‘Go for it’: Theresa Braaten brings coronary heart to images in Clearwater

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Theresa Braaten has a easy message for girls within the North Thompson who could also be contemplating beginning a enterprise.

“Just go for it,” she stated. “You have an idea, just run with it. That’s all I can say.”

Braaten is the founding father of Indigo Thyme Imagery, her images enterprise, and has been within the recreation for about 16 years now.

Her journey into the business started on a private notice. Her youngsters have been all in native sports activities, taking part in hockey, baseball, and soccer. Braaten would attend the video games, take footage, and ship them to all of the mother and father.

But, she wasn’t simply taking pics and sending them off. She started to mess around together with her pictures in Photoshop, and a thought occurred to her: “Jeez, why don’t I get paid to do this? I’m putting a lot of time into it.”

What started as photo-taking of children taking part in sports activities advanced into taking footage for the sports activities associations themselves. She supplied particular person participant pictures in addition to crew pictures.

Nowadays, she is busy with passport and ID footage, and works out of a studio at Collective Hair & Beauty in Clearwater alongside different girls, all working their hair-and-beauty-based crafts.

She takes footage for Raft River Elementary School, Vavenby Elementary School and Blue River Elementary School, taking particular person and sophistication pictures. She takes a whole-school photograph for every establishment as properly.

On prime of all that, she does household portraits, weddings, reunions, and different occasions.

Braaten stated she has a big household and kids, and gravitates in the direction of that theme.

“Large family portraits are kind of my niche of the woods,” she stated.

The photographer spoke about what impressed her to get into images within the first place. She stated she wished the recollections herself, and actually enjoys taking pictures. She stated she’s at all times been hooked up to footage, both creating them or amassing them.

“It’s just something that I find near and dear to my heart.”

She stated that, when somebody passes away, the primary method folks bear in mind them is thru pictures. She stated they’re our “strong recollections.

“Our theory of memories in our head, they fade. But when you have the physical aspect of print, you can always pass on the story.”

The slogan on the Indigo Thyme Imagery website is “Capturing the heart of your story.”

Elaborating on that concept, she stated, “I like people to feel the photo by looking at it. You don’t have to totally explain it, you know? It just brings out the emotion in you.”

She stated she usually gravitates in the direction of glad pictures, however there are additionally occasions to commemorate the unhappy, and previous historical past.

But, total, Braaten stated she likes to convey out the enjoyable in folks.

“That’s what I gravitate to,” she stated.

She spoke about numerous different girls within the images enterprise within the North Thompson, and voiced her appreciation that everybody has totally different takes on the subject of pictures. It simply relies upon an individual’s creative angle. There could possibly be 5 folks in a room, she stated, and the identical photograph could be performed in 5 other ways.

“There’s a bunch of us, but we all kind of do something a little bit different. So, it’s kind of cool.”

Braaten despatched a listing of different girls within the valley who’ve images companies, saying all of them give attention to totally different genres.

  • Holly Louwerse with Holly Louwerse Photography
  • Camille Dhillon with Earth In Bloom Photography
  • Denica Kelly with Denica Kelly Photography
  • Callie Wynn with Lemon and Lavender Photography

“I know a lot of people don’t like competition, but I think it’s very healthy,” Braaten stated.

When requested how her perspective as a girl informs her enterprise and the journey she’s been on, at first, she wasn’t positive, saying, “I just do what I do.”

But then, she stated, “I’m not so technical, I’m more into the feeling, I think is where I gravitate to.” She stated she’s extra ultimately results of an image than how she acquired there.

Speaking to girls within the valley typically who could also be contemplating pursuing a enterprise, she stated, “go after it,” and famous it’s one thing she struggles with.

“Don’t think about it too much. Just go after it. Everyone overthinks everything,” she stated, including that typically folks can have low self worth.

She additionally added emphatically that folks ought to know the phrase ‘no.’

“That’s a very overarching detriment, is we have a hard time with saying the word ‘no,’” she stated.

“One of my suggestions is, make boundaries, stick within them.”

She famous that there’s a group for girls in enterprise known as “She Means Business,” began by Chrystal Augustine of Living in Love Events and Eleanor Collins of Elle’s Hair Design.

Braaten stated her journey within the images enterprise has been great.

She stated it was powerful at first, making an attempt to make a go of it, however she knew lots of people within the valley, which, together with a supportive husband, helped make issues simpler.

“It’s been a great journey. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.”


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