A SOUTH Wales Argus Camera Club member who quit her job last year to take up photography professionally has now been nominated for a Welsh Business Award.
Steffi Andrews, 47, quit her corporate job in July, to instead follow her passion for photography.
She set up her business, Steffi Andrews Photography, which provides marketing photography for businesses and brands, and last week found out that her new business had been nominated as a finalist at the Best of Welsh Business Awards.
- We have some amazing photographers in Gwent – as the pictures on the South Wales Argus Camera Club show. You can view these, or share your photos, here.
“It’s a massive thing for me,” she said. “It just completely transformed my life.
“I had always been active on the Argus Camera Club. In July I packed in my corporate career after 27 years. It’s been a rollercoaster ever since.”
When asked if she ever had any doubts about her decision, Ms Andrews said: “All the time.”
“I worked hard for my career, but I didn’t love it at the end.
“100 per cent there were doubts. When I told HR I was leaving I put the phone down and thought ‘What am I doing?’.
“But I’ve never looked back.
“I love finding out about these people and their passions. I look into their story and their business and try to tell that story through the images.
“Every day is different. Every story is different.
“I never had a lot of confidence, but I’ve now overcome that. Now I try and use that experience to help and relate to my clients who may not be confident getting their photo taken – even if they know they need to do it.
“I try to make it a fun experience.”
Ms Andrews, from Abergavenny, is among the eight finalists in the Best Photography Services category.
“I found out last weekend. I didn’t think I would be a finalist,” she said.
“It is my biggest achievement. It meant the world to me, especially as it meant my clients had voted for me.”
The awards will be held on Sunday, March 27.
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