Meet Heather Newsom | Fine art and portrait photographer. Owner of Native Seven Photography

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

Hi Heather, what principle do you value most?
A person’s values are, in my opinion, their most important attribute. Whether you are an educator, influencer, small business owner or the owner of a large corporation, your values or guiding principles are the compass to every decision you make. If you do not value people or don’t have a strong work ethic, then your clients will not feel valued. Customer service is at the core of my values. I live by the golden rule of, “treat others as you would like to be treated”. This idea actually comes from the Gospel of Luke in the Christian Bible. This idea is not always easy, but in the end, it will be worth it. Dealing with people can be messy; there will be misunderstandings, disappointments or miscommunication, but I do what I can to be upfront with all the details and if I make a mistake, I will do what I can to make it right.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a fine art and portrait photographer. The bulk of my client work is high school and college senior portraiture and I also photograph family portraits and business headshots. My true loves, however, are landscape and still-life photography. I photograph scenes in my community and while traveling with my family. I own a 100mm MACRO lens and I love to capture the details of flowers, leaves and other objects in nature. One of my favorite things to do is take my camera with me when I go for a walk and photograph things that other people often ignore. My eye is naturally drawn to light-colored things against a dark background or objects that stand out as different and unexpected.

One of the biggest challenges in my career is the fact that photography is a saturated profession. Anyone with a quality camera can call themselves a photographer, but it takes years of practice and even continued practice to be a quality artist. I am not sure one can ever stop learning when it comes to photography as art. I think the best way to overcome the challenge of being one photographer in a sea of many is to keep learning and have a consistent style that clients will keep coming back for. The highest praise for me is a repeat client.

I am most proud of my own personal growth. I once heard someone say that it takes approximately five years for a business to become profitable. I am at year five right now and although I am not quite where I’d like to be, I can see how my client base has grown and my skill has improved. I look forward to the next five years and all that I will learn and achieve.

At Native Seven Photography, I want my prospective clients to know that I will pay attention to details and I will do my very best to capture their memories and deliver a quality product. Customer service is most important to me as well as honesty and integrity. I look forward to the fall 2024 portrait season with my local families and especially my local high school seniors. It is such an exciting time as these young people are finishing their education and moving on to greater things, whether that is college or career training.

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 am fairly new to the greater Houston Area, but I do love my community of Kingwood and I think we have a lot to offer. One of my most favorite things to do is walk (when it is not 100 degrees outside). Kingwood’s East End Park is a beautiful 150-acre nature preserve with walking trails and massive pine trees. My favorite time of year to go is the fall when the perennial grass is tall and the purple seed heads are in full bloom. In the morning, it is so quiet and the deer prance through the thicket. It is a serene experience. Kingwood is home to many local restaurants such as Three B’s Grill, Sharky’s Waterfront Grill and Skeeter’s Mesquite Grill. I also love the Austin-based taco joint, Torchy’s and Houston-based Lupe Tortilla has the best fajitas. My favorite food is Tex-Mex, so we will have to do as much of that as possible. Outside of Kingwood, I love the Water Wall at Gerald D. Hines Park, shopping in The Woodlands and walking around downtown Houston to view the wall murals and other public art. I would, of course, be taking my camera along.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The people who have encouraged me and supported me most on my journey as a photographer are my family and my friends.
My first encounter with photography was at a young age. My dad did some commercial photography on the side and I think that is where my love for still life began, although I didn’t realize it at the time. I got a simple 35mm camera as a Christmas gift when I was 13 years old and I remember styling my old Barbie dolls in their fashion clothing and setting them up as mini models against my bedspread “backdrop”. When I think of those early shots and how much film I must have wasted, I cringe. But, my dad bought the film and took the film to be developed and I don’t remember him ever complaining about the cost. He encouraged my creativity (however weird it was at the time). I think my second wave of camera fever came when my three children were young. Digital photography was just becoming a thing and the cheapest way to get into a digital camera was a point-and-shoot style. I think my first digital camera was 5 megapixels and that was supposed to be a good camera! I took pictures of my kids doing everything, but I was not satisfied with the quality of images I was getting. My husband bought me my first Digital SLR camera for Christmas almost 15 years ago and I was intimated by all of the settings. But, I was ready to learn and my family was there to encourage me into this new thing, whatever that “thing” was going to be. My family was there to encourage me when I went back to college to study fine art photography and my friends were willing to give me a chance photographing their high school seniors and their families, even though I was still learning my craft. When I started Native Seven Photography in October of 2019, I already had quite a bit of practice under my belt and an new art degree. So, I dedicate my success to my family and friends who were there at the beginning, stayed with me in the awkward middle and still encourage me today.

Website: https://www.nativesevenphotography.com

Instagram: @nativesevenphoto

Facebook: Native Seven Photography

Image Credits
All images are property of Heather L Newsom, owner and photographer at Native Seven Photography