We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Paloma Ruelas a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Paloma, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you have a hero? What have you learned from them?

First, I’d like to say that I have two heroes. My first hero is my mom, who has supported me in everything that I do and always makes sure that I have my head leveled! She was the one who influenced me because, for my whole life, I have always seen her radiate independence and strength, two of the things that I admire the most about her. Because I had my mom as an example, I’ve been able to teach myself to know my worth and be strong through the trials of opening up my own business.

My second hero is my godmother. For as long as I could remember, she was the picture taker of the family. I admired the idea of taking photos of the people we love, printing them, and putting them in albums for us to cherish forever. She has always been an inspiration because of her creativity, outgoing personality, and constant desire to try new things! The lessons that I learned from both of them would be to always stay true to myself and never be afraid to be different from the rest!

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?

For those of you who don’t know me, I am a lifestyle and boudoir photographer based out of Phoenix, AZ! I’ve had a love for photography for as long as I could remember but made it into a business about 3 years ago! As a kid, I was always taking photos with disposable cameras before I could take them on my phone and eventually my camera. I would have them printed and put them into photo albums and I’m so glad I did because as an adult, I absolutely love looking back on those memories! Because of this, I always hoped to be able to do that for others and capture their important memories! When I became a photographer, I started off by photographing pretty much everything but I mostly focus on couples, graduates, mamas, weddings/elopements, and boudoir! When it comes to social media, it’s so easy to get lost in the sea of photographers that are out there, which is why it’s so important for me to stay true to who I am. What you see on my Instagram, is what you get in real life! You’ll see what I’m doing on the weekends, a day in the life, behind the scenes, my dog, traveling, and so much more! It’s important for me that my followers and potential clients know what they’re signing up for! I want you, as a client, to click with me before we even meet! I love getting to a session and meeting my client(s) and already feeling like I’ve known them for forever! Honestly, that’s one of the many things that I’m proud of when it comes to my business, is authenticity, from me as your photographer, to my social media, your experience, all the way to the photos you get back!

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Being myself. Plain and simple. In my industry, it’s not about picking up a camera, collecting payment, and sending them the final product. For me, it’s about building a relationship with each of my clients and it all starts before they even inquire. My main strategy is to show up on social media often and as authentic as possible so that my future client already has a good understanding of who I am and what to expect when they work with me. When I started showing up authentically rather than trying to stick to a particular algorithm or style that wasn’t me, I started booking clients where it felt like we’d been friends for ages. In the end, word of mouth and sharing my work speaks for itself and the cycle continues. The same strategy goes for building relationships with other vendors in my industry because they are just as important as my clients.

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

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the client experience and the final product. The experience a client has during the session is crucial! When I started my journey, I was listening to a podcast and I heard them say that they had a photographer that provided amazing work but their experience was terrible and just for that, they wouldn’t recommend them and that spoke volumes to me! Since then, I made it a point to make sure that providing an amazing client experience was the root of my business. That experience can start from the way I help them prepare for their session, guides that they receive, pre-wedding gifts, and of course during their session! Knowing that at the end of the day I provided a memorable experience for my clients is so rewarding for me!
The final product is a whole different story! There is nothing more rewarding than getting that text message once I’ve delivered their final gallery that expresses how much they love their photos! Makes me know that I have provided memories they can cherish forever, hang them up all over their home, share with friends and family or put them in an album! Knowing that their entire experience was great from beginning to end and gaining their trust enough to recommend me to someone else is the biggest reward of all!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/palomaruelasphoto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/palomaruelasphotography

Image Credits
All photos captured and edited by Paloma Ruelas Photography