We were lucky to catch up with Valerie Sercu recently and have shared our conversation below.

Valerie , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

My mission is to connect with each and every high school senior that I photograph on a personal level, and really help them to feel comfortable with me, forgetting that I have a camera in my hand. I want to capture their spirit, and show them how organically beautiful they are, and how the world sees them. I love celebrating their personality traits, and all of the things that help tell their story through the perspective of my lens.

Valerie , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was born and raised in the pacific NW, and lived in Los Cabos Mexico, prior to moving to Florida 23 years ago. I discovered my love for photography later in life, and as a hobby, took photos of my children to document their lives. I borrowed a camera from my brother in law for 10 years, volunteered in the kid’s school and church, learning very slowly about the art of photography. I didn’t really understand the technical aspect of the camera, took a lot of photos, and just hoped I would get a few good shots here and there. As my kids approached middle school, I started thinking about finding employment, as I had been a full time stay at home mom for 12 years. The thought of being a professional photographer came to mind, but was intimidating to say the least. Shooting as a volunteer is quite different than shooting, and asking clients to pay you for it. I invested in my own gear, and was now fully committed. I had two mentors who encouraged me on this journey, and are still some of my biggest supporters. My uncle is one of my mentors, and I’ll never forget him telling me, “You don’t want people to hire you because you’re cheap….you want people to hire you because you’re great at what you do.” They both photographed with Fujifilm cameras and lenses, and I wanted to duplicate what they did, so Fuji it was! I never looked back! I am very proud to shoot with Fujifilm, and love that it’s different and unique from the norm. A cool memory I have while shooting at a concert in Tampa, I’m at the foot of the stage, with a line of all male photographers, and I was the only girl, and they were digging my Fuji gear! I was always so intimidated, coming late to the game, self taught, and not a tech savvy girl, but my work was starting to get noticed, and I was consistently providing unique and timeless photography for my clients! This is what I wanted to be recognized for, that people knew what to expect when they worked with me. I was not going to jump on the trends or pay too much attention to other’s style, but just shoot what I saw, stay true to color, and show the world what I vividly saw through my lens…color is LIFE to me, and color is CELEBRATION. My brand is known for its color, depth and textures. I strive to shoot with those details in mind, as I believe it makes the images come to life and really stand out. I

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Word of mouth and social media, such as instagram and Facebook have been the most effective way for me to grow my business. I post only about 1/3 of the work that I do, but my high school senior photography is the lane I like to be in. I really want to engage with that age group of teens, especially since my kids are in that place in their lives too. My heart is drawn to teens, and I love to stay in contact with them on Instagram, share inspirational things, celebrate their special moments, and give them high fives and hugs when I see them. I’m at the football games on the sidelines, at their pep rallies, in the mosh pit at their prom, and on the field with them at church camp, etc. So, it’s not just about a photoshoot, but it’s about, a genuine connection and community. I volunteer a lot of my time to photograph them at school and these events, and that generates more business, and gets my name out to all of the schools in the Tampa Bay Area.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I really like the Seniorology, as well as The Senior Studio Success podcasts, as they are so helpful! They are taught by very successful and down to earth woman, that are very easy to relate to. They are Mom’s, just like me, and I really love to learn about balancing a successful photography business, while being MOM first!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/celebrateeverything_byvalerie?igshid=NzZlODBkYWE4Ng%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valeriesercuphotography?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Image Credits
Images taken by Celebrate Everything Photography by Valerie