Meet Hannah Rose Gray | Owner & Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hannah Rose Gray and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hannah Rose, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
I’ve heard it been said by many coaches and professionals in the business world that they say balance is a unicorn. It is not possible to attain, especially running a business as a freelancer or entrepreneur.
I believe it is possible, it has to be possible or why the hell are working for ourselves anyway? Why do we strive to hit numbers we set ourselves if we aren’t going to enjoy the freedom that life has to offer when you work for yourself?

My journey through to find a healthy work life balance has been strenuous to say the least. It hasn’t been easy but I see now what I was fighting for for the last decade of my career and life. For a life that is more spacious, open, free. I was addicted to the hustle if I’m going to be honest. The hustle mentality got me far in my career but it also brought burn out, sickness, and nerve damage to my hand from overshooting. The hustle brought me to the point of breaking so that I could actually listen to myself and enjoy the fruits of my labor.

(* I wrote this section below on an instagram post last year when I was really processing what I had just put myself through the last 13+ years of shooting weddings. I thought it summed it up well.)

I’m so over the hustle.
I have been for a few years now since I hit burn out one November evening and had a panic attack on my bedroom floor.
I remember where I was sitting.
By the window.
In such turmoil over how I let my business over take my life.
For years, I said yes to my clients over family, friends ,myself, and my body.
To some degree, I respect that younger Hannah who traveled the world to shoot weddings every weekend in her 20’s, the Hannah who took every opportunity that came her way, and the Hannah who hustled to built up a savings to buy a house all on her own.

But,

that Hannah didn’t know how to rest.
She didn’t know it was ok to turn the tv on and watch a show at night.
She didn’t know the wear and tear 8 years of traveling would do to her body and 13+ years of shooting would do to her nervous system and hand.
She didn’t know less is more.
That working harder and longer than everyone else doesn’t always equal success or contentment in life.

I don’t work that much anymore.
And I’m okay with it.
Actually, I’m more than okay with it, I’m downright happy about it!
I have energy to give to Ian and my pups. They get daily walks in the woods and Ian gets daily focused attention… which was something my ex boyfriends lacked honestly.
I don’t set an alarm clock but let the sun wake me. So right now that is about 6:15-6:30am.
I listen to my body and what she needs.
My hand / nerves don’t hurt as much anymore. I can actually hold my camera without crying in the car after a shoot.
I deliver images to clients within the week I shoot them not months later.
I answer my emails within a few days, which was unheard of for me!

Sure, there may be money left on the table I could be making… but at what expense?
I’m glad in my 30’s came respect for myself, my body, and learning the capacity my brain can handle.
I love my ADHD brain and have learned I can’t keep the same pace as everyone else.
And it’s okay.
It’s more than okay.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We do things differently at HRG Photo this stems from my deep love of the human experience and respect for rites of passage. We are a mix of creativity, personality, and professionalism offering support and guidance through the wedding season. What I teach to my team is that people will remember how you made them feel over the product you give them. So that’s what we focus on first. How are we showing up to this wedding day? Are we good with ourselves? Are we present? Are we being intentional and mindful first so that we can create art today?
From there we guide our clients through organic mindfulness practices to keep them in their bodies, in the space around them, and connected to the people near them so that they leave their wedding day feeling fully present in their memories rather than tourists just sliding through this day not able to set up camp and be residents of their memories.

Our team is different because we offer wedding coaching through out their wedding season which gives emotional support on how to navigate this transition with health and wellness. I believe we need weddings because they are ceremonies that take us from one season of life to another. We need rituals as humans to help transition us through a rite of passage. Our modern culture has definitely forgotten these essential parts of being human during a wedding season that so much so we get ourselves all caught up in the noise of social media, cultural expectations, and what it looks like rather than what it feels like. I am obviously very passionate about seeing wedding days and seasons as a major life transition so much so I am creating a whole new business around this concept. It’s called Wedding Wellness: a pathway to marriage, which will be launch in 2025 through a guided app which will offer coaching, support, and tools to do this season of transition with health at the same time preparing ourselves for a marriage, not just a wedding day.

Some of the things I’ve had to overcome in business thus far of 13 years running HRG photo has been managing my ADHD. I love my brain, how I work, and how I do things NOW but it hasn’t always been that way. I struggled most of my life not knowing how to manage this superpower. All throughout my 20’s I would drop the ball constantly with clients especially in the backend of admin. It has taken years and years of therapy, meditation, and gut health to get to a place where I feel like I am in control of my business instead of my business running me.
Business coaching has immensely helped me learn how best I work but given me tools that no one run businesses the same way.
I cannot go on without mentioning my amazing business coach Cayla Horey, https://caylahorey.com/, who massive helped me shift my life this past year to health.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
OH MY, I love to travel and eat. So this is an easy question for me. I even have made a PDF guide for all my clients coming to Northern Arizona from out of state. I like to ensure they are not getting caught in the tourist traps but they know from a local where to go and what to do.

Well I live in Flagstaff, AZ so we have access to nature at our finger trips from Sedona, Mnt Humphreys, to Grand Canyon, and Page. Even close enough for a weekend up to Zion! This is why I live here in Flagstaff, not only because it’s quiet and calm but because I get to be in nature every single day.

A weekend in Flagstaff would look like starting a hike through hart prairie through the aspens for sunset. duh of course! Then heading to Pizzicletta for dinner. Pop on over to motherroad for a beer after with friends and hangs!

Then wake up Saturday for an early morning Barre3 class with the girlies before heading down to brunch at Indian Gardens in Oak Creek Canyon or if you are feeling another option Wildcraft Kitchen in uptown! Then a good long hike in Sedona, either fay canyon, doe mountain, submarine, or bell rock. Stop by the creek for a post dip in the water near west, south sedona to ensure you get some good sunshine and the water isn’t as cold the more south you go. Watch sunset in sedona before heading to dinner. Literally anywhere you can find it. I would say either airport mesa or baby bell rock. Eat at the best restuarent in village of oak creek- Dellepiane!!

Sunday- go to farmers market in downtown Flagstaff then wander the streets of downtown walking in and out of shops! Eat brunch at Foret + get their matcha. Take a nap during a monsoon in the afternoon. Then finish your weekend playing a quick par 3 at the country club then sitting on the patio at Oakmont for sunset and food!

Thats the best flagstaff weekend I could come up with 🙂 We do this regularly!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My shoutout goes to Ian, my husband. For teaching me it’s okay to slow down, to listen to my body, and be intentional with everything my hands are doing.

Website: https://hannahrosegray.com

Instagram: hannahrosegray3 + hrgphototeam

Image Credits
They are all take by me!
The one with 5 ladies smiling at camera is my team of photographers! Love them dearly!