About Me

I've always had an interest in getting to know my way around a camera, I just never had the time or patience. When I was 18 years old, I took advantage of an opportunity to bring my mother's aging, yet hardy, Nikon D90 along with me on a family trip to Europe. Over the entirety of our two week trip throughout Italy, France, and England, my t-shirt wrapped Nikon traveled in my Target brand sling bag. Protected from thieves and shielded from the elements by the soft, thin fabric, my camera was just a magnetic clasp away from me snapping pictures of anything that I found aesthetically pleasing.

In an effort to share the pictures I was taking with friends back in the States, I began posting them en masse to VSCO, an app that was beginning to gain traction among my demographic. My friends and family gave me nothing but positive feedback, and I started to realize how much I truly enjoyed taking pictures. Eventually, I outgrew my VSCO account and created this little website for myself, mostly for showing friends and family, but also for anyone who might be curious of what I'm capable of. Since my family's trip to Europe, photography has become my favorite pastime. I've had other incredible opportunities, such as taking a few friends' senior pictures and bringing my camera along with me on my immersion trip to Guatemala, but I credit my trip to Europe as the source of where my love for photography was rooted.

Over the past two years, I have learned a lot about myself as a photographer. First of all, my favorite kind of photography is capturing candid and natural moments. Taking posed pictures is really hard for me, because I don't feel that they truly capture the intimate and emotional nature of a particular moment. Another thing I've learned is that, although anyone has the ability to take a picture, not everyone has what it takes to be a successful photographer. Learning your way around a camera isn't easy, and some parts of photography just can't be taught. I've never taken a photography class, but Youtube and Google have been pretty helpful along the way. Oh, photography was also the reason I found out I have astigmatism - turns out it's hard to focus a camera lens when you can't see.

Currently, I am a 20 year old sophomore at John Carroll University, where I am on the rowing team and am involved in campus ministry. I am majoring in communications with a focus on visual media, and hope to minor in Spanish. I have absolutely no idea what I want to do with my life, so for now I lifeguard and do photography and videography for a florist called Lynch Design. I identify as an introvert that, when caffeinated, might be mistaken as an extrovert. I drink my coffee black, spend my weekends hiking with my dog, and love reading so much that I used to read Harry Potter during science class in elementary school. I listen to somewhat obscure indie/rock music and live for Release Friday's on Spotify. I'm a history nut and love to travel - I dream of thru hiking and road tripping across America and visiting the places my ancestors called home.

Why is this important for you to know? These parts of who I am contribute to my style as a photographer. My attention and love for detail carries over to my personal approach to taking pictures. Every time I turn on my camera, there are no limits to what I can achieve, and the competitor in me takes this challenge in stride. When I look at a picture I've taken, it doesn't matter whether it was yesterday or back when I was in Europe, I can instantly remember that moment. That is my goal in mind when I take pictures: portray what I see, through the lens of my camera, in a way that conveys every aspect of that second in time.

If you've gotten this far and I haven't bored you to death, I encourage you to check out my photography Instagram page @oliviasteinphotography as well as the rest of the pictures I have posted here on my website. I know I have a lot to learn - but I think that's the most exciting part.