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

Tony , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

YOUTUBE! You can literally learn to build a rocket ship on YouTube so why not learn how to use a camera?! Seriously though, I just watched SOOO much YouTube when I decided this Is what I wanted to do. I would look at a photo and wonder how something was done and then type if in YouTube and find a video of someone explaining how and why the photo looks that way. Same thing with Lightroom & Photoshop I just spent a ridiculous amount of hours on YouTube watching videos and then experimenting on my own.

So I’d say the only thing I can think of is maybe do more “Photographer Meet Up’s” in the area or even classes. I just have always been the type of person that wants to learn stuff “on my own” (even though watching YouTube is almost the same thing as working with people in your area if you really think about it) but I believe if I would have done more meet ups I would have learned things a little faster possibly but most importantly I would have formed relationships with other photographers quicker probably.

The skills that were most essential are just the ability to confidently work my equipment. Even though I do like the “just throw them to the lions” approach to things sometimes and going in to a situation willy nilly and learning from pure fear of messing up. I do believe if you are doing this for peoples hard earned money you should know what you’re doing. Just being confident in knowing I can go in to a shoot and come away with a product for my client makes it amazing. From a photography only standpoint I think the skill of being able to shoot on manual mode is a must. It’s hard to move away from the auto function when the photos seem to just come out so great but knowing why and how those photos came out that way is a must. I personally say jump right in to manual mode. Some people will say start off with aperture priority. I think that’s kinda like “auto lite” and learning to take the beast on completely is the best way.

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’m Tony Bigley. I got in to the industry by accident kind of. I was a professional musician for 13 years and then I started marketing. Through marketing I got a camera and it all just snowballed from there! Now I’m shooting over 200 shoots a year.

I got myself in to the industry just by curiosity honestly. I wanted to go from shooting landscapes for fun to shooting some modeling/senior photos. Friends and fans of my past profession saw those photos and wanted some photos taken. So I decided sure! then 3 shoots a month turned in to 10 and then up from there! I think when it comes to the business aspect of it. That can be hard if you haven’t run a business before but it’s nothing you can’t learn for the most part. Most important thing is making sure to reply back to inquiries and staying kind/stoked to be possibly shooting peoples photos!

The services I offer are pretty wide. I shoot mostly family, senior, wedding, & engagement photos. I also shoot headshots, school, sports teams, & product photos.

Problem solving usually deals with anxious or camera shy clients. I help calm them down on their special days and let them know we are going to get some amazing work! I believe just how easy going and laid back I am is a huge thing that sets me apart from others. One of my favorite compliments I when I’m finished with a wedding and they say “It was amazing working with you, you made us not even realize you were there some times but also made sure to direct us when we needed to be directed. We were so worried our day would just be an all around day of dragging us around to get photos but you got the photos without having to interrupt us from our special day.”

I’m most proud of just capturing memories for people. I had a client contact me a couple months after we shot saying the her husband had passed away and she didn’t have access to her photos any more but really wanted some from our shoot to print and that just hit me right in the heart knowing I took possibly their last photos. I also had a couple that’s wedding photos turned in to a complete disaster and the only thing from their day they are sad about were the photos and I shot their couples portraits and really made them happy. Honestly I take something from each of my shoots. It’s amazing people put capturing their memories in to my hands and I’m so thankful they believe in me.

When coming up with my company name I wanted something that stood out about being “top tier” but also was fun because I am the least cocky person ever. Everything seemed to be taken and honestly all those names were so cliche at the same time. So I thought “what do I love” and I LOVE King of the Hill so I said “well how about that! It’s great branding to shows you’re top tier but also funny b/c the show was funny.”

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think my reputation before I ever even go to doing photography professional helped me. People already knew me, knew I was a social butterfly that just loved being around people. Along with being super laid back and having a good sense of humor. I think that started me off in the right direction. So what I’m saying is how you are as a human in your past will follow you in to the future. After that when I started meeting people I didn’t know I think just my attitude and true happiness to be working with my clients helped build my reputation because after working with me they would post reviews and such. Another one of my favorite compliments I ever got was from a client that said “when we do things like this or hire someone on vacation for a service I like to look them up on google and man I really tried to find something negative about you or from you but I couldn’t!” I laughed pretty hard and said “well that’s great!”

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

This continues on from above and also takes a couple other questions in to factor. I think the most effective strategy to growing your clientele is being relentless when it comes to replying to people’s inquires. Have it be an email or someone on your local Facebook pages asking for recommendations. If you aren’t on there and ready to submit your spiel someone else is having the chance to put their work and spiel in front of them. If you have waited 6 hours to reply to someone or go on to one of those post to promote yourself they have already been hit up by 30+ people easily. If I have learned anything I believe when it comes to photos being taken (especially on vacation) people just wanna book someone and get it done so they don’t have to worry about it anymore and it SHOULD BE YOU that captures that gig. This goes in to part 2 which is your local social media pages are the best place for you to find new clientele. I am sooo lucky to have multiple past clients that are on Facebook recommending me daily for folks looking for photographers for certain gigs. Staying humble and thankful is a must! One of my biggest pet-peeves is when someone has taken time our of their day to recommend you and you don’t get on there and thank them along with submitting your spiel to the possible future client. This also allows you to stay in touch with past clients to create brand loyalty! This coming summer I am shooting a families photos for the 4th year in a row and that’s soooo amazing to me. Even though I am very firm in believing what we do is art and you can like other artist which means if I family shoots with me one time I’m not going to be mad or feel they didn’t like their photos if they work with another photographer. But when they do come back it makes me super happy.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kingofthehillphotography.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/koth_photography
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/KingOfTheHillPhoto
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/kothphotography