My name is Leslie Hand and I’m a professional photographer of five years with 17 total years behind the lens. First getting my feet wet through the exploration of artistic expression captured on countless rolls of 35mm film, I eventually transitioned to digital photography, where I expanded to capture hundreds of people, couples, and families in some of their happiest moments. But lurking just below the surface was my love and passion for story-telling, always day-dreaming of finding myself in the middle of some historical tale in-the-making, pining at the opportunity to capture each moment as I saw it: raw, pure, honest, and worthy of sharing with all who were willing to listen. At the time, I thought that must be an itch for editorial assignments and an acknowledgment that I likely would have made one hell of a journalist, eager and willing to experience drama any way it insisted on unfolding, anxious to tap into my senses of reflection to retell the tales. Now, I realize every single moment of every single day is some historical tale in-the-making, no less worthy of sharing.

Lucky enough to be invited to contribute to countless print publications, I began to accept a more subtle talent of working carefully alongside other business owners through my eyes as a photographer in all the ways I could help manifest their goals. Instead of tucking away my more analytical counterpart, I used her skills to research and decode exactly what story I was meant to tell on the behalf of my clients. This was/is a job that has always brought me tremendous fulfillment (because I purposed to constantly interview my clients and never stop learning about the service or product).

I’ve observed over many years my clients’ natural tendencies to practice their professional skills as though they are a mere shadow behind a half-drawn curtain and I could not disagree more. Like every production, there is a time and a place for all things and, one thing is for certain, there is always a time and a place to reveal a business’s true identity, which is always a vibrantly-textured reflection of its creator. It has become an artform for me to marry the brand with the traits of its master, one that is constantly-changing but never exempt from my persnickety approach and particularities.

Incidentally and throughout the last decade or more, I’ve picked up a colossal amount of information regarding marketing, social media, and content creation, coming face-to-face with the vast challenges of operating a one-person team. Diving head-first into expanding my knowledge of sales, I have also realized my knack for videography and educating others about the invaluable lessons I’ve learned and the stimulating wisdom I’ve been so blessed and honored to acquire.

Always evolving, but always with my camera in-hand, I’m ready to open my mind to the world.

And yes, also continue to take photos/videos for my clients, the head masters of each of their trades.