Haley Eaglestar Rock Captures Love in Photographs

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Haley Eaglestar Rock

Haley Eaglestar Rock

Haley Eaglestar Rock is a photographer specializing in wedding, lifestyle and boudoir styles of photography. Her goal no matter what she’s shooting is to capture passionate moments and emotive memories that will last a lifetime. Established as an LLC in 2018, her studio space is located at the East Ember Collective above Hacienda Beer Co. on Milwaukee’s East Side.

Rock’s interest in photography originated from a class she took in high school, as she explains.

“It wasn’t your typical photography class; we’d just walk around Walker’s Point capturing what we saw. I came across someone who had just gotten evicted—the notice had literally just been put on her door—and she was outside with her family and her dog. I gave her space to tell her story and I asked if I could take her photo; it just showed so much raw emotion that really moved me and made me want to start doing photojournalism.

“I dabbled in it a lot in high school and that was really fun for me but it got hard on me emotionally to take on trying to showcase diversity, especially being an Indigenous person and letting people know that we’re here, we exist, and that things are happening to our community.”

Lighter Side of Raw Emotion

Come 2018, Rock decided to take photography more seriously but doing so through capturing the lighter side of raw emotion. “I wanted to capture love,” she recalled. “Whether it was self-love or love between two people or just special moments, that was my new direction. Focusing on that was better for my mental health.”

She enjoys shooting weddings for how present everyone is in the moment. “You’re not just shooting the love between two people; you’re capturing the day and everyone around them that loves them. It’s so much good energy and it’s very rewarding getting to share the pictures with the couple. One of my favorite moments recently was when a bride I’d taken engagement photos for showed me a tattoo on her arm of the portrait I’d done and it was magical…it looked just like the photograph. I definitely cried (laughs).”

Lifestyle photography for Rock encompasses capturing everyday moments such as families in their homes or people in coffee shops, but she books shoots for professional branding as well. “I’ve always seen real life in photographs,” she said. “Something as simple as lighting can be a huge inspiration. Music and music videos really inspire me too, like the cinematography of a romantic music video will make me want to go capture love. I enjoy the aesthetic of romanticism, like that of ethereal Greek goddesses.”

With boudoir work, Rock shoots clients in moments of sensual and intimate beauty. She explained, “I get a lot of bridal clients who want to showcase a photobook for their significant other on their wedding night or as a birthday gift, but I do really appreciate the clients that want to just do it for themselves.

Boudoir Can Be Anything

“A lot of my clients have never done anything like it before so I really try to connect with them and make them feel as comfortable as possible with things like sharing a playlist or bringing little tequila shots. I’ll hype them up the entire time but also ask throughout the session if they’re OK with the pace we’re going at. I show them what they look like on the camera after I take the picture, which puts a lot of comfort in peoples’ eyes because they’re not always sure about how they look in each position. Sometimes I’ll get in the poses myself and ask clients to mirror me.

“Boudoir can be anything; it doesn’t necessarily have to mean pretty, lacy lingerie. You can wear sweatpants and a bralet. You can wear a Packers jersey and underwear. You can be sensual or flirty or bridal - however it fits you and not just what’s expected to fit you.”

When COVID hit, Rock hadn’t had much of a portfolio with weddings yet, and many of the ones she was booked for were postponed. During quarantine she got creative by doing boudoir shoots over FaceTime, teaching friends how to take their own pictures and getting into digital art. Due to the ongoing threat of COVID, Rock has focused on smaller or outdoor weddings for the time being.

On the biggest things she’s learned as a photographer and business owner, Rock reflected, “People just want to have things to look back on. We can get so busy in life and lose ourselves half the time, especially during something as hectic as a wedding day. Oftentimes clients don’t feel like they’re in the now when it’s happening. What I can provide in my services is also space for them to take everything in. I’ve learned how to read people; being photographed can be uncomfortable so I’ll take notes from a person’s body language that they might not be into what I’m doing. I’ve also had to learn how to wear all the hats of being an LLC, like website building and accounting and tax stuff, but you can also pay someone to wear some of the hats for you (laughs).”

Rock’s goals for the remainder of 2022 include getting her driver’s license as well as continuing to broaden her creative horizons. “Not having a license hasn’t stopped me from doing my job but having it would make it easier to do more destination-type photography. I want to see more of the US and come up with some fun shoots. I’m insatiable when it comes to photography; I want to try everything. I recently did concert photography for a friend performing at Summerfest just to give it a go since music is so important to me. I’d like to keep booking more weddings; I’ve got nine for next year already! I’ve been working with 414loral for almost three years, and I’d love to shoot more weddings with her as a vendor, plus continue growing that network of other vendors to work with.”

Visit Haley Eaglestar Rock’s website here to view her work and/or book a shoot.