We recently connected with Erin Goodrich and have shared our conversation below.
Erin, appreciate you joining us today. Day to day the world can seem like a tough place, but there’s also so much kindness in the world and we think talking about that kindness helps spread it and make the world a nicer, kinder place. Can you share a story of a time when someone did something really kind for you?
The kindest thing anyone has ever done for me is refer me and my work. Every time someone shouts my name in a room of opportunities I am grateful and incredibly honored. There is no better feeling than to know someone else appreciates your work so much as to suggest it to someone they care about!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I knew since I was a child I wanted to work in the arts- the problem was figuring out which medium and how I could make that into a business. I always painted, drew and took pictures on my 35mm film camera growing up (my mother was a hobby photographer). Once I graduated college I dabbled in radio and the media arts, dipping my toes into all the things to see what stuck. I knew I loved hearing peoples stories and I loved collaborating with others on making something beautiful.
One day my mother had a photography session with a family and she offered for me to take it. From that first session on I knew what I wanted to do! It allowed me to express myself creatively and tell stories through pictures while getting to work with people. Since that day I began working on building my business and taking sessions in all different areas to see what worked and eventually to determine what I loved photographing. I am most proud of building wonderful client relationships that allow me to not only see the same people every year but meet new people and capture important moments for them.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
A lesson that I was taught was there is a “right” way to do something and that is the way it should be done. I could not disagree more at this point in my life and career! There are so many different ways to achieve your goals and no “one” right way to get there. Honestly, how boring would it be if we were all the same and did things the exact same way? Art is about being creative and working with people with different opinions is half the fun. Different perspectives are so important, especially in creating something unique. There may be a technical way to operate my camera but some of my best images are the ones where they may not be technically thoughtful but they capture emotion, movement and make you feel something.
Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.
This started out as a side hustle while I worked a full time career in the corporate world. I aways knew that wasn’t my end game and worked incredibly hard on building my business on nights and weekends when I was not in the office. Once I was turning down photography jobs to go in to the office I knew it was time to make that leap. I trusted myself to hustle in the beginning to make sure I was booking enough to eventually make this my full time career. I went to networking events, advertised on social media, created accounts where I could post my work and most importantly told anyone who would listen what I did for a living in hopes they might hire me or refer me to someone who needed my services.
That was 11 years ago and I never look back! Throughout the years I have even expanded my services to creative consulting, producing, videography and mentoring. Best decision I ever made was trusting myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.elliefrancesphoto.com
- Instagram: @elliefrancesphotography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elliefrancesphoto