Meet Hope Glassel | Photographer & Digital Designer

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

Hi Hope, can you share the most important lesson you’ve learned over the course of your career?
I live on the soap box that art and business live on opposite ends of a spectrum. Creativity lives in a space that is fluid & open-ended, business thrives in a measurable, structured space. As we are often artists first and business-people second, learning how to operate as a business person has definitely been a learning process for me! I find that both, however, are equally nurtured by consistency. In times when inspiration and motivation are not available (which they are not always), we must, as artists AND business people, learn to turn to discipline and consistency to stay on our toes and keep our practice fresh, exciting, and well-oiled.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’ve always received great feedback about the way I approach color! I think that’s one of the most noteworthy things about my art, and especially the digital world-building I’ve gotten into in 2021/22 has been a real hit.

I recently did a partnership with Adobe where I got to share some of my photoshop techniques, that has to be the proudest thing I’ve ever done! I’m super passionate about education & knowledge sharing, so working with Adobe was so true-to-heart and an outstanding name to be next to.

How I’ve gotten here has been mostly consistency and baby steps! I started my photo business in high school, once I got a taste of it I knew I wanted to grow it into something that could support me. I wouldn’t say it’s been easy! It has been a lot of work, but it’s also been work I really enjoy. I grew up somewhere very small that had no industry access & didn’t really have connections of my own, I can honestly attribute years of loud and shameless self promotion to a ton of it!

Gosh- I’m still learning so much! As my practice grows, what I’m learning now more than ever is that it’s important not to take yourself TOO seriously that you can’t have fun, and that it’s important to be in community with and talk to other people working in your field. I enjoy doing things on my own, so entrepreneurship works well for me, but having a community that understands your lifestyle and can offer support is invaluable and essential.

What I’d like the world to know about me and my brand story… is that I’m cheering you on! My whole career is built around helping people and brands celebrate and spotlight the things they care about in (hopefully) a really unique and special way. I’d like for my brand to always feel sincere, unapologetic, and loud.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I still feel like I have so much to learn about Brooklyn and New York, BUT I would absolutely take them to a @gethappymedium art class! They have the most beautiful and welcoming space in Chinatown, I tell everyone about it. I’d have to take them to my favorite Wednesday evening at The Keep in Bedstuy for jazz night, unbeatable ambiance, and great cocktails. We’d spend an afternoon around East Broadway doing some vintage shopping, move around Orchard for some small boutiques, and eventually wander to Chinatown for soup dumplings & Chinese pastries to go. The best end to the weekend for me is always the Brooklyn Flea in Dumbo & then ice cream on the water!

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?
I’ll shout this one out to Ty McBride at Intentionally Blank @iamintentionallyblank! I started working with Ty during the pandemic in 2020, Intentionally Blank was my first ever consistent client in fashion/apparel when I was just starting to move into the paid creative photography space! Our relationship totally kickstarted the direction of my career today, I’ll always be a loyal fan of brands like IB that value their artists and aren’t afraid to take a chance on one- and an especially loud fan of this one.

Website: hopeglasselphotography.com

Instagram: @hmgphoto

Linkedin: Hope Glassel