Meet Lily Petruske | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lily Petruske and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lily, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Growing up we’re always asked, “what do you want to be when you grow up?’ For myself, that answer was constantly changing; for every person who asked I always had a new answer. I have always been a creative person who loves to learn and to try new challenges. Because of this I often found myself bored and moving on to new hobbies monthly. The one thing that has always been consistent with me over the past six years is my love for photography. With photography, nothing is ever the same, you will always find yourself in a new place with new people, shooting something unique to them with different challenges to overcome. When I took the time to recognize that, I finally had the clarity I was looking for and started my photography business.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I have been a photographer for six years now. I started focusing mostly on senior portraits and in the past year have been transitioning into elopement and lifestyle photography as well. I have worked hard over the past several years to figure out my style as well as how I keep my brand authentic towards myself. My goal is to capture genuine photos that remain true to your special day, relationship and brand in a warm and timeless way. I am the type of person to invest deeply in my clients and continue our relationship long past our sessions together. In this way my branding remains more personal than professional in comparison to many others in the industry. Remaining true to myself is a constant challenge I enjoy taking on in this profession. Another challenge of the job I love to take on is telling a visual story that is genuine to my clients. Part of what makes my job so amazing is that I get to meet so many unique humans I would never previously have gotten the opportunity to know. My goal while shooting is to take what I learn while getting to know my client and embodying their story in my images, that is what makes my brand stand apart from others. These amazing connections and memories made are the most important factor to my story and my brand.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
When my friends come to Flagstaff, I love to show all of our amazing mountain town and places around us! I would start with lunch at Teppan Fuji for their amazing all you can eat buffet. Them I would take them to downtown to show all of our amazing local shops and have dinner and Shift in downtown! If we decide to go out for a drink after I would have to take them to the Mayor or the Gopher hole for a true flagstaff experience. I would then get up the next day to head for the Creek in Sedona and make a stop at Indian Gardens on the way for lunch! In Sedona I’d finish with a sunset hike at Bell Rock for the day. On their last day I would take them to Snowbowl to check out the crazy views and make sure to stop at Twisted Owl or the Local Juicery for an amazing breakfast!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to my mama, Erica Petruske, I would never have gotten to this point that I am at now without her. She is my number one supporter who has been there for me from the beginning. I can never thank her enough for the encouragement, love and opportunity she has provided me. Her support has given myself the strength needed to persevere humbly through the highs and lows of starting and operating my own business.

Additionally, I would like to thank Bri Bishoff and Hannah Rose Gray for their encouragement and mentorship. Thank you Bri for teaching me how to have confidence in myself and my art to create my own brand without limits, as well as showing me how far hard work and passion can take you. Thank you Hannah for teaching me that through both business and life there is abundance and love. Thank you for showing me that creativity is meant to flow freely, never to be limited.

Website: lilyteresaphotos.com

Instagram: @lilyteresa.photos