the story behind Glow Studeo

It all started with an iPhone, natural sunlight, and jewelry 🙃

Before discovering product photography, I co-founded a jewelry brand called Aurori with my college friend, Cecilia. As a start-up with two people who had no business experience, we did a ton of research and learned as much as we could through online resources. With little funds for marketing, we would shoot our jewelry with minimal equipment by making use of what we already had (phone, sunlight, props). 

Here is one of my earlier photos:

During the time, I had a full-time marketing job and eventually picked up freelancing gigs for social media marketing and website design. Product photography was not on my radar.. until a client asked me to shoot some of her products.

Here is a photo from my very first camera, the Canon M50:

After my first paid project for photography, I immediately decided to start offering this service. Out of all the services I offer, product photography was my favorite. I love the creative freedom to shoot different products and aesthetics. The whole process from an idea to planning, shooting, and retouching were all things I had fun doing. 

Fast-forward 2 years, I finally dared to leave my day job and pursue freelancing full-time. If you had asked me where I saw myself 5 years out of college, I’d say “probably at some boring accounting job” cause I graduated with an accounting degree. Never would I have imagined working for myself full-time cause the idea of it still scares me every time I think about it. 

Here is a photo from one of my recent shoots using the Sony A7rii:

Regardless of the uncertainty, I am proud of myself for taking risks and trying to get comfortable with the uncomfortable. Life is all about your experiences and seeking discomfort —which is why I believe that everyone should try anything that sparks interest. You never know what could come out of it unless you try it. 😏

Thank you for reading about my journey!

Tammy