Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dakota Williams. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Dakota, appreciate you joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?
I think when it comes down to success it isn’t necessarily about the cards you’ve been dealt or the handouts you’ve been given but the things you have implemented into your everyday life. I have had the great pleasure of meeting so many people in this line of work, all in different stages of life, different jobs, different states, all facing a different set of challenges. I have to say some of the most successful people I’ve met just have a little bit more of that go getter mentality. While the ones with the most potential are just sitting back waiting for that ‘right moment’. Now life is a lot of things, but short isn’t one of them. Success won’t fall into your lap and dreams won’t chase you back.
If you take anything from this interview and apply it to your life let it be this, Keep Working. It is one of the hardest things to hear after you don’t get your way but it’s also one of the only solutions to success. Not getting what you want? Keep Working. You are getting what you want? Keep Working. Be the person that can push through the lows and frustration that makes everyone else quit. The goal is to get to the place where the only option is to continue to preserver through every challenge that comes your way. Deny failure to ever be an option and you will undoubtably find yourself in success.
Dakota, 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?
My name is Dakota Williams, I am a Wedding and Lifestyle Photographer. By definition, I shoot everything from Families, Branding, Couples, to Weddings of various sizes. Not only are the sessions I’m shooting diverse, so are the locations. I am often commuting to my clients all over Florida and the Keys, Arizona, Ohio, New York, Montana, Tennessee, Chicago and beyond. Mixing my love for Work and Travel has been such a rewarding journey. It is still such a surreal feeling when my clients choose me to travel to them or bring my along these amazing trips.
Ever since a young age I have looked at life in almost a cinematic way. Always with some sort of camera out, there is just something so special about having moments of emotion and nostalgia frozen in time. Though I was never actually interested in pursuing photography full time. I was and have always been very career driven, so I had list on list of colleges, degrees and jobs I wanted to achieve. It wasn’t until 2022 that I realized I needed to make the decision of dedicating all my time into working under someone else and almost giving up on my passion. Or spending every last bit of energy, time and money I had making this dream a reality.
That is just what I did, here we are years later. I am known in my field for a very nontraditional lived in take on photography, finding value in candids and the unposed. Paired with a true to tones and film based editing style. Curating a final gallery so custom to you that you can feel the personality behind the photos. Wether that be your kids in their element, running through a field with your partner or the tears in the crowd at your wedding. I like to say I have a love for capturing it all.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I know it’s bold to preach not quitting in the hard times without backing it up. Its often taken as a grain of salt to readers I am just as guilty has anyone one else. Majority of the successful entrepreneurs I have met have a rock bottom story, a hail mary, a desperate last attempt. All just to prove my point further that these businesses don’t come without sacrifice. When I hear these stories of great resilience from peers they always gain that much more of my respect. So if you want the backstory on the darkest moment I have had to face on this journey when I really came the closest to throwing in towel. November 2023, a couple of months after my move to a new part of Florida. So I am heavy into the lows of rebuilding a clientele for my third time. Business has been really slow, I had bookings here and there but nothing compared to how I would fill my books in Ohio. I was hopeful this particular week because I was looking forward to a maternity session I had. When in hindsight, was going to be my biggest set back. It was an early morning shoot I was driving to Anna Maria Island before the sun was up. My clients had come from out of town and were pregnant with their first child. Everything went to plan and we walked away with the prettiest photos. I had quite the drive home so I started heading back home ready to get a start on editing. I had just bought a new car, my first car purchase, 3 months prior. This was a goal I had saved and worked towards for over a year. Looking back now it was a decision that nearly saved my life. I was about 20 mins into my drive, when I was hit head on by a car driving around 80 mph. In these moments no matter how old you are you want your mom and dad by your side. In my case every single family member I have is 950+ mi away. It was one of the hardest things I personally have ever been through. A big part of my job is travel based, so at the time of this accident I was expected on a plane to Arizona a couple days later. That being said anyone that knows me well knows I spend 85% of my time in the car or an airport but after the accident I wanted no where near a car. Work I had for the next couple weeks was cancelled after not having the courage to drive again. I did continue with my trip to AZ, where I ended up cutting open the few fingers that weren’t broken catching a drone. Long story short this low was low. The hand I physically needed to work and prove for myself was in shambles, couldn’t commute to work even if it was possible. This only kicked me farther down the hill I was trying to climb. The goal of rebuilding my clientele almost felt unreachable, and at that point I didn’t have the motivation to work through it. I ended up taking a flight to Ohio to be around family and doctors. After treatments and repurchasing a car in attempts to get back up on my feet, I had to make a decision. Was it really in my best interest putting all this work in for such little gain? This is seriously went back and forth on for weeks. I came to the conclusion that I was going to give three months and I didn’t see the littlest bit of improvement I was going to call it. But In those three months I had to give it my all and that’s just want I did. I worked and worked, all I did was work. I had fallen asleep on my laptop a hand full of times. I think in times like this it really puts you into a perspective where you see how much you really respect your goals. Genuinely, I knew if this goal and dream of mine was going to come to an end it was going to go down with a little bit of bloodshed, out of respect for how hard I’ve worked over the years. We are now 13 months out from this moment. I those 13 month my numbers have double, my clients have double, my dates have sold out, I have added so many states and cities to the list. I get a little emotional telling this story in awe in how far I have come and all of it is owed to my clients, this is their success story. Now, sharing these kind of stories is something very rare for me especially on a professional platform. I was to be the problem solver for the people around me and the shoulder for their tear. I am just as independent and naive to handle most problems on my own yet smart enough to know those limits, so to shed light on moments I have struggled the most is not something I would do. However, in hopes that the right person is reading this, give it three more months.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
In an Industry like this there is a fine line between Personable and Professional, you really just have to learn to walk it. When you start your business you should already have that idea of how you want to be perceived in your market. One of my biggest goals to this day is to have clients walk away with an experience not just photos. Making the time we spend together something enjoyable and like a fun date rather than feeling uncomfortable behind a camera. Aside from Clientele, building your reputation will be the most important thing you will have to do. Clients have to be able to trust you to get a job done but at the same time it can’t just be transactional, and when building my reputation that is what I lived by. On the Personable side of things, I show up to a session genuinely happy to be there. Detection of social cues is a proven study and it is something worth understanding as a entrepreneur. Everything from my posture, facial expressions or breathing is an immediate nonverbal cue to exactly how I am feeling. So when walking into a room with clients, my attention is on making them feel in a comfortable in the space. I am no stranger to how awkward it can feel in front of a camera and I definitely wouldn’t want my emotions make that process any harder. To build off of that, as cliche as it sounds I really do care about every single person I get to work with. I will drop my camera to real life conversations because that is important to me. I will send you a birthday text, follow you on socials, buy gifts on your babies due date these are parts of the job that don’t come with it I just love to do.
In the same way, keeping things professional will benefit you just as much. I think a big mistake I see a lots of business owners make is respect has to be a two way street. I see people get so carried away with ego that can come with the job but it is so important to stay humble. It’s really as simple as that, as much as my time is respected so is my clients. I fully understand that a Photoshoot is a luxury service and it should be treated just as that on my end. I will make the time to fix a problem before it even happens. My close knit support system that gets to see all the behind the scenes of what really goes into making these things happen can attest that I will give you nothing less than my all. Never under estimate the simple tasks of just being punctual with your time, stay organized and working efficiently. I could go on and on about balancing these two traits but I leave it off here. Be personable enough to gain clients, be professional enough to keep them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dakotawilliamsphotography.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dakotawilliamsphotography/profilecard/?igsh=MXZvcXJxdWtnbHF1MQ%3D%3D
Image Credits
Dakota Williams Photography