Like many photographers, I started out photographing anything that was accessible to me. My grandad has always loved photography, and gave me his old camera when I was 10 years old. One of my first ‘photoshoots’ was a trip to America with my grandparents.
Since then, I often went for walks with my grandparents and our cameras to places like Pagham harbour. I particularly enjoyed photographing wildlife and flowers. I felt like I had an eye for photography, but didn’t really understand how it worked away from the auto settings.
I decided I wanted to study photography to learn the technical side of it, but avoided styled and posed portraits for a while, favouring a more candid approach. I felt nervous about portrait photography, and at college I only photographed people I knew. It wasn’t until my second year of university, that I decided to do a styled portrait module to get me out of my comfort zone. I did a mixture of studio and location work, putting out model calls and working with strangers. I also often collaborated with other students on different courses.
When I finished uni, I started doing headshots for friends to build my portfolio. I grew my business alongside employed work by taking any job I could. This gave me experience with weddings, families, couples, newborn, proms, and so many more.
Having a stable job alongside my business helped me to earn money to buy the equipment I needed, and taught me how to work in a team. But I also felt like it held me back in terms of creativity, and the stability was too comfortable which made it hard to quit. Over the years of being employed and my business being a ‘side hustle’, I slowly started to niche into what I do now. Which is portrait photography for businesses.
Last year I quit my job, and decided to go self-employed full-time. I knew that taking the leap was going to be a risk, and that there was never going to be a ‘perfect time’, but it was the only way to become unstuck. I started networking more consistently thanks to the extra time I now had. I also took the time to make a solid plan for this year, and I am starting to feel a lot more confident about what I do.
Now that I have a style and approach that I’m proud of, I’m focussing more on my brand awareness, and attracting clients that I’m a good fit for.
I’ve now been full-time self-employed for a year, which I’m super proud of! I wonder how I will grow in the coming years.
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