Build a Photography Career You Love with Autumn Schrock

Pat Miller: [: 00:00:00

Welcome into the Professional Photographer Podcast. We are live at Imaging USA 2025 in Dallas. I'm Pat Miller, your host of the show. Thanks for tuning in. This is gonna be a fun one because this is the Scale Your Influence series presented by Sony on the show today, landscape Photographer Autumn Schrock.

We'll talk about that in just one second, but I do want to gush on Sony for a second. Their cinema line cameras have made us look great all week, and we're using their monitor and control app. So basically an iPad is running this entire show. Without wires, people are stopping by and oohing and eyeing.

his episode. We talk about a [: 00:01:00

We talk about travel, we talk about working with her partner. We talk about women in the industry. We basically talk about it all. So I think you're going to enjoy this episode. I certainly did. Let's bring her in now, autumn Schrock, welcome to the Professional Photographer Podcast. How are you today?

Autumn Shrock: Thank you.

I'm so excited to be here. Yeah, it's so great. It's

Pat Miller: kind of cool. We're imaging. How has the conference been for you so far?

Autumn Shrock: It has been so fantastic, and in fact, so fantastic that I'm already losing my voice. Because I've been talking to this networking with so many people, which is awesome. Yeah. Like,

Pat Miller: it's,

Autumn Shrock: it's just been really, really incredible.

Pat Miller: You told me how you started with landscape and outdoor, and I love this story. How did you get started?

retty unusual as far as, um, [: 00:02:00

And that was just kind of her, her hobby. Yeah. But then I really got into Spider-Man and I realized he made money from it, kind of. Yeah. And I was like, oh, that you could actually make a living out of that. That's pretty cool. So I ended up going to art school for photography. Um, and then I dabbled in every single kind of photography because I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do, and I never really found my thing.

Yeah. Um, so I went to school in Indiana and then I moved out to Seattle and. Started hiking and I was like, it's so beautiful. I have to bring my camera with me. Right. And that's kind of when the landscape photography clicked for me.

Pat Miller: Yeah. Do you remember that first image of the landscape where you thought, okay, I'm in love.

I you have my heart. Now.

Mount Rainier National Park. [: 00:03:00

So that was really the, the thing that stands out as like, oh yeah, this is what I want to do in book.

Pat Miller: Some people feel a personal relationship. With the landscape and outdoors. Do you feel that way as almost it's an internal conversation with the places that you're in? Because civilians like me, oh, that's pretty.

But artists like you do, you have like a, almost an unspoken conversation with the places and, and things that you shoot.

Autumn Shrock: I feel like yes, that's a really great question that I've never been asked before, but I absolutely think so. Like anytime I'm going somewhere, I'm, I think it's because I'm observing things that maybe your average person who's out there is not observing.

l little moments that people [: 00:04:00

Pat Miller: that Neat. You also love doing night photography. How did that come about and what is so magical to you about night photography?

Autumn Shrock: Yeah, I'm a night owl.

Pat Miller: Ah,

Autumn Shrock: yes. Um, it's really hard for me to wake up like before 9:00 AM so I'm often out a little bit later. It's really nice. It's convenient as a landscape photographer also to shoot sunset and then just stay out a few more hours Also for Astro, but the thing that really. Made me fall in love with it is that, um, I also have a DHD, which.

Makes our busy society a little bit overwhelming for me. Sure. And so something about being out there at night when the whole world is quiet. Just being sitting in that silence is so soothing to me. And then also you get to wonder about our galaxy, our universe, and I, it's just such a great place to have some introspection.

Pat Miller: It's gotta be [: 00:05:00

Autumn Shrock: Yep. And it's just something beautiful that we get to look at.

Yeah. It's amazing.

Pat Miller: You mentioned A DHD in the content that you create, it's definitely something that you talk about. Mm-hmm. How important is it to you to share that so others can understand? What you've gone through and that you see them and feel what they might be going through.

Autumn Shrock: Yeah, it's been really something that I've been focusing on lately, just making sure that I'm sharing more about it because it's a recent fine for me.

I actually was, uh, just diagnosed, um, I think maybe it was three years ago now, and I, I've just, I felt different my whole life and I, I knew that there was something other than, you know, just my other mental health things, but. Uh, it was kind of validating to say, oh, there is this thing that I, that I, I struggle with.

make sure that I was putting [: 00:06:00

Yeah.

Pat Miller: It's kind of your Peter Parker superpower in a way. Yeah,

Autumn Shrock: I guess so.

Pat Miller: Yeah, so, so

Autumn Shrock: sometimes it doesn't feel like a superpower, but Sure. But there are things for sure, like I can sit down and I can edit for 10 hours straight without realizing it. So I guess that's a little bit maybe of a superpower.

Pat Miller: That's a way to look into it. You also talk about yoga and, and practicing yoga. Is that something that helps you not only when you are getting through the day, but also when you go out into nature, does it help you stay calm and, and capture what you see?

Autumn Shrock: Definitely. And it's funny, I, I picked up yoga before I picked up.

ping my anxiety come to find [: 00:07:00

Whenever I got to shoot as well, like I love taking my shoes off, getting dirty and just kind of like being out there and experiencing it. And yeah, it, it's so magical. I love that I get to do what I do.

Pat Miller: So you get to do this, but what I think is so interesting is you don't do it by yourself. You take people all around the world, share with us what that is and how did that come to be?

Autumn Shrock: Yeah, so my partner and I teach workshops, photography workshops where we take people all around the world. Uh, I'm actually leaving in about a week. Wow. To go to Norway to teach a few workshops there. Um, but it's just such an amazing way for people who maybe are a little bit nervous to travel by themselves or maybe, um, are okay with the travel part, but aren't super, um, familiar with their cameras yet, and so they want some advice.

to come together to. Get to [: 00:08:00

Pat Miller: It's gotta be fun.

Autumn Shrock: It's so fun is get

Pat Miller: to share it with people.

Autumn Shrock: Yeah, and it's great. Like every single workshop we leave with new friends that have so far been lifelong friends. So it's, it's really awesome.

Pat Miller: You work with your partner, how do you do that? Because I'm sure a lot of people wonder how does that work?

Autumn Shrock: Yeah, my partner is also a photographer, landscape photographer. Um, and I guess, yeah, he'll be on the podcast later too. Right? Um. It's really funny. A lot of people will come up to us and say like, there's no way that I could work with my partner. And I just, I feel the complete opposite. Like, I can't imagine not working with him.

eriencing life together, but [: 00:09:00

And I, yeah. I just, I really can't imagine like doing it without him,

Pat Miller: but some people can't get their head around it. Yes. They're just dumbfounded that you can pull that off.

Autumn Shrock: So many people are like, I, I, I am very lucky that I go to work and I get a break and I'm just like, I can't imagine feeling like that.

Yeah. It's just like, are you sure you wanna be with this person?

Pat Miller: Yeah.

Autumn Shrock: But yeah, it's, it's pretty awesome.

Pat Miller: You also talk about being a woman in the photography industry. Share how is that, uh, going and, and what are you observing right now? Is it getting better? Do you feel more empowered? Share that with us.

th Nate. Oftentimes we will, [: 00:10:00

Oh, no. And it, it definitely makes you feel lesser than, you know, and it's like, I'm, I'm here too. I'm not just the girlfriend along for the ride. Like, this is my job too. And it wouldn't dishearten me. For sure. But things have improved. Things in the industry are kind of going toward equality. Um, programs like the Sony Alpha Female Plus Program are coming out, which, um, if you're not familiar, it's a a weekly grant that they give out.

It's really amazing. So they're, they're trying to empower women and people who are often overlooked in the industry. Um, just more opportunities for getting to work in this amazing field. And so it's really fantastic that. Companies like Sony are doing things like this and allowing us to the space to exist.

You know, it, it feels [: 00:11:00

Pat Miller: I love how frequently they pay off. Can you just talk a little bit more about how it works and there's cash prizes and this is really cool. Yes,

Autumn Shrock: yes, yes. I I totally glossed over those. The best word. No, it, but it's so cool.

Do the good part. Yeah, no. So, um, Sony Alpha Female Plus they have a Facebook group. So you can just go to Facebook and type in Sony Alpha Female, and that'll pop up and join the group. And then every single week, the entire year, every week, 52 micro grants they have, and it'll be like a weekly theme like.

Blue Hour or pets or something like that, like a theme. And then people will submit their photos just, just on the Facebook page and they'll choose a winner, and the winner gets $500.

Pat Miller: Wow.

Autumn Shrock: Every year it's, or every week. It's so great.

Pat Miller: But more importantly, they get seen and celebrated exactly. Every single week.

Someone's being recognized and noticed.

Autumn Shrock: Yep. And celebrated and empowered and yeah.

Pat Miller: It's awesome. That's awesome.

Autumn Shrock: Mm-hmm.

Pat Miller: I could talk [: 00:12:00

Autumn Shrock: Yes. Thank you so much for having me.

It's, it's an honor.

odcast live. From imaging USA: 2025

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and you're not a PPA member. [: 00:13:00

If you want to know more, go to ppa.com. That's ppa.com. At ppa, you belong here. Thanks again for tuning into the Professional Photographer Podcast. I'm your host, pat Miller. We'll see you right here next time. Talk to you soon.