Anna Claire Beasley
Photographer
Texas, USA
Woman-Owned Business
Anna Claire Beasley is a Far West Texas photographer and storyteller whose work spans from the Chihuahuan desert to oceans and open roads around the world. With a background in anthropology and documentary filmmaking, her images carry a rare mix of grit, tenderness, and curiosity. Whether photographing cowgirls in the desert or documenting destination weddings, Anna Claire brings a grounded, soulful perspective to every story she tells.
Offerings:
– Wedding Photography
– Elopement Photography
– Portrait Photography
What is your creative process?
I allow my curiosity about the world and my clients to take me to new places. From swimming with humpback whales in French Polynesia to documenting heartfelt love stories around the world.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
Oof. This is a hard one to distill. I love old things and thrifted things; anything with a story. I love traveling and waking up in a new place and trying to make sense of a new city. Reading, of course. Films like Pride and Prejudice - the color grading in that film is so stunning. Often, I find myself pulling photobooks by documentary filmmakers and photojournalists. And it’s cheesy, but I do look to my own life and its everyday moments. Trying to capture fleeting moments in unique and honest ways requires paying attention, and I find it best if I start that practice in my own daily life.
What drew you to photography as an art form?
My family has always valued storytelling, and photography has long felt like my way of adding my voice to the mix. I grew up enamored with stories; my nose was always in a book, whether it was grandpa’s photo albums or a novel, I love being transported to a different place and time and feeling immersed in those landscapes. My photography allows me to create those landscapes of my own.
What has your business journey looked like?
I didn’t set out to be a wedding or lifestyle photographer. I was actually in a graduate program for cultural anthropology and had every intention of doing documentary filmmaking. I picked up photography jobs throughout college to make ends meet and when I was halfway through my graduate program, decided it was time to dive all in and quit grad school to go full-time with my photography business. I found that many of the same things that I loved about documentary photojournalism and anthropology could be found in wedding and lifestyle photography, so it just made sense to take the leap.
What do you enjoy most about running a business?
Early on in my career, I was listening to a podcast and heard someone say that when you own a business, you have the power to create a business around your dream life – and that’s exactly what I set out to do. I have always loved traveling and I am ceaselessly curious about everything; getting to incorporate those values into my business by offering destination wedding services, multi-day photo coverage, and high-level client experiences is what makes this job my dream job.
How do you navigate work-life balance?
I struggle with this a lot and find my work and life so interchangeably connected that I can’t really separate the two. Obviously I have professional boundaries around things like client communication and setting expectations, but creatively I feel like my brain never shuts off. The only time my brain ever does quiet down is when I’m in the water. Each summer, I spend a month in French Polynesia and that trip allows me to spend intentional and quality time just living – which is key to keeping me creatively inspired for my clients.
What does your workspace look like?
Every time I hop on a meeting with someone for the first time they say, “oh your office is like a cozy cabin!” Which I love. The walls are all wood from floor to ceiling so they are not far off; my stylistic inspo is “grandpa’s (desert) surf shack.” I have underwater black and white film photos on display from my trips to Hawai’i and French Polynesia, shells and rocks collected from remote islands as well as my own backyard. I have one bookshelf in the room, a short wooden shelf my grandparents gave me, and it’s packed to the brim with a mix of my journals and photobooks I am currently inspired by.
What are you currently enjoying (reading, listening to, and watching)?
Currently spending time with Annie Dillard, specifically her collection of essays, “Teaching a Stone to Talk.” I have long loved her work– Living Like Weasels is my all-time favorite piece of writing.
When do you feel most yourself?
I feel most myself when I’m in the ocean or sitting on one of the big boulders in my front yard back home in Texas. I love any environment that demands my attention, and both the ocean and the desert ask that of me.
What is something you hope to inspire in others through your work?
That you and your art don’t have to fit in a box. You can create your own path and indulge the parts of yourself that make you, you. I used to think that my varied interests were a hindrance and now I view them as one of my unique strengths. I hope to encourage that in others.
What’s next for your business? Are there new directions or ideas you’re exploring?
I’m really excited about my upcoming season of weddings. I took a year off of photographing large weddings in 2024 to find my voice again creatively and am coming back to the space inspired and focused. I have always loved weddings – they are so dynamic and emotion-filled and the creative photojournalist in me thrives in that kind of environment and I can’t wait to celebrate all of my 2025 couples.
