28. Videography, Branding & Burnout in Agriculture with Samantha Raney of Story Haus Collective

She started photographing goats at 15 with zero experience, made an ad in Microsoft Word, and somehow convinced herself she had it covered. Spoiler: she did not. But that scrappy, full-send mentality is exactly what built Samantha Rainey of Story Haus Collective into one of the most versatile creatives working in agriculture today. At 24, Samantha is a videographer, graphic designer, web designer, and brand strategist who has worked across livestock, wildlife, real estate, weddings, and reproductive science — all while finishing her degree at Texas Tech online from Kansas and Georgia. In this episode, she gets refreshingly honest about burnout, the unglamorous reality of the creative life, and why she thinks stopping before you feel ready is the biggest mistake you can make. In this episode, we cover: Growing up in Garden City, Texas and getting behind a camera at 15 for Schaefer Farms Why AgCom wasn't the right fit and how switching to Digital Art & Professional Communications changed everything Moving to Kansas as a marketing director before she felt qualified — and why she'd do it again The burnout cycle that creative people almost never talk about How she structures shoot weeks vs. office weeks to protect her energy Switching between photographer brain and designer brain in the same day Her full gear setup: Sony bodies, lenses, ND filters, Pelican cases, and why she flies first class Programs she swears by: DaVinci Resolve, Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, Illustrator, Procreate, PixiSet Why she left Premiere and never looked back The AI editor she worked with who turned out to not be a person at all Her honest fears about AI replacing creatives — and how she's staying ahead of it The difference between what people idolize about creative work and what it actually looks like "Consistency beats intensity" and other lessons from eight years of figuring it out Connect with Samantha: Instagram: @story.haus.co Facebook: Story Haus Books & Resources Mentioned: Atomic Habits by James Clear Anything Everywhere with Emma Chamberlain (podcast) DaVinci Resolve, PixiSet, Better Proposals, Square, Procreate