When Liz Arndt, a stay-at-home mother of two, first picked up photography last year, she had no idea the art would lead to her opening her very own studio.
“I’ve always been a creative type of person, whether its sewing, crafting or painting,” Arndt said. “I was trying to explore some different outlets and things, and I wanted to use my time creatively and hopefully, you know, also generate some extra income for my family.”
She quickly became hooked, finding the art form to be a great outlet for her creative mind. She began researching and reading everything she could, even finding a mentor in Harrisburg who taught her the fine details of portrait photography.
“I finally got to a place where I thought where I was like, this is something that I really want to pursue.”
3 Kings Day:WEPA started year strong with Three Kings Day celebration and plans for complete remodel
County election:Litz to seek sixth consecutive four-year term as county commissioner
Soon after she bought her own camera and reached out to friends and family to practice her craft.
In December, she put out a call on her Facebook page, Liz Arndt Photography, calling for families looking to have holiday portraits taken. She booked a whole day of appointments as a test run for her business, charging just about the cost for her to take them.
What drew her to portraits in particular was her love of working with people, her own relationship with her to children, and her childhood.
“I didn’t have the greatest upbringing,” she said. “So I might have one photo of myself as a child. I think it’s really important for people to be able to, especially as a mom now looking at my children, that you have plenty of pictures of them and kind of, you know, put together scrapbooks and different things.”
For the last month she has been setting up her own studio at 826 Cumberland St., repainting the walls and setting scenes for Valentine’s Day.
For many of the props, Arndt scours Facebook Marketplace and online free markets.
While there’s no official grand opening date set for the studio, Arndt is taking Valentine’s Day photo appointments for Feb. 4. Appointments can be made at lizarndtphotography.com.
A 20-minute session on that date includes 10 edited photos and a choice of three different sets for $125.
Arndt said that there would be no walk-in hours for her studio, as she still has to be a full-time mom, but because her husband also owns his own business and is able to have a flexible schedule, she can be available by appointments and intends to hold shooting days for holidays and larger events like prom.
“Anything that’s going to be you know, a larger holiday or kind of event is definitely something that I will try to make some time in sessions for right now,” she said.
Outside of holidays, Arndt provides a wide range of services including head shots, wedding photos and maternity/newborn pictures.
She said that once the weather warmed up, she would be willing to travel to take photos outside.
Daniel Larlham Jr. is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at [email protected] or on Twitter @djlarlham
This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Stay-at-home mom to open photography studio in downtown Lebanon
baresi