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Location - South Florida
Business Name - Design Aglow & Lena Hyde Photography
Years in Business - 6
Number of Posts - 505
Website - www.designaglow.com & www.lenahyde.com
Blog - LenaBlog
PM - Contact Lena

DWF - Let's start off with a little bio, tell us a little bit about yourself.

LENA -I own and operate a successful boutique portrait studio in Palm Beach and shoot kids and babies only....here and around the US.


Previously, I taught fine arts in San Francisco and wrote an art column for the SF Chronicle. I have exhibited my photography internationally, in galleries and museums, including Southeast Museum of Photography, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Gallery, American Embassy, Harare Zimbabwe; and Casa Fotografia Fuji, Brazil.


I am also is a founding member of DesignAglow.com, the online resource for photographers and designers.

DWF - How did you become a photographer?

LENA - I started out my business six years ago following the birth of my first child. I had been an exhibiting artist I was showing experimental photography in museums and galleries, teaching art, and writing an art column for the SF Chronicle. When my son was born, I began to photograph him in "my" style and people started asking me to shoot their kids too. I did not know the market, never assisted, or did much research on being a portrait photographer. We moved to south Florida to be closer to family and I just dove in right away and built my business from my home. About a year later, I had many clients, was charging $175 for a session fee and $25 for a 5x7 and could not believe that people were actually paying me to do this! In 2003 I opened my studio and dabbled briefly in weddings, mostly in Palm Beach, but soon realized that portraits were much more lucrative for me. Today, I have clients all over the US and the business continues to grow beyond my wildest dreams.

DWF- Who or what inspires you as an artist?

LENA - Everything...films, art, fashion, design, magazines, kids, and mostly travel.

DWF- If we needed a photographer today why would we book you? What makes you unique?

LENA - These days, I admit I am pretty selective about who I actually book...the fit needs to be good on both sides. With a busy schedule and limited time, I only accept bookings that I know I can do a fantastic job on...I work with clients who are very open to new ideas and appreciate collecting fine art of their children. I make sure they have seen my website and like my style...then we discuss their needs. I'm lucky that about 95% of my clients come in as referrals. Most of my business is repeat though; I love to watch my clients' families grow and I have become good friends with many of them too.

DWF- If you had to pick a favorite "Tool of the Trade" what would it be? and why?

LENA - I shoot all natural light and I am pretty low tech. All I really need is my camera, a few lenses and my computer. It's not really about the tools, lol!

DWF - Care to share your favorite photograph? and tell us a bit about it?

LENA - These are some images from a photo book of PGA Tour Kids I just put together for the Pebble Beach tournament. I shoot a lot of pro golf families...probably about 35 of my clients are on the tour. I absolutely adore these unique kids and their families; they are so much fun, well-traveled, super fashionable, and really appreciate what I do. We have also had some amazing adventures together! These images were shot with natural light using the Canon 5D.

DWF - How about some final words to live by?

LENA - My favorite quote sits above my desk: "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." H.D. Thoreau