Meet Steph Grant – CanvasRebel Magazine

We were lucky to catch up with Steph Grant recently and have shared our conversation below.

Steph, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?

Oooh sit back. This is a doozy. Once upon a time, not long ago… ’twas the end of 2019.

While in Dallas, The Steph Grant Studios crew was fully booked that year with large events, LGBTQ+ weddings, store openings, conferences and brand storytelling projects. Then boom, a pandemic hit us upside the head & kicked us all repeatedly in the shin for what seemed to be ages.

Be that as it may, this story is not about the pandemic.

It’s about what came not long after the pivoting, rescheduling & even cancelling of events — like the one I was supposed to photograph in Greece in May of 2020. (Ugh. That one still hurts.)

Just when I felt like I had held my head above water long enough to somewhat catch my breath…I woke up at 3am on August 20, 2022, to the sound of water & a really loud alarm I had never heard before.

Now this wasn’t your typical water sound from a good ol’ Texas thunderstorm coming from outside of loft windows. The call was very much coming from INSIDE THE HOUSE.

All of my belongings were floating…drums, photo equipment, couch, refrigerator…you name it. Later I located one of my shoes down the street and even found a fishing pole inside my studio. I don’t even fish. All of that to say I lost just about every material item I had purchased, collected & created. Handwritten letters. Hard drives. Camera equipment. Journals. Cozy pieces of furniture that I had saved up for years to purchase….gone in under 7 minutes to a freak flash flood.

Alas, my dog Rusty and I lived to tell the tale.

We had 24 hours to collect what was left and leave the rest behind. Not a dime covered by renters insurance or business insurance. I am thankful for friends, clients and community who came through to help in a variety of ways. Rusty & I pressed on and moved to Portland, OR after a few months of being houseless. Here we are today in 2026, still quite honestly, processing. Still figuring out what it’s like to start over once again. But like I said earlier… that resilience lives in my bones. It just took a little longer to locate this time around.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m Steph Grant.

Some know me as “that queer photographer from yesteryear who shot that viral lesbian wedding in Los Angeles.”

Others know me simply as that friend who has film in their pockets, keeps their phone on do not disturb and often disappears for chunks at a time…Always resurfacing with a few tales to tell.

A little backstory: In 2010, I left the West Coast where I was born & raised in a very high control religion. I moved away from all things familiar with my camera in hand and set out on a journey to meet people through the art of photography.

I had no idea what I was doing when I ended up in Dallas, TX. Little did I know I would remain there for over a decade doing what I could to find my people & figure out what it meant to be an “out” individual, and a photographer. I think this video that my team put together in 2020 sums up that time in my life in the best way possible: A Decade of Connection.

In 2018, aside from photographing queer weddings all around the world, I started Steph Grant Studios. SGS is your go-to creative agency owned and operated by a powerhouse team of LGBTQ+ photographers and videographers. From brand backstories and representation-forward campaigns to conference and event recap videos and executive media portraits, we bring authentic storytelling and thoughtful, cutting-edge visuals to life, helping brands show up as who they actually are.

As a queer person, it is so meaningful to see our community represented in our daily lives from the brands I admire and I hope to contribute to that in order to make a difference for future generations.

I am proud of the resilience that lives in my bones. I hope is that it continues to permeate throughout my work in the coming years as I do my best to document the moments of our time and speak up, whenever I can, for humanity.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

My journey really began in 2006 when I took was my first trip to NYC and bought my first camera. At the time, I was working full time in HR at a hospital, firmly in the corporate world, while dabbling in photography on the side. I photographed anything and everything at that point and was shocked when I was asked to display some of my “work” in an art show gallery in LA. Oh sure! Inside I was thinking “what is the meaning of this!?”

Not long after that show I got a message from a friend who worked at Hurley HQ (one of the sponsors of the art show) and offered me a job. I ended up spending the next few years there, from 2007 – 2010. I had the most incredible time working there, but it was during that time that I realized photography could be more than a side pursuit, it could be a tool to connect with others outside of my small bubble.

From there I grew my business gradually and intentionally and I have been grateful being able to keep doing the work I care about deeply. I would say every year a small business gets to continue working with people they genuinely enjoy feels like a milestone in itself. One of the most humbling milestones for me came in 2018, when I was recognized on the California Senate floor for my work with the LGBTQ+ community. I accepted that honor for little Steph that never imagined something like this was possible.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

In no particular order:

• A fierce curiosity about other humans & their lived experiences.

• Being unafraid to document & share real life stories that I find important but maybe aren’t widely discussed or accepted at that point in time.

• Meeting people right where they’re at during a photoshoot.

• Including my online community in various steps of my process. Having their input on creative projects & leaning on their support as I worked through my deconstruction of religious indoctrination was crucial.

• Client Referrals. THIS is a big one and I wouldn’t have made it without the people I’ve met along the way who have believed in me. 🖤

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