Meet Hannah Lineros | Photo & Video Professional

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

Hi Hannah, what matters most to you?
When it comes to taking photos or videos, it’s hard to narrow my philosophy down to a single principle or value, but I think there’s two I always try to live my life exemplifying.

The first is to capture beautiful moments to the best of my ability. It seems like a basic premise that probably most photographers enact in some way, but sometimes I find myself too wrapped up in trying to find the best lighting or arrange the best composition that it’s easy to forget the heart of the image. Beautiful moments happen all around us, constantly. Sometimes, it’s a simple glance between a bride and groom at a wedding. Sometimes, it’s the second when a cloud moves away from the sun and a mountain peak is suddenly sculpted in a new light. Sometimes it’s as simple as affirming the pose of a portrait client and helping them to feel comfortable in their own skin. So many things happen only once, and their importance is something worth preserving in a way that is beautiful and dignified. No matter what my subject is, I feel like part of my job is to capture the honest truth of the moment around me and I try to keep that always in the back of my mind when I’m on the job.

The second principle that I try to live by is to be empathetic. This one is a little trickier to define and harder to act out, but oftentimes when clients book either a portrait shoot or a wedding, there’s a chance that is their first photoshoot and they might be nervous. Many people, myself included, have concerns or apprehensions about something they see on themselves as an insecurity. My hope in taking photo and videos of people is to show them their best self and to give them (hopefully) a sense of empowerment. I think human beings are both dignified and unique, and I hope that after taking photos with me, that’s the general feeling my clients walk away with. I try my best to work with people and to be a safe, comforting space where I can help people see themselves as I see them. If I can do that successfully to any degree, I think I have done good work.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I find myself generally gravitating towards two different branches of photo/video-work: Portraits, and Nature.

I’m an extrovert at my core, even though I’m not the most loud person in the room, and so I love the chance to work with people in portrait settings. I also love the fast-paced, chaotic, bubbly energy that weddings usually provide, so I find myself often working weddings and live events. Lately I’ve been trying to appreciate more stationary subjects – mountains, trees, and sometimes the bubbling streams of waterfalls. I like to find beauty in both paces – the chaos of people and the stillness of the wild.

I got to where I am today by nothing other than the grace of God. I went through high school and college knowing nothing other than I liked good stories, and I liked creating images. I was never incredible at drawing so in frustration I picked up a camera and have never been able to put it down. Despite my best efforts, I made it through college with a focus in Media Arts, and the Lord put gracious mentors in my path that were kind enough to take me in and show me the ropes. It was definitely not easy, and especially becoming a freelance, full-time professional comes with highs and lows in every way. But I think if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change anything.

A lesson that lately has been sticking out to me is that your voice is important. I get stuck often thinking that my art is nothing special or letting other people’s work somehow diminish mine. In reality, every person is unique in so many ways, and the things that we create may resonate to others in ways that we ourselves cannot see or feel. If that’s not enough encouragement to keep creating, I’m not sure what would be.

It’s hard to pin down one aspect of my brand to share with the world, but if I had to it would probably be the beauty is out there and it’s worth experiencing. There is still good in a world that often feels bleak, and those moments are the ones we should capture, treasure up, and savor on days when they are easy to forget. It’s important to have media made that captures our moments – our family gatherings, our wedding day, the earth as it is right now. And I would love to help in doing that.

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.
Honestly, right now my favorite parts of Denver are the mountains. I would probably take a visitor to Rocky Mountain National Park and do some camping in the Moraine campground. There’s a little trail there that runs to a river between two mountains, and if you go there during elk rutting season, you’ll probably see them grazing in the grass there.

I also love watching the Aspen trees turn colors during the fall. At Golden Gate Canyon State Park, there’s a path called the Panorama view (I think? If memory seres), where after about 2-ish miles, you can find this view of the park beneath you. If the leaves are changing color, there’s this streak of yellow along the road cutting through the greenery that you can see from that vantage point. It’s very cool.

If we’re talking city things-to-do (and stop me if this is too far away from Denver), I do love a day-trip to Fort Collins to eat in the square. They have a great whiskey bar – The Whisk(e)y, which has a great selection if that’s your thing. We did a ghost tour the last time we were up there which went into a handful of local shops and gave a little glimpse into some of Fort Collins’ history.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Several people have impacted my artistic journey, but I’ll try my best to narrow it down to a few options. My husband has always supported me, even though it’s a tough gig being married to a freelance worker. Even so, he’s always supported my dreams, and for that I’ll always be incredibly grateful.

I also have several mentors and artists that took me in when I was young and took the time to actually help me out when I was just a lowly intern. The guys at Think Branded Media, Elisa at Elisa Fisher Photography, and Mike Traverzo at Meridian Production Consultants all stand out at top-notch chance-takers when I was young and starting out. Coming up in Dallas was definitely an advantage, as everyone I met in the industry there gave away nuggets of wisdom for free. It was never competitive and I never met an artist who didn’t feel completely open and honest about their life experience.

Website: lightandlines.org

Instagram: @hannahlineros

Linkedin: Hannah Lineros

Facebook: lightandlinesphotovideo