We recently connected with Nate Wolbert and have shared our conversation below.

Nate, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

Becoming a business owner was a lot more than I ever expected. I have worked a “normal” job for many years however, running every aspect of an organization can be strenuous and stressful. Surrounding yourself with positive people, ignoring the doubters and funneling energy into strategy made it much easier to bear.

Most people think its easy, and it can be to run a business that only has one employee. When you take on another person or team to join you in the journey the mind shifts from a worry of one, to the reliance of many. Your decisions have real life impacts, to people outside of your circle and families, children and others that are now part of your investment. Like many,

I did start out small, and still am a relatively small business in the world but the choice was made early that if I would manage all aspects of the business, my participation in it would be limited unless I added staff and processes to become efficient. So as quickly as I wanted to disassociate from the corporate mindset, it would require me to establish my own. Social media, marketing, vendors, location scouting, client interaction, legal support, editing, assistants, web services, and the other things Photographers handle daily quickly consumed my time. for the first 2 years I tried to swim through it all solo. This was when i wanted out. I wanted to go back to being the responsibility of someone else. It was my wife and my children who pushed me through.

Bringing on a summer intern, actually 2 of them was one of the best decisions I made. They were great at social media, and surprisingly great at client screening and interactions. After the summer, i made the decision to establish a team. I brought on a person for each task I was unsure of, needed to learn more about or was just not great at. I didn’t dictate to my team how to work, I asked them to aspire and think, and share with the entire team what the though was behind a specific strategy. I knew giving people purpose created drive, and by leading the team through empowerment, steering them became fun and enjoyable to everyone.

Now, I am once again able to provide my own artistic eye and service to clients, If i could go back, i would have worked to have the people and processes in place from the start. In this industry, your clients come because they want you, they want the experience of working with you and receiving your product, Keeping true to this in the way you operate will limit you, but placing the effective strategy in place will allow you to scale your business even when you have trusted partners in place.

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?

My Company, Camley Images Photography is known for our personalized approach and artistic vision. I’m a passionate photographer whose journey into the world of photography began with a simple curiosity—capturing moments and turning them into memories, most impacted by my first deployment to Iraq in 2006. I have a fascination with storytelling through images and spent a lot of time studying the craft.

My path to professional photography was shaped by wanting to create connections with people. What started as a hobby, photographing friends and family, soon blossomed into a full-fledged business as word spread. I personally hated being in front of the camera but i wanted to put people at ease and bring out their best in front of it.

My main services are portrait, event, headshot, weddings and sports. When time allows I work to create fine art and custom projects on commission. 2025 has also led me into the Cheer, Dance and Arts with many programs establishing new creative infusion and techniques into their program.

One key problem I solves for clients is helping them feel comfortable and natural during sessions—it results in authentic images truly reflective of a subjects personality and emotion. Clients enjoy that I display patience, attention to detail, and knack for capturing the moments they least expect during the sessions, the ones that might otherwise go unnoticed.

What sets us apart from other photographers in the region is commitment to a totally tailored experience. Every session is planned, from location scouting to understanding clients’ visions and goals. I remain dedicated to learning and experimentation, remaining fresh and inspired and cultivating sessions my mentees feel empowered by.

I am most proud of the relationships built with clients and the trust they place in me to document their most significant milestones. Many of my clients return year after year.

For potential clients, followers, or fans, it’s important to know that working with Me and my Camley Images team means more than just getting photos—it’s about collaboration, creativity, and storytelling, It’s to create images that not only look beautiful but also feel meaningful. Whether you’re looking to capture a special event, update your professional image, catch the love and growth of your children, or create art for your home I am here to listen, support, and deliver to you and your family.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

When I was interested in getting into event photography, I met a local talent agency owner in Washington D.C. he was well known, had a multi strategy business model and seemed like a potential mentor i would like to know. After reaching out, he invited me to come to an event he was covering to see how he runs his operation and engage with the staff. I saw it as a great opportunity and given he invited my wife as well, I felt his approach was genuine. What i learned at the event, was how unethical, deceptive, and manipulative the individual was. It wasn’t an invite, it was a request for free labor as i ended up working the event without compensation, for 5 hours. It was fun yes, but as he stated himself, “you expected this”. Definitely not!! Nor did I expect the gross comments inviting my “knockout” wife and myself to his his for a “great experience with our without the dress on”, nor did I expect to be presented with an opportunity to work with this individual and his team, but have no ability to work in the area ever again or retain any creative ownership in my material. This Talent and Agency taught me a lot, all the wrong ways to conduct business, the wrong ways to treat the people who make you a living and the disgusting behavior accepted in the industry.

What i unlearned by the next day was everything he “taught” me. and as my wife and I sat there the next day at dinner, we made clear we would never treat people in the industry this way.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Lead by example and the management will happen naturally. Many employers structure organizations with management who is ineffective at enhancing performance. Managers in my own opinion are people who have been deemed as maintainers without leadership skills. Fostering growth, displaying the ability to overcome challenges, ensuring employees are meeting their own personal goals, and opening your mind to hear their ideas is far better than managing.

I don’t manage my own staff, I lead them into a situation and let them figure it out. In photography the rules are blurred, and sometime the images by choice. Allowing my staff to have that creative direction inspires their own personal growth. Teaching them my own process and creativity allows them to boost their knowledge and creativity to have multiple styles. It also gives them reassurance they can continue to grow. When i let them make the decisions to get to where i need to be for a specific client, they learn failure and achievement, but they know they have overcome the knowledge they lacked at the beginning of the session. Some may say a client would hate to be a part of this learning at a session, one thing I have come to understand is every client has been thrilled to see growth in person, it quickly becomes one of their best memories with countless clients coming to expect a new student present at their next session with me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.camleyimages.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/camleyimages/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Camley-Images-100087853908405/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/camley-images/?viewAsMember=true