Trading her role as a blackjack dealer at the casino to become a full-time photographer is Stepahine Green, owner of Diamond Memories, photographing body, and self-empowerment.
“It’s been beautiful to go through that with each person and watch them,” Green said. “Everyone afterward sends me messages like, ‘Wow, I never saw myself that way before,’ and everyone says how empowering it’s been, and it’s been really cool to be a part of that journey with them.”
For a long time, Green has been shooting photos on the side until it became her full-time gig. She has a particular eye when it comes to taking photos of events and people. Her current vision consists of body and self-empowerment through handmade flying dresses. Green also specializes in videography.
“I grew up in a world where bigger people were kind of considered ugly and I feel like these dresses can be welcoming to any body, any style, any body shape, any size,” Green said. “We specifically designed them so that they would fit anybody so that everyone can feel beautiful, everyone can feel powerful.”
The idea of photographing people around Humboldt County in beautiful scenic views was from an inspiration Green had and began the project by shooting her friends and family. Through those photoshoots, she was able to gain more traction toward this vision and has been able to grow her clientele and make them feel empowered.
“Some people are doing it for an anniversary, some people are doing it for their birthday. Some people are doing it because they’re going through a personal journey and they just need something to feel good,” Green said.
Green mentions she feels honored to have people believe in her vision and be able to show people the beauty she sees in them. “A lot of people don’t see how they look, but it’s an opportunity for me to show you the beauty I see in you,” Green said.
According to Green, a couple of weeks ago she put her photography business, Diamond Memories, on a tour for worldwide travelers. She wants to offer her services to travelers adventuring on the North Coast.
“I want to offer it to not only locals that live here but also people that are coming here that maybe have never seen the ocean or never have seen the redwoods,” Green said. “They might want to travel here and have these beautiful photos to commemorate this experience here and I think it would be a really cool opportunity for people. A lot of people come here. I hear it when I was back when I was a dealer, I heard people say all the time, ‘I’ve never seen the redwoods before.’ Well, let me take a beautiful photo of you in the redwoods.”
Green can snap a photo and record/edit a video and is available by hire. She is open to collaborating and creating the world people want to be photographed in. For more information or inquiries she can be found on Facebook or Instagram at Diamond Memories.
“I shoot Quinceaneras and weddings–I specialize in videography for those events, that’s actually what I started out doing for those large events,” Green said. “I have a studio where I do kind of like fantasy-based and baby photo shoots. Anything people want, I create big elaborate setups and all kinds of cool stuff, a little bit different than other places. I just like the idea of being able to create these magical worlds that can transport you momentarily, depending on what kind of theme people have.”
