Meet Amanda Pieper: Solo Travel Photographer and Actress

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amanda Pieper and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda, is there something you believe many others might not?
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” It’s a straightforward and seemingly well-intentioned bite-sized nugget of advice, designed to inspire a person to take action. To stop making excuses. To start. But what I’ve found through all of the shots I’ve taken, is that 1) shot success rate is strongly correlated with degree of competence, and 2) success rate falls off precipitously when we begin taking shots before we’ve developed that competence. It’s challenging, and definitely not exciting or sexy, to admit to ourselves that we are not yet ready to start taking shots. Because while “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take,” you also only get one shot at making a first impression, and in the arts, a first impression is everything. In fact, in many cases, one shot may be the only shot you ever get. In this industry, impressions are currency: a great one will carry you in the artistic transactions that lie ahead, and a bad one can bleed you dry before you even begin.

Take for example, an actor who makes the move to Hollywood and immediately starts looking for an agent, trying to get auditions, and letting the world know that they “are an actor” before they’ve really trained, before they’ve really prepared, before they’ve really developed the skill that it requires to succeed in this industry. How well do you think this goes for that person? Are they likely to be given a starring role in the newest Paramount feature film, get immediately verified on Instagram, and fall asleep at night in their recently-purchased-in-cash Malibu mansion? Not likely. Are they likely to end up hurting their career more than helping it because they applied the “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” mentality, took shots before they were ready, and therefore made negative first impressions with those they were trying to impress (i.e. secure a job from)? Highly likely.

As I said before, it’s not sexy to spend time developing competence before taking shots. Preparation and study, with no-one watching, with no accolades, with no apparent “success” (e.g. booking a role, getting a new client, etc.) is not nearly as exhilarating as actually doing the thing we love. The FOMO can be overwhelming. And while we silently dedicate ourselves to sharpening our sword before going to battle (in the proverbial sense, because let’s face it, this industry is a gruesome battlefield), we see people we know making huge strides, and we get discouraged. The little voice in our head starts to whisper (and at times shout) that maybe we should start taking shots, because we are missing 100% of the ones we aren’t taking. And so starts the tempting cycle of self-sabotage, wherein we rush into battle with a blunted axe, only to find ourselves knocked down before we ever even had a chance at attaining the glory that could have been ours if we had only stayed and sharpened a little bit longer.

Let me be clear. If you want to succeed as an artist, you DO need to start taking shots. Eventually. And I believe that there is a pertinent piece of supplemental wisdom that goes something along the lines of: “if you wait until you’re perfect, you’ll be waiting forever.” And I wholeheartedly agree with that. We cannot and should not wait until we are perfect to begin taking shots. Developing competence does not mean that we spend our entire lives doing ONLY that. At some point, the blade is sharp enough, you are prepared enough, and then and only then, is it time to start taking shots. It is at that point, when your confidence stems primarily from your competence, that you will start making 100% of the shots that you take. Well okay, maybe not 100%, but 60% perhaps? And you know what they say…60% of the time it works every time.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am first and foremost an artist, though exactly what that word means has varied greatly over the years. I grew up dancing, acting, drawing, designing, and singing. At 18 I went to University to get a Business degree (because my parents were parents and parents love business degrees), and then I moved to LA because despite being pretty kickass in the business world, in my heart I was (and always will be) an artist. So, in 2014 I moved to LA to pursue acting. It was a wild ride, fraught with many successes and several heartbreaking setbacks. I worked a full-time job (remotely) and would try to make it to auditions on my lunch break, or schedule my PTO to align with shoot dates when I did book something. It was exhausting, and I grew weary and jaded. I knew that if I was going to have a sustainable career in this industry, I would need to find another “day job” to support my creative endeavors.

So, in 2019 I became a private jet flight attendant (woah! plot twist. I know). At first just designed as a means to an end – the means being money with a flexible two week on/two week off schedule and the ends being a fruitful acting career – it quickly became something else entirely. A vehicle for an entirely new passion: photography. Being on the road for weeks at a time, and often traveling to interesting (though not necessarily exotic places…if you check out my IG you’ll see what I mean. Can you say Rockford, Illinois?) I was gifted the amazing opportunity to capture these moments and share this content with my social network. I quickly became obsessed with the “advanced selfie” (wherein I photograph myself, but with the equipment and quality of a professional photographer), and began shooting as much as time would allow. Quickly my influence grew, and while I have been taking a bit of a conscious break from acting for two years, I have really begun to bloom in my photography journey.

It’s a wonderful thing: I never thought I could love something as much as acting (and maybe I never will), but it’s been incredible to see that even several decades into my story, life could throw me a set of circumstances that revealed an entirely new passion. In the coming years, I look forward to continuing to grow in my photography (including expanding into shooting others) and pursuing acting again full-time (once my saw is adequately sharpened of course).

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I like a balance of close-to-home comforts, like my local watering hole “Edendale,” and iconic LA locations, like Malibu (Malibu Farm, El Matador Beach, Nobu). My best friends recently planned a whole day of LA-experiences for my birthday: brunch in Echo Park, a painting class in Silverlake, horseback riding near the Observatory, and a dinner party in Malibu. If I had a friend visiting for the first time, I’d probably do something like that. They knocked it out of the park. The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
To my parents for raising and shaping me, Nick for supporting and inspiring me, Shaan for educating and guiding me, my sisters for cheering me on, and all my friends in this crazy town for giving me the best company on this wild ride. I love you all.

Website: www.amandapieper.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/jetwithamanda

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandapieper/

Image Credits
jetwithamanda