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

Hi Meredith, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
For me, taking risks is both fun and exhilarating, and terrifying. And it’s somewhere between the two feelings that I try to land. It is natural to be fearful about taking a risk, but I am more fearful about not taking it in the first placing and finding out what something could become if I would just take a leap. My whole business was started off of taking a risk – quitting a salaried job to make no money while I started my photography business. There’s no lie that I have had moments of fear (maybe even slight reconsidering), but I have enjoyed every minute of the process.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Photography is very complex. I feel that I am always learning more about what it means to create digitally and how to do so in a way that presents good lighting, composition, and also tells a story. And sometimes all three can be difficult. Burnout is real. If there is anything Ive learned about this field is that you have to create for you, first. I cannot create both a visually appealing and meaningful gallery of photos for a client if I am not first taking my camera out on the weekend to shoot something that brings me joy. Creating on my own motivates me to create for others.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Downtown you can never go wrong with dinner at Melifs and a drink at Gin Joint! But if it’s a chill weekend and the surf is good, I would be taking my visitors to folly beach and to get dinner and a beer at Chico Feo.

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?
Thankful for my fellow creative friends who encouraged me to take the leap to pursue photography full time and to my College of Charleston professors who challenged me to be technically strong in my photos!

Website: meredithwiksell.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meredithwiksell/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredith-glass-wiksell-336483222/

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