We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Maddie Kirby. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Maddie below.

Maddie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?

I manage my own social media accounts, they include Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Pinterest. I decided to manage my own social medias for two reasons, the first being to save costs. Paying for someone else or another company to run your social media channels is very expensive especially if they are covering several platforms and it can be difficult to find someone/ a company that has good knowledge of all social platforms that I am on. The second reason I chose to run my own social media was that since I am in the artistic and creative space I believe how you portray your work online is very important. Working in photography and getting to know people very well especially through weddings is something very personal and you want to come across as authentic. Even just a simple story can deter someone away from your business. I feel as though when you hire someone else or a company to manage your social media it can feel disingenuous. Running my own social media accounts has been challenging especially when trying to keep up with different trends that are happening on different platforms and what audio and hashtags to use etc. but over time you get a better understanding of how to manage it all. I have had success especially with TikTok in using different trends and audios to reach my target audience and book clients from it. I would suggest to other business owners to try and run your own social media accounts but in doing so teach yourself how to keep up to date with trends and understand how algorithms work on different platforms. You want to come across as genuine and real as possible especially when offering such an intimate service.

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 am Maddie Kirby and I run Maddie Kirby Photography, I am based in Washington D.C. but travel internationally. I started my photography journey very young, my grandparents had a digital camera and I would constantly take photos of nature and photoshoots of my sister and cousins. As I got older it developed into casually taking my friends senior pictures in college with a small digital camera and nature photos when I would travel. Once I graduated college I was very indecisive on what to do, I knew I was a very creative person and wasn’t sure how to turn that into a career. I got married shortly after college and after getting my wedding photos back I realized it was something I could do full time and make a successful career out of. After that I bought my first professional camera and made a business from there. I photograph everything from weddings, elopements, engagements, couples, families, maternity, events or photos just because. In my free time and when I travel I love to photograph nature. A big part of my photography is film, I typically shoot in 35mm film and love to incorporate it into every photoshoot. I take a candid and fun approach through digital and film photography. My number one goal when capturing special moments is for it to feel authentic and natural. I focus on documentary style photography with an editorial flare to truly encapsulate the emotions and feelings.

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

It is an honor when photographing someone’s intimate moments and big life events, sometimes in the moment you don’t realize that these photos will live forever and future generations will cherish. Getting the privilege to be a part of someone’s life forever in a small way is something I find the most rewarding. When a gallery is delivered and you receive amazing feedback from your clients on your work helps in keeping me motivated. It is always rewarding when past clients refer you to new clients, knowing that they trust you and appreciate your work.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

While in college I had worked part time in sales and always hated cold calling and being pushy to potential clients. When I started my photography business I went in with the mindset that I am an artist not a salesman. For a small business owner that may seem like you are running an unsuccessful business but in my experience it has been the exact opposite. I truly believe that being genuine while having a knowledge of how to advertise yourself will go much further than being overly sales-y with people. When potential clients reach out I never follow up several times or push them to upgrade packages. Clients that want to work with you will value your work and will respect your time. This may not apply to all fields of business but working in a creative space means putting my art first and being a business woman second.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.maddiekirbyphotography.com
• Instagram: @maddiekirbyphotography
• Facebook: Maddie Kirby Photography
• Other: TikTok – @maddiekirbyphotography
  Pinterest – @maddiekirbyphotography

Image Credits

Maddie Kirby Photography