. I’ve been featured in magazines, art shows, and podcasts. It many ways, it’s been a dream come true and I have still have so much more to do!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road was unexpected, I would’ve never thought I would be here today.
Doing all of this while working a full-time job in San Francisco and trying to afford to live there was difficult. I had a very successful career working in Tech but this made balancing photography and work stressful. There have been many hard days where I almost gave up trying to continue working on my passion. I only recently quit my job as a product manager to pursue photography full-time and it was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made!
Probably the biggest challenge for me which I don’t talk about a lot, was navigating how this new passion would affect my relationship. The type of photography I do requires a lot of travel and it was not always easy for my partner to join me. It took some practice to learn to be away from each other but in the end, I feel like it has made our relationship very strong! We are independent and really cherish when we do have time together. I’ve had to be very conscious of him but not deny myself from doing what I love.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I only recently quit my job in Tech. I loved the work I did in San Francisco as a product manager because it challenged me in a very different way. I have gained so many technical and problem-solving skills that I will use for the rest of my life. Quitting was difficult but I decided I would never forgive myself if I didn’t pursue photography full-time. I plan to use the skills I’ve acquired and continue to build my personal business.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I read a lot of motivational books. Some of my favorites include:
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck – This was a great read for anyone who struggles dealing with hate on social media or failure in general.
How to Win Friends and Influence People – A great read for everyone!
Miracle Morning – A great way to get in a routine and using your time wisely.
The Power of Now – Learning to be present and not allow the worries of the future and past to cloud what you are doing at this moment.
There are many more but these are some recent favorites!
Photo Editing Software – Lightroom and Photoshop will always be my go to for editing. I have never found software that compares.
Useful Apps:
PhotoPills – Very difficult to use at first but I use it to see where the sun will be and how it will hit different locations and certain times of day. Also really great for astro photography.
Windy – I use this to try to guess cloud conditions but it is always hard to predict.
Capcut and Inshot are great for making Tiktoks and Reels
Contact Info:
- Website: paigetingeyphotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paige_tingey/?hl=en
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/paige_tingey_?lang=en
Image Credits
Paige Tingey
