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

Aaliyah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

I do wish I had started it sooner. I’ve always loved photography. Always the one with the camera, always snapping pictures of sunset.
When I joined the Marine Corps I never lost the love but I lost the time. After having my son and constantly snapping photos of him I relearned my love for photography.
I was scared to put myself out there business wise though, and if it wasn’t for my son’s father, I probably wouldn’t have.
Now while I do wish I had started sooner, I’m glad at the end of the day that I did start. That I did have that awful stage, that I did get over the initial imposter syndrome. My experience might’ve been harsher had I started sooner and didn’t have my son as a motivation to keep after my dream. And the desire to show him that you can achieve what you want with hard work.
I hope that little tangent covered the question.

Aaliyah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

So my name is Aaliyah, but I honestly just go by Liyah (Leah). I started Once Upon a Lens | Photographs by Liyah right before my 21st birthday just two months after having my son and doing his newborn photos myself.
I initially got into the industry back in middle school when I took my first class in photography. But started my business later in life. And getting my foot in the door equaled massive amounts of free work.
I provide both Lifestyle Motherhood and Couple Sessions, such as maternity, fresh 48, lifestyle newborn, breastfeeding, engagement and couple portraits. As well as I provide Wedding and Elopement Photography packages!
I think at the end of the day, what sets me apart from other photographers is I provide a happy memory for my clients, from first contact to session day, and all the way to gallery delivery. I specialize in the details, bring toys to make babies laugh, and have funny jokes to loosen up stiff partners for my clients to have carefree, candid and sweet photos to hang on their wall.
I always think of what I may want on my own walls and provide that for my clients!
I’m most proud of my start, starting from scratch with little to no mentorship, I taught myself everything I know for my foundation, and am grateful to my mentors who provide additional guidance to strengthen that foundation.
I want my clients to know that their photos are the most important thing. Whether it’s a model call or a paid session package, I want them to leave the session thinking I got everything they wanted!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I had to make a change in how I ran my business early on in the making, and make the decision that people who you think are your friends are really people who are using that opening to take advantage of you and what you offer.
I almost gave a client the power to end my business before it even really took off.
The facts about this story is I made friends with a client, and would allow her to book slots of my time for sessions without paying deposits. I would not honor my contract or myself and would let her arrive late multiple times, cancel or reschedule multiple times.
And when I finally had enough, I allowed her to disrespect me and my business. Allowing the seed of doubt to grow into the big question “am I really in the wrong, or am I just not doing enough”.

From that client forward I stick to my contract, and I’ve long attracted clients who were my actual target clientele. But I would’ve never learned had I not run into that specific client.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I would like to say it’s my bubbly personality. But in reality, I’m sure my reputation of making memories with my clients are what helped build my clientele to what it is today.
Word of mouth is so strong in the industry, if you have just 1 or 2 people raving about your work, you can attract at least 1 or 2 from each of them and then 1 or 2 from those.
I think also my giving back to my clients. Thanking them for the support in regular discounts and giveaways. And I always thank my clients in person for giving me the opportunity to share in their memory and capture their photos.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://onceuponalens.mypixieset.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onceuponalensphotographs?igsh=MWx6MWF4eHd3NTlwdQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/7DdBwcjCjKoazuUg/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Image Credits

Once Upon a Lens | Photographs by Liyah