Exploring Life & Business with Hunter Berry of Hunter Berry Photography

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hunter Berry.

Hi Hunter, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
Well, my whole childhood, I was attached to a camera. First, it was my dad’s 35mm whenever he let me use it; then, I got my own little point-and-shoot that I carried with me through college. But I didn’t start working with a professional camera until I was in college. I was going to school at the University of Iowa for Graphic Design when I found out a local photographer was looking for an intern to photograph some wedding days with her. I am a hopeless romantic and have always loved weddings, so I thought it would be a cool opportunity to learn hands-on. For the last year & a half of college, I shot a dozen or so weddings along side her and did a lot of the editing. Honestly, I learned so much during that time that I realized being a photographer might be what I wanted to do. A few months before I was to graduate college, I had people from my hometown asking me to do photo sessions for them – I mean, why not? I loved what I was doing. So, at age 22, I started my photo business, and before I even graduated, I was booking sessions and had begun getting wedding inquiries.

But, weddings haven’t been the only thing I wished to photograph; working in the music industry was my lifelong dream. I was going to school for graphic design so I could to move to Nashville and get a design job working on tour merch, album art, etc. But photographing live music was the ultimate goal ever since I went to my first concert as a 5th grader. A few weeks before college graduation, CMA (Country Music Association) opened up applications for students to be student photographers for CMA Fest 2015. As quickly as I could, I applied. That summer, I was one of 5 students that got to shoot on the CMA photo team for the 4 days of CMA Fest. It was a dream come true to shoot live music & to be in Nashville! Mid-summer, as I am shooting a lot of photo sessions, booking weddings for the next year, working a graphic design job in Iowa, and trying to plan my move to Nashville, I got a call from CMA – they wanted me to come back and shoot the CMA Awards as part of their photo team, and to present me with their “Award of Merit” as their student photographer of the year. 6 weeks after shooting my first CMA Awards, the U-Haul was packed up, and I was moving to Nashville.

Over the last 6+ years here, I went from a part-time graphic designer with a side photography business to a full-time photographer in the wedding industry and the music industry. My work has made it to publications like Country Weekly, PEOPLE Country, and numerous wedding publications. I have traveled all over the country & beyond for weddings, family, maternity, senior sessions & more. As well as, photographed album/single covers, award shows, festivals, many concerts and the making of the Bluebird Documentary. Plus, this year will be my 8th year working with CMA. It has been a whirlwind, but I wouldn’t change a thing; I love every moment I capture, whether it’s an artist singing to thousands or a couple promising their life together in front of 50 of their closest loved ones.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced?
It has had its ups and downs. It is a constant grind from both sides, and there are a lot of sacrifices that need to be made sometimes. I am a big planner, so those first few years were tough, not knowing what work was coming next to keep me afloat financially. There were times I was thrilled to be getting what I was getting, that financially, I sacrificed making what I wanted to get the “exposure” or the experience under my belt. I also travel for just about everything, that balancing my schedule has been challenging – most weddings get booked a year and a half out, but then in the music industry, sometimes I am lucky if I even have 24 -48 hours’ notice before an event or show. There have been moments where I have had to rearrange my entire schedule just to make some projects work, or to make enough time for the editing and business side of things.

Plus, social media can be your best friend or your greatest enemy. I can get on there and be so proud of what I am sharing, and an instant later, I see one of my other photographer friends going on tour with a prominent artist or booking a wedding in Italy. You have to remember what you’re working so hard for and that you’re not going to have the same careers as those you know or follow.

As you know, we’re big fans of Hunter Berry Photography. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
I shoot a lot of 35mm & medium format film! (AKA not just digital!) Film is such an incredible medium that has been beaten out by digital in the past few decades. Digital makes it so easy to take dozens of photos of one moment to get that one cool shot, but you have one chance to get it with film. The film also has a way of just turning out so effortless; we spend hours of our time editing digital images to make them look cool, unique, or even replicate them to look like film, whereas film – (if it has been processed correctly) turns out to be so perfect on its own. It eliminates hours of editing hundreds of images and truly tests the photographer’s skills to get the moment right as it’s happening.

I started shooting live music on a vintage 35mm film camera for fun a few years ago, but it became a full-blown passion. I decided I wanted to start incorporating film into everything I was shooting. So, in 2018 I got a 35mm Canon film camera and started taking it to all of my weddings and live shows. In 2019, I did a whole series for CMA called “Fest On Film,” & then at the Awards that year, we did a behind-the-scenes look of the red carpet on Polaroids. It has become more prominent in my work each year, especially with weddings and lifestyle sessions. I have a medium format film camera that comes with me to every wedding and photo session and is my primary camera. I still shoot digital at everything, but going with the film route has been rewarding and fueled my creativity for photography. The majority of my lifestyle/wedding Instagram (@hunterberryphotography) is mostly all film images, and my music one (@misshunterberry) is a mix of film and digital work.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
The majority credit goes to my dad.  He always had a camera with him as we grew up. Everything we did was photographed. His love of music/concerts also sparked my love for the music industry and desire to shoot live music. He took me to my first concert when I was in 5th grade (Rascal Flatt’s “Melt” tour); he had his 35 mm film camera with him and got to go down close to the stage and take some photos. I remember sitting in my seat thinking, “wouldn’t it be cool to shoot concerts for a job??” He has been a massive supporter of me chasing this crazy photography dream and has been a backbone to all of my business decisions.

To name everyone who has supported me would be a task. I have had plenty of excellent mentors, from Julie Paisley, a world-traveling wedding photographer, to my dear friend Katie Kauss, one of the best music industry photographers here in Nashville. My business coach Val Duvick helped me establish the baseline for running my business. Friends and family that  believed in me and hired me to shoot their weddings, newborn photos, senior pictures, etc. Clients who have passed my name on for years to their friends and some who have been with me from the beginning of what I thought was a “part-time” side hustle. To artists/songwriters & industry friends, who share my contact with their friends, or chose to bring me on to shoot their shows, single/album covers – sometimes even their proposals, wedding days, and then their families. Of course, CMA, who allowed a 22-year-old to live out her dream of shooting the CMA Awards and then more year after year. I have had constant support from the day I started my business and the moment I stepped foot in Nashville, and as I think about it, it’s absolutely overwhelming to know how many people have cheered me on all these years.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.hunterberry.net
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/hunterberryphotography
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/hunterberryphotography
• Other: www.instagram.com/misshunterberry

Image Credits
First photo of me by: Aly Carrol