Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sydney Smalls. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Sydney, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

I started this brand with one of my best friends (Ana) and we both really wanted to do something with our creativity. I love taking photos and she loves doing makeup so we decided to collaborate and do the two together. We both also happen to be estheticians and wanted to put that into the name somehow so that’s where the “Esty” comes from! Both as an esthetician and a photographer I’m able to make people feel better about themselves and see their beauty.

Sydney, 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?

My name is Sydney Smalls. I first got into photography as a child when my grandfather gave me and my sister a camera. We would create our own movies and put them together on the computer. As I got older I started to use my skills for my YouTube channel. I would do videos about makeup and tutorials but what I loved most was taking pictures of everything and editing. People started asking me to take pictures of them and their families and it was a lot of fun but I still didn’t consider it to be my career at the time just something I was passionate about. With a push from my friend/business partner I started to offer photography professionally. One of the best decisions I’ve ever made! I was always afraid that monetizing my passion would make me no longer enjoy it but I’ve learned that it’s just the opposite. It never feels like work and it’s so rewarding.

I’m currently offering portrait photography, headshots, maternity, family, and boudoir photography! I’m always down for a creative shoot or to try something new.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect is definitely the clients reactions to their photos. I love when they are obsessed and can’t believe how good they look in a photo. I also love capturing natural interactions especially in couples or family photoshoots. The storytelling aspect of photography is so much fun and clients appreciate you capturing these little moments that mean so much.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

One of the main things to do is to pick out your aesthetic and stay consistent. People know what to expect from your page and start to recognize your color palette, fonts etc. without thinking about it. Also, having your own individual style that people relate to! I would also suggest to show a little bit of behind the scenes so you can see how everything comes together for the photoshoot.

We’ve always had a really clear idea of how we wanted our brand to look and have been pretty consistent even though this is our first official year in business. Working with local brands has helped a lot with gaining clients and even just clients having a good experience and referring you to their friends.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.estyluxephotography.com
• Instagram: Estyluxe.boudoir, estyluxe.photography

Image Credits
Photos by Angie De Aramburu