Meet Evelyn Rude | Freelance Photographer and Content Creator

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

Hi Evelyn, what do you attribute your success to?
Confidence and determination are what helped me build myself after the two years of starting my business. I started at 17, but within those two years, I have been able to meet so many different people, businesses, and artists.

Do not be afraid of failure. If one thing does not work out, then something else will. Keep going and set up goals. Execute an idea. Your work and efforts will always keep improving if you actually try.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
So I am a photographer that is based in Austin but I travel around central and north Texas. To get to where I was today, we have to go back to high school when I was 17.

During my years in high school, I was known as the photographer of the school. I constantly went around and took photos of events and was a part of the newspaper team. I ended up taking photos for both the yearbook and newspaper although I was only in the newspaper.

In the summer of 2020, it was the summer of entering senior year in high school and I wanted to get serious with my photography. I found my mentor, Kaitlin Newman, and through her she taught me how to be confident with my work, find my niche, realize that connections are important within the industry, and to keep pushing myself.

For me, meeting people within the industry was not difficult. The difficulty was with my gear. I had a canon T5i which was a cropped sensor and although photographers know that your gear isn’t what creates your work completely, people will still judge.

I had difficulty landing gigs, but I kept going at it. I had that T5i from when I was 12 or 13 and recently I just upgraded to the Canon 5d Mark iv. People would still hire me and shops within the DMV area (where I lived at the time) would always collaborate with me.

I specialize in editorial, fashion, and photojournalism photography. When it comes to style, I try to express the story of the photo. I am a journalism major, so stories have always been significant to me. I don’t use presets or anything to edit my photos. It varies with each story and person. I would say that I like to use low contrast and color grade a lot.

I spent most of 2021 diversifying my skills. I got the chance to do studio work, wedding photography, style shoots and products. I was able to accomplish my new year’s resolution for 2021 when it came to my work and business.t’s been a great year and I am excited to see what 2022 has in store for me.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Eats:

– Sky Blossom

– Art Park @ Trinity Groves

– Merit Coffee

– Loro

– Elephant East

– Hawkers

– Mai’s Restaurant

Activities:

– Dallas Museum of Art

-Dallas Farmer’s Market

-Nasher Sculpture Park

-King Spa & Sauna

-AT&T Discovery District

– Reunion Tower

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I dedicate this shoutout to my mentor Kaitlin Newman. She taught me how to find my niche, be confident in my work, and not be afraid to accept a challenge. She will always be someone who I will look up to and trust within the industry.

Website: evelynrude.com

Instagram: instagram.com/erude.photography

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evelyn-rude-57957821a/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evelynrudephotography/

Image Credits
– Lamp Noveaux with Megan Davis -Neon Shoot with Bren Espinosa -Last two photos are photos from K of Koi series (Part 1)