We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rebecca Nash-Emerson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rebecca below.

Rebecca, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

I love this topic so much because even as I sit here I want to pick all the options.

I wish I started earlier…because I love working with my clients and find the work I so fulfilling. It literally lights me up. If I started earlier, I might be further along. I might have learned things sooner about my craft and running a business. I would have be able to photograph more people, and impact more peoples lives with the work I do (and the relationships built along the way).

I wish I had started later…because at the time I started the business, I didn’t have a clear vision of where I wanted to go, what I wanted my work to be about, or have a strong enough vision of not only what I wanted to do, but HOW I wanted to do it. My daughter was very young, I was a single mom working in childcare, had just moved to a new region, and was beginning a new relationship with my (now) husband. I was in the middle of redefining who I was and what I wanted my life to look and feel like. Maybe if I had started later, my daughter would have been older and more independent. Maybe I would have been more settled in my relationship and the new geographic region it moved me to. Maybe I would have had more time, energy, and focus in the early stages.

I’m glad I started the business when I did…because it became a part of who I am, and as I have grown and evolved the business has grown and evolved with me. The lessons I learned are more than just lessons in a book. They are experiences with real people who I still think of fondly. They were part of my evolution, not just in business but as a person, and if I had been further ahead (or behind) I might not have had some of the opportunities I have to meet people who have made a significant impact in my life whether mentors, clients, or industry colleagues.

Rebecca, 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?

One of my biggest faults…yes I’m starting there…I have big dreams, overwhelming energy (especially at the start of a project) and can see into people’s heart, stories, and potential BUT I lack clarity when it comes to seeing myself. So when someone asks me to describe myself or tell my story…it never gets told the same. It’s all true. It’s all real. But depending on who I’m talking to or the context of the convo…different parts emerge just like 5 photographers given the same model, could tell you 5 different visual stories of how they perceive that person. That in mind, let’s give it a try.

Hi, I’m Rebecca
I’m a multipassionate big dreamer. A Mom. A Wife. A Teacher. A Creator.
A book lover from a young age, storytelling and learning are two of my highest values. I still regularly get lost in a book for hours (or days) exploring new places and meeting new people. This inspires so much of my work and my desire to know people and their stories before they ever step in front of my camera.

Speaking of the camera. Where did this whole photography thing start?

Was I an artist and this just one more medium? Heck no! I avoided art classes and up until I picked up a camera, my art schools were mostly stuck at kindergarten levels (I can draw a mean stick figure)

Was it the first spark when my neon pink 110 camera was given to me and I took that first blury photo of what I thought would be a beautiful peacock (and would have been if I hadn’t had the camera backwards and taken a picture of my eyeball up close instead) on vacation in Florida as a kid?
Maybe when I was standing on the sidelines watching my rugby team play in high school with my broken arm in a sling and my friend and dorm mate handed me her dad’s Nikon SLR Film Camera to give me a way to be actively involved in my teams game?
Or maybe it was when I began taking photos of my daughter with a point and shoot digital camera because her dad wasn;t there and she was growing too fast?
Maybe it was even when just weeks before meeting my (now) husband I decided to buy a DSLR and weeks later as I played with it, he introduced me to new ideas, his favourite books on photography, and encouraged me to keep playing?

As far as I’m concerned, the love of photos came early but the desire to capture the moment, the story, and the feelings of a moment really locked in as an adult. A young mom, with a beautiful baby girl, and a new diagnosis of learning disabilities including a short-term memory disorder. I didn’t want to forget anything!

Portraits of my Daughter
Photos of a wedding I was going to be at anyways
Back up photographer for a friend
And on to a passion that I never wanted to stop.

Now it’s about so much more than a pretty photo. My business is about the people I meet, that trust me with their story as a couple (engagement and wedding Photography), as a business owner or creator (branding photography), as a unique human being (studio portraiture). It’s about building relationships, capturing a special time in their lives to remember and share, and having them walk a little taller, smile a little brighter, and feel a little more seen when they walk out my door.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Growing up, I was the child of an entrepreneur. I had attended conference and seminars from before I hit double digits and could still tell you a few things I learned from leaders who talked about watches, who founded Godfathers Pizza and more. I helped out in Dad’s shop on weekends, read books he recommended to me, and learned a lot from him. I will forever be grateful for everything I learned because these young years in his business taught me a lot about possibility, about working hard, and about the importance of relationships.

With all that said, there was something I had to unlearn. To disconnect from. And it took me years to realize it.
You see, I’m a photographer. A creative, a storyteller, a service-based business that deals with people in emotional times. The majority of my clients are women 20 to 40 years old. And I started out in the early 2000’s. Their needs (and expectations) are very different from my dad’s shop clients.

His shop, well…it was a tool shop.
It was product-based. A brick and mortar. With inventory to maintain. New products emerging. Started in the late 70’s/early 80’s til he sold it in 2000.
And the primary clientele? Men 30-60 in the trades. They bought on quality, availability, durability and practicality to their job. Sure, the relationship they had with the shop and the people who worked there mattered, but it wasn’t everything.

We were both the face of our businesses.
We both needed to be knowledgable, approachable and reliable.
But what professional meant in his line of work, and what it means in mine….vastly different.

So when I first started out, I followed his example.
The brand should be clean and professional. Written content written in the 3rd person and fact based with a focus on the tangible features of my service and the cost.
And me, I showed up to every meeting or shoot in at least a slicked backed bun, full face of makeup, and dressed in dress pants, a button down shirt, and heels (if not a full suit). This was what professional looked like to me.

In the beginning this gave me confidence. I felt like I was doing it ‘right’ and really, I didn’t stand out too much at the bridal shows and networking events I attended.

But the deeper I got into my business (learning about myself, my clients, and what I wanted my business to be), the more I knew this wasn’t the approach I wanted to take and in fact, it was probably repelling the clients I most wanted to work with.

How did I know? I looked around at other wedding professionals doing the kinds of weddings I wanted. I looked towards mentors who were succeeding. But beyond anything else, I listened to my clients. The ones who went beyond profitable clients and became friends. And you know what I heard? ‘We chose you because we loved your personality and how you made us feel every time we met/talked’

This was when I knew…the key wasn’t in a professional black suit off the rack, the number my pricing ended in, the colour balance of my photos, or where the leather in my album came from. Some of these were pieces of the puzzle, but the biggest most important part of it was me. Not a celebrity or an expert standing on a stage. But as an approachable, caring, and quirky human being who genuinely cared about clients (and their stories) and made them feel not just seen but understood, supported, and valued just as they are.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

This is an easy one for me…its the relationships I build. It’s the clients who become friends.
It’s the ones who come back.
It’s the ones who walk a little taller after being in my studio or in our meetings.
It’s the ones who introduce me to the people that matter to them.

To them, what I do is so much more than just art.
It’s their life, their love, their connection captured for all time in a beautiful album or a piece of wall art with pride and place in their home.
It’s their talents, their passion, their creations, and their unique personality showcased in images that make it easy to share what they do with the world beyond their friends and family.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rebeccanashphotography.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/rebeccanashphotography
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/rebeccanashphotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rebeccanashphotography
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@RebeccaNashPhotography

Image Credits
Photo of me (puple hair) – Sweet Oak Photography All other photos – Rebecca Nash Photography