Today we’d like to introduce you to Theresa Glenn.
Hi Theresa, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I have always loved to take pictures. When I was a kid, my parents gave me a 110mm-film camera that my Dad got by turning in cigarette points. In the 80s you would send in the labels, and you would get a free gift. So, my first camera was green and said NEWPORT in orange real big on the front. So I would take pictures of my Barbies, and because I’m an only child, I had no siblings to photograph so the next best thing was to talk my cousins into posing for portraits.
I would hang a sheet over the door and put them in dress-up clothes and we would pretend to be in a fancy photo studio.
Cut to my teen years I upgraded to a 35mm camera and was lucky enough to get into a program at the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild in Pittsburgh where I was able to learn more about my craft.
I attended a performing arts high school in Pittsburgh called CAPA. I was technically there for musical theater but wound up shooting all of my classmates’ headshots. Afterwards I got a degree in photography from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh.
When I first started out, I wanted to be a photojournalist. I interned at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and freelanced for some smaller newspapers around town until I realized that finding a full-time job in this field may be harder that I thought. The world was changing and many newspapers that relied on print ads started to realize they had to have a bigger online presence to survive and began a hiring freeze and layoffs to pay for the changes.
So, I decided to try weddings. With my photojournalist background it just made sense. I photographed weddings for 10 years, and it helped me to make a name for myself and get the business off the ground.
I made the shift to professional headshots, commercial work and architectural photography 10 years ago. I’m so glad I did. It has given me so many different opportunities to work for many different companies and people all over the world. I’ve done work with over 100 local businesses in Western PA, as well as national and international firms with business in the area.
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?
Haha, oh definitely not. It’s never a smooth road, but it’s always rewarding when you do something you love.
When I got started, I was working as a secretary for a very corrupt mortgage company that ultimately went out of business.
But that allowed me to receive unemployment and an opportunity to take part in a small business program the state of PA offered to start ups. I was given a business coach and was able to take business classes at Duquesne University. This was such an amazing help. My biggest struggle was when I decided to retire from doing weddings. I had a thriving wedding business so doing this was a huge gamble. It was tough going for a few years, and I even thought of giving up a few times. I thought I’d made a mistake. But with the support of my wonderful husband I stuck with it and my business started to grow again.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in professional headshots, small business branding and architectural photography. I am known for my headshots. I even freelance for a company called Gittings Global I am proud to be one of 120 headshot photographers for them from around the world. Business branding allows me to work with small business to help them create an online presence that shows off what they can to. I have also been doing architectural photography for about 15 years. This allows me to get very creative. It’s fun to capture the aesthetics, structure, and design of buildings. I have also started shooting landscapes just for fun; I’m inspired but the natural beauty of the world.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My ultimate cheerleader has always been my husband, Scott. He’s been there supporting me since the beginning. Even before we were married, he helped me to buy my first digital camera and was our main bread winner until I started to get my business off the ground. He was my assistant when I photographed weddings so we could save money. Even if things got stressful, he always encouraged me to keep going even when I was ready to give up myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theresaglennphotography.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresa-glenn-a704619/
