Liberty graduate seeks to capture ‘every little pixel’ of life with photos

Side hustles are important for keeping the bank account up for many college students. But combining an interest and a business together makes a side hustle all the more enjoyable. Renee Thiele, Liberty University alumna, did just that when she created her photography business. 

Being photogenic may come easy for some, but for others, it can be intimidating to schedule a photoshoot with a photographer. That’s why Thiele decided to do something about it. 

Founded in May 2021, Every Little Pixel is Thiele’s photography company that has one main goal: “to find the beauty in life’s every little pixel.” 

Thiele recognized there was a need for photographers that not only had the skill to take great pictures, but also the personality to make clients feel confident and comfortable in their own skin. 

“There’s a lot of negativity with the idea of people getting their picture taken when it should be a fun and positive experience,” Thiele said. “Everyone is beautiful in their own way, and they deserve to see and acknowledge that.”

Thiele graduated from Liberty last May with a history degree and minors in theater and creative writing. However, her background in photography began as early as eighth grade when she took a course in basic photography skills and continued to take advanced classes through Liberty. 

Due to financial situations, Thiele had to make sure she graduated in three years. Cramming 18 to 21 credits in each semester, Thiele made sure to not only push herself academically, but also in her passion for photography. 

“I struck a deal with my parents. I said if I had to graduate in three years, at least let me take a couple fun elective courses,” Thiele said. “So last year, I was able to take an advanced digital photography course (through Liberty). That just really helped me learn the techniques, and I have just been growing and learning new things since that time.”

While Thiele loves photography, she didn’t consider doing anything as serious as a business with it. She kept it as a passionate side-gig until one day she was asked to edit some of her friend’s travel-abroad photos. The friend’s mother saw the finished product and liked them so much that she told Thiele if she had known she was so good at editing, she would have hired her for graduation photoshoots. 

“Once she said that, it kind of clicked with me. I realized I might be able to make some extra money doing photography and photo-editing, and I enjoyed doing it. So, I started Every Little Pixel,” Thiele said.

At first, Thiele kept her business as strictly graduation photoshoots for high school and college seniors, but as more and more people saw her work, she got requests for all sorts of photoshoots, including banquets, pets, headshots, family portraits, engagements and more. Her objective with each shoot was to keep clients happy with not only the shoot itself, but the finished and edited results.  

“I strive to make photoshoots a fun and relaxing experience for people. I do edit, but I try to keep people looking as … natural as they can because they’re beautiful just the way they are, and I want people to see that,” Thiele said. 

Thiele has continued her photography business and has made sure that each person feels comfortable and cared for with each shoot. However, she said that while she loves photography, she’s going to keep Every Little Pixel as a side business because of how taxing the job really is. 

“People assume the job is so easy and it’s just taking pictures, but there … is a lot of art to it,” Thiele said. “What I don’t think people understand is I’m taking my time to not only set up the equipment, but scout out locations, do the shoot, filter through the usable and unusable photos and then edit and export each picture. It really isn’t an easy job.”

Thiele aims to make Every Little Pixel an official LLC (a state-registered business). She said that while the job can be challenging, she loves helping people see the beauty and confidence in themselves and aspires to show off life’s every little pixel.

Thiele can be reached at instagram.com/everylittlepixelphotography.

Wallace is a feature reporter for the Liberty Champion