ABOUT
Brandy Stone is a portrait photographer, writer, and outdoor educator with a passion for capturing authentic, story-driven images. Based on Whidbey Island, WA, she specializes in portraits that highlight personality, connection, and a sense of place. Brandy’s photography career began in 2002, with roots in editorial work for children’s publications where she developed her signature playful and engaging style. She’s also the author of a STEAM-focused gardening book for kids, combining her love of creativity and hands-on, nature-based learning. Brandy lives with her husband, two teenagers, two dogs, and two cats—finding daily inspiration in the beauty of the island and the people she photographs.
Experience and Milestones
AUTHOR
December 2020
OWNER/EDUCATOR
Author of Gardening for Kids: Learn, Grow, and Get Messy with Fun STEAM Projects. A nonfiction book of 25 garden-based experiments and projects that help kids grow a love of science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Publisher: Rockridge Press, 2020
Responsibilities: Content creation including STEAM projects, writing, editing, gathering endorsements, and creating marketing posts for social media.
September 2014 - Present
Owner and Educator for Bramble Glen Nature Discovery Classes in Issaquah, WA., a nature immersion program for elementary age children. Bramble Glen's basic philosophy is that children need to have quality, free-play time outdoors for hands-on learning experiences.
Responsibilities: Creating nature-based art projects, experiments, and activities that encourage imaginative play, cooperation, critical thinking skills, creativity, hand-eye coordination, balance, and physical strength. Developed weekly STEAM based projects for a full calendar year. Other responsibilities include marketing, budgeting, client communication and billing, and social media management.
PHOTOGRAPHER
November 2002 - Present
As a freelance portrait photographer, I design, stage, capture and edit photographs of individuals, groups of people and people with products.
Responsibilities: Client consultations, conceptualizing an image for client needs, setting up the appropriate staging, positioning subjects effectively to produce the best pictures possible, post production work in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom, file organization, billing, marketing and customer service.
ART DOCENT
September 2014 - June 2018
A volunteer art teaching position at Clark Elementary, grades kindergarten through 5th grade. The art Docent Program supports the art learning standards of Washington State by using grant funds to plan and teach principles of art, art vocabulary, and art criticism and art history to elementary aged children.
Responsibilities: Planning 2-4 lessons per month that introduce an element of art or principle of design, using works of art as examples. Budgeting for the year's art projects, and coordinating themes and resources with classroom teachers.
EDUCATION
2001
BA degree in Cultural Geography, University of Arizona