Meet Russ and Chris Hadley | Nature Photography

We had the good fortune of connecting with Russ and Chris Hadley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Russ and Chris, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
We are moving into a new phase in our life. We had a very successful film/video production company for years. We did mostly TV commercials for advertising companies. Youth and energy drive that industry and we have kind of naturally aged out of our presence in the market. COVID gave it the extra push too. We had been gradually integrating still and portrait photography into our lives and were enjoying it! So as we became empty nesters, we decided to lean on that a little more and do what we love. We have a big connection to Colorado that includes family history and just pure love of the mountains. We had enough great images, and people were starting to ask for prints, so we decided to launch our new company, Hadley Images. We have an online store, with photos of our mountain experiences, nature, and some from here in the Midwest. We plan to move to Colorado in the next couple of years to pursue more mountain images.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The business – It all started with photography. Russ started his career as a photographer, shooting portraits and stills. He later moved into the film/video production side. I was working as a freelance Producer. We met as he was opening his new company, Third Eye Productions, in Kansas City. He was a Director/Director of Photography and I produced. We teamed up in business and in life. We had decades of success shooting mostly TV commercials and documentaries. Running a successful business gave us invaluable experience, and this sets us apart as we transition back to his roots of photography and my production days. But as technology evolves, we are still learning. Building our own e-commerce website was definitely the challenge!

The art – The images we choose for our store, usually have a story or important meaning to us and hopefully to others. Russ can capture the big landscapes and skies, but also the little things – whether that’s closeups of nature’s beauty or the interesting compositions we find as we explore.

As we build this new business, we are excited to share our art, and we are excited that our photography is hanging in the homes and businesses of others that appreciate what we see.

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.
We live in a small suburb of Kansas City. We love the small town feel here – and when we have visitors, we love to entertain at home. But we love to go into the city too. We have a few favorite breweries and wineries. We are casual and love anything outdoors if the weather allows it.

To be honest, we would prefer to put our friends in the car and drive to the mountains!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Our shoutout is to our family and peers. Many of these wonderful people are related to the film or photography business. They have inspired and supported us for many years. In our film/video company days, we nurtured great relationships with clients, crew, and colleagues. They were “family” when we worked side by side. We all worked hard and played hard. Many of them have been significant support as we move in this new direction.

Several of our real family members are in the business or related to it. We have a sister and brother-in-law, Glen and Gayle Wans that sell fine art photography (Wans Art). Another sister, Laurel Hadley, is a food stylist in Kansas City. A nephew, Adam Wans, assists in the food styling and is a photographer as well. They all inspire us and have been sounding boards for our new business plans.

Our three kids have also been a huge source of encouragement, and inspiration. They are all three photographers/videographers. Our daughter, Ali, runs a successful wedding videography business in Kansas City (Her Third Eye Productions). Our daughter, Megan, is shooting wedding and engagement stills in Denver (Megan Hadley Photo). And our son, Jackson, is shooting sports related video in his senior year at the University of Kansas. Their work ethic has been amazing to watch grow, and they are teaching us the fine art of social media!

Website: hadleyimages.com

Instagram: hadley_images

Facebook: Hadley Images