Heather Marshall is an instructor inside the Academy who teaches on editing and getting creative. Her work is vibrant, light-inspired and chock full of joy and movement. She edits in both Lightroom and Photoshop and is an open book, which we love. She shares her passion, heart and knowledge with students in the Academy and for that, we are grateful. Located in Ohio, Heather is a southern girl and Momma of 4 who loves to document families and connection.

For more inspiration from Heather:

Instagram | Facebook

Learn From Heather in the Academy

Here is Heather, Unraveled…

WHAT INSPIRED YOUR ART? 

Like many other Mommas my kids inspire me daily. I want to make sure to capture their childhood, their personalities, and our life adventures as I know it before I blink and they’re all grown up.

WHAT DO YOU SHOOT WITH? CAMERA BODY AND FAVORITE LENS? 

I only shoot with a Canon 6D, and 24mm Sigma Art at the moment.

WHAT OTHER WAYS DO YOU EXPRESS YOUR CREATIVITY? 

I honestly have to be creative every single day. Whether that means picking up my camera or editing old pictures, painting, or creating a new recipe for my friends and family to try.

HOW DO YOU DE-STRESS AT THE END OF THE DAY? 

Family time is super important to us. To de-stress we sit down around our kitchen table my husband built, eat dinner as a family and talk about our day. We go around telling our favorite, and least favorite parts of the day. After the kids are in bed, my husband and I love to Netflix and Chill. We’re always starting a new series or restarting the office and friends for the millionth time.

WHAT KIND OF MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO WHILE EDITING?

I like all kinds of music. What I listen to everyday depends on my mood. It ranges from Chris Stapleton, Tyler Childers, to Cardi B HAHA.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK? 

I don’t really have a favorite book. I’m not really a big reader and I hate Fiction. I do love motivational books. With each season of my life I find a new favorite, right now I like “Unfuck Yourself” by Gary John Bishop. It really lit a fire under my ass that made me realize motivation is fake. You just do the shit or you don’t. I’m about to start reading “girl wash your face” whenever I get a free second.

NAME ONE MOVIE THAT INSPIRES YOU. 

One of my all time favorite movies is Erin Brochovich. Not inspiring from a photography prospective, but she inspires me as a woman.  She is a badass, a rebel, a mother, and a beautiful woman that doesn’t apologize for who she is. It’s probably not your typical answer, but I think we can all learn something from that movie.

How do you handle self-doubt or creative slumps?

I have gotten better at dealing with self-doubt. I used to just quit for months. This is probably why it took me longer in hitting my “ah ha moments” and finding my style. I almost quit photography last year, because I was super frustrated with not having a client base after moving across the country. My computer also broke, and I was using this POS laptop that had to be constantly plugged in. If you moved the cord ever so slightly the damn thing would shut off.I told my husband, maybe I’m just not meant to do this and I should go back to school. He told me I was crazy and how amazing I was. The next day with my dream computer (27 in Mac desktop). Often times when I’m doubting myself or I’m in a creative slump, I lean on my friends and family, or I try something new like signing up for the Unraveled Academy and taking a class or reading  a motivational book.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY? 

The most difficult part of my creative journey had been doubting myself and comparing myself to others. When I first started it was hard to see everyone’s best work every single day through social media, while in my eyes I was still creating “shit.” Although, I still struggle with this at times, but not as much as I use too because I started focusing more on myself, and only what I could control. I can’t control all the Choo-Choos on LLF. I can control pushing myself to get better every single day, so I focus on that!

WHO IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE PHOTOGRAPHERS?

I have many favorite photographers but the one who comes to mind first is Tarah Sweeney.