We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Samantha Callahan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Samantha, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?
I hope to be remembered as someone who had a unique perspective on the world and people. I want my legacy to serve as a reminder that photography is not just about precision and meticulous planning; it’s about embracing the unexpected and finding beauty in the unscripted moments. I love sharing the raw, unfiltered aspects of life and revealing the extraordinary in the ordinary. I love the fact that my photographs will be cherished for years to come, not only as a professional photographer, but as an artist as well. Whether I give a client a wedding album, or someone purchases one of my mounted prints to hang in their home, I know my work will be appreciated even after I’m gone. Having only seen my maternal grandfather in photographs, its touching to me that someone might see their relative for the first time in one of my photos generations from now. I hope to be remembered for my approach to working with clients as well. By building personal relationships, I have clients who come back to me to document all the new milestones they achieve. I can integrate myself seamlessly at events, and I can make even the most “camera-shy” people comfortable in front of the camera. I’m touched by the trust my clients have in me and my creative process. In the end, I hope my legacy encourages others to experiment, take risks, and push the boundaries of their creativity, regardless of any challenges they may face.
Samantha, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I always had a sense how important it was to document memories as a young child. I remember constantly looking at my old family photos, being told stories about my relatives, and being styled for portraits with my twin sister. I had my first camera at age 12, a Canon Powershot. As a young teen Myspace was the cool thing, so obviously I had one. Naturally, I took most of my friends default images. My friends and I posted some of the most cringy albums of ourselves to social media, but because I enjoyed and stayed with it, I kept getting better. When it became clear that people were willing to, and even wanted to, pay me for my photos, I worked toward starting my own business, and eventually transitioned into doing it full time. Over the years, I’ve photographed almost any type of event you can think of, but these days I mostly do portraits, weddings, couples, and lifestyle photography, while also selling my own art. I have various packages that can include albums, prints, and presentation boxes. One of the biggest problems my wedding clients have is constructing and sticking to a timeline, so I work with them to create one and ensure we get any and all types of photos that they want. I also work well with all types of people, and can easily address all of the more common issues, like posing, outfits, etc. I collaborate with my clients creatively as well, I don’t just run the show. I value their input and vision. I’m proud to tell their story in a unique way.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
I fully realized I had an eye for photography in high school. I was lucky enough to go to a school that had photography courses and advanced equipment, and it soon became a passion of mine. I started taking portraits of my friends, and creating abstract and fine art photography. I don’t think I realized how talented I was until some of my work was recognized by the school and chosen to be displayed in the hallway, where it remains today. So right out of high school, I had aspirations to do it professionally. While working full time, I started booking services. My early gigs were live music, artist portraits, and events. I actually did my first wedding at 18, for less than $300! I had no actual idea what to charge, and the client was well aware it would be the first wedding. After that experience, I really started to focus on learning the business side of things gradually, as I continued to work full time. Fast forward a few years, and I decided to quit my job and put everything into running my business. Had I not taken that chance when I did, I never would have felt fulfilled. By staying determined, open minded, and dedicated, I’ve grown my business into something that provides people with a valuable service, while also being able to support myself financially doing it. I was lucky enough to have a lot of emotional support from my family and friends as well, who always encouraged me that this was my calling, and were there for me every step of the way.
Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?
I naturally start to build a personal relationship with a lot of my clients. I maintain a welcoming demeanor, am always personable, and feed off the energy that I get from my client. As we work together to achieve our common goal, a friendship forms. I can be a very outgoing person, and I think that helps people connect with me. I love meeting in person or doing phone calls in the lead up to the session, as opposed to messaging and emails, because it’s the only way I know I can connect with them and get a sense of who they are. And that goes both ways. I’m a little eccentric, and want to make sure they can vibe with me as well as I can with them. Once we’ve gotten to foster a relationship and work well together, the rest is easy. I find that more often than not, clients will reach out for photos of the next milestone in their life, and we keep that partnership going. I try to keep up with my clients by engaging with them on social media, and my email newsletter is a great way to stay in touch too. I put a lot of effort not only into the sessions themselves, but the post-production side as well. The most important aspect of it all is to provide the highest quality work possible, and so I’m always reaching out to clients who received photos to get feedback, and the reviews can prove to any future clients that I’m a good fit for them, and keep previous clients coming back.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://samcallahanphoto.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samcallahan.photo/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samcallahanphotoo/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samcallahanphoto/
- Other: https://maps.app.goo.gl/uKv6Nr43TJrXrb5FA https://wezoree.com/vendors/profile/1287-photographer-sam-callahan/
Image Credits
All photos by Sam Callahan Except Portraits of (me) Sam Callahan – taken Morgan Markowski Studios / edited by me