Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Walls.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
It’s actually kind of crazy to think about a time before I was taking pictures! I got a boxy little point and shoot camera for Christmas when I was in middle school and took ALL of the photos, from mirror selfies to macro shots of dew on flower petals to my little brother running around at his soccer games. I wanted to capture everything. At the same time, I started writing poetry. I went to multiple writing camps over some summer breaks and fell in love with writing. I kept a little collection of my simple rhymed lines but was hesitant to share them.
In high school, I was able to productively funnel my creative energy into portrait photography. My sister Maddi and I would adventure out into the woods behind our neighborhood and take dramatic portraits of each other to post on the new and photographer-focused forum that was Instagram. After sharing a good amount of our angsty shots on social media, a friend of ours reached out and asked if we could take her high school senior portraits, and our little photo adventure officially took off! Realizing that we could make money doing something we absolutely loved in our little Tomball community was the greatest gift. All the while, I was writing poems and sharing them with my family, learning from the poets I read in class and online. My dad finally convinced me to start an account on Instagram to post my work, and with great hesitation, my little blog @wordwalls was born. Getting my words out into the world was exhilarating and scary. I had a love-hate relationship with it for some time.
I was able to cultivate my personal photography style once I came to school at Texas A&M and plunged into a flourishing community of creatives. Being surrounded by other photographers as well as poets has done so much to fashion me into the photographer and writer I am today. I have really been able to tap into my love for portrait photography by toting my camera around everywhere, and time paired with a lot of trial and error has been the greatest teacher through it all. Now, that I am in college, there is a wealth of graduation and engagement photos to be taken, and I have also been able to capture a few babies and some really sweet families. It just gets more and more fun! I still make it back to Tomball, of course, to capture my high school seniors in the Spring like I always have. I have been posting my poetry on word walls for five years now, and it still pushes and grows me to share my words on that platform. I may or may not have posted subtle romantic poems there about my now-fiancé before we started dating. I am hoping to publish a poetry collection soon!
Has it been a smooth road?
It has not been the easiest road, but I personally believe it isn’t supposed to be!
In the photography sphere, I have learned so much by navigating through awkward conversation after awkward conversation with friends about pricing, by accidentally deleting an entire shoot’s worth of photos from my card before uploading them, by shattering a lens into a thousand pieces and many other instances where things have not gone terribly well. I have been molded and shaped by all of the work I have put into photography and the challenges as well as the delights it has presented me with.
If I had to give one piece of advice to potential creative ladies out there, it would be to share your work! It is valuable and worth seeing. It took me so long to finally start letting people see the photos and poems I was working on, and sometimes the perfectionist in me still says my work isn’t worth sharing, but let me tell you it absolutely is. Letting other people into my eyes and my thoughts had been so exciting and humbling and growing all at the same time. Put yourself out there! Growth is guaranteed to follow.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am a portrait photographer and writer/poet.
I am known for my portrait photography, but also love landscapes and capturing the in-between moments happening around me.
I write poetry about things that I see happening in nature around me as well as about the thoughts I have running about in my head about love and the way things work. I think that the way I can put into words things that a lot of other people are thinking sets me apart from others while simultaneously allowing them to feel more known.
Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
Growing up, my parents never let us say that we were bored. They were strong advocates of the idea that there was always something interesting to be said or done or thought about, and I believe that mindset helped me to develop the kind of attention to detail that I can express in my photos as well as my poems. They encouraged us to look closely and to think deeply, and I continue to find refreshment in those habits that have been ingrained in me ever since. The more I observe, the more I feel I am called to create in order to respond to the wonders taking place around me.
Contact Info:
- Email: hannahwalls7-1@yahoo.com
- Instagram: @wordwalls / @hanoftheyear
- Facebook: MHW Photography
Image Credit:
Hannah Walls
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