We recently connected with Paige King and have shared our conversation below.

Paige, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’ve love to hear an interesting investment story – what was one of the best or worst investments you’ve made? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

The best investment I have made in my photography business is investing in furthering my education as a photographer. It is easy to feel stuck as a creative, to allow “imposter syndrome” to set in. When I have spent time and money investing in learning from other creatives, I have in turn been able to hone in on exactly who I am as a photographer and what I want my client experience to be.

Paige, 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?

I first experienced my love for photography 20 years ago in my senior year of high school. At the time it was film and dark room development and while I knew I loved the art of it, I didn’t love the process. Fast forward about 5 years later and my first DSLR purchase changed everything. I began my photography journey with staged food photography for a food blog, back when blogs were all the rage. I quickly realized that I had a passion for learning more about the different facets of photography and what it took to make an exceptional image.

When I started photographing friends and family is when my passion really took off. What I began to realize is that while the technical components and composition of the image is important to me, it is capturing the emotion that I really crave.

I provide family, maternity, newborn, milestone and senior photography. It is through these sessions that I strive to do something we aren’t able to do in real life, freeze time. I want to capture images that really embody whatever time/place my client is in. So that when they look back at those images years from now, they not only remember the shoot but they can actual feel what it was like to be those versions of themselves. I achieve this by providing narrative photography sessions that aim to tell a story instead of having my clients pose stiffly for my camera.

Photography continues to be a side gig for me as I still work as a full time night shift RN in a local NICU. Because it is not a full time revenue source for me, something I feel very proud of is my ability to offer high quality photography services for a relatively affordable price compared to my competitors. I feel strongly about my clients having access to this narrative style of photography while also ensuring that my time is being compensated. It can be difficult to balance, but I feel very passionate about achieving this.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I believe society could better support photographers and other creatives by recognizing their value, valuing their expertise and helping to create opportunities for them to thrive. Recognizing the value of photography as a powerful medium to capture moments, tell stories and truly preserve history. Valuing a photographers expertise and realizing just how much time and energy goes into creating their art is essential. Recognizing that each photographer is valuing their time when creating their compensation list is important. Lastly, I think that recognizing the value of photography itself and its power in telling not only our own personal stories, but the stories of our history is essential.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

What I wish I had realized earlier in my career is how valuable of a resource my fellow photography community is to me. Reaching out to other photographers and creatives has been vital to my growth as a photographer. For years I was too nervous to ask for help or advice, but what I have learned is that most people are more than happy to give advice on things that they had to learn the hard way. Surrounding myself with a community of creatives that I can lean on has leveled up my business in the last couple of years.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://paigekingphotography.com
• Instagram: @paigeking.photo
• Facebook: Paige King Photography