Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Patricia Solis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Patricia, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?

Trends are huge in wedding photography, and with the raise of social media you can never be sure of what is going to be a trend. Someone does something on a tik tok video and out of nowhere every single one of my clients wants to replicate it somehow. However, within the last few years I have seen a turn in wedding photography that I really love and I am super excited about. After years of Rustic barn weddings, followed by years of Boho styled weddings, I am seeing a big turn into a more classic and timeless look. The film style is absolutely in right now and after the pandemic, I have seen brides and grooms going from a big and huge wedding to a more intimate and minimalist event where the couple is more interested in living the moment with their loved ones and hiring the right person to capture that moment rather than having the 400+ people celebration where you don’t have time for anything. The weddings are getting more personal and romantic and to be honest, I am all for it. It is fantastic.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

My name is Patty Solis and I am a luxury and high-end photographer based in South Dakota, USA. I was born in Spain and moved to the United States in 2011. Opened my business in 2012. Became a citizen in 2019.

The truth is, I never touched a camera until 2006. I was studying in Sweden when a good friend decided to talk to me about her love for photography while we were waiting for a train. If I have to think about it, I think that is the moment my life changed. I bought my first DSLR in 2009 while studying in the USA for my senior year in college. I started shooting things that don’t move: flowers, rocks… you know, the typical. I took photos of all my friends. But I wanted more. I moved to South Dakota in 2011 and while taking photos at a park someone approached me and said “Those photos are great! How much would you charge to take my family photos this year?” “$50” I replied. I had no clue how much was too much so I thought that would be fair. That year I ended up photographing 10 families. I got my first professional camera in 2013 and paid for it with my credit card while shaking because up until that point I had never bought anything so expensive before and I had no clue if I was going to be able to pay it off.

My first wedding came in 2013 by accident. I didn’t want to do weddings, that was a hard no for me. Too much stress. Too much risk. What if I miss something? What if I mess up? But a friend had a family emergency and I was the only one that could help. So I did it. That was the second time my life shifted. I was hooked.

Since then, I haven’t been able to stop. The following year I did six weddings on my own. Ten the next one. Today I am specializing in wedding photography and I am one of the only high-end photographers in my state. I take between 20 and 25 weddings every year and I have done over 100 events within the last 10 years of my career.

I love photographing love, photographing fashion and photographing events, so I guess I am in the right place! But I am not just your average wedding photographer. I take time to do my homework. I work with my couples for the entire year. I train them. I get to know them and their families. I invest time in them. I give them tips and make them understand the best ways to make their wedding day even better than it is going to be. We go through wedding trends together. I am in constant communication with them. My couples listen to me and work with me. We bond a lot during the planning year and that shows on their wedding photos in the end.

What am I proud of? 10+ years of happy clients. Clients that still follow me after their big day is already over. Seeing my past brides as part of the new bride’s bridal party. My proudest accomplishment, without a doubt, is all the people that trust me with the most important day of their life; that they actually give me money to do what I love the most. There is nothing greater than that; and it all started while waiting for a train, somewhere in Sweden.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

This is the thing: I wasn’t born here. I was born in Europe. So, when I moved to South Dakota, I had no reputation because I literally didn’t know anyone. I didn’t have any high school contacts or family members that would refer me to their friends. My reputation had to be built from scratch and I am proud to say over the last 10 years I have built an army of loyal and happy clients (some of them ended up turning into friends). If I have to guess what helped the most to build that reputation, I would say under promise and over deliver and always care for your customer more than you care about yourself. My clients are the first thing to me. My couples are king and queen on their special day. I treat them how I would want to be treated and do my best to give them priority when they need something from me. I might be a workaholic, but the truth is, I love what I do; and I truly respect and love every single person that gives me the chance of photographing them. When they step in front of my lens, they are showing me that they believe in me; and that is worth more to me than any amount of money.

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?

During my time in Europe, before I moved to the United States, I did a Master’s degree on creativity, and had to deal with this very problem. What do you do when you struggle as a creative person? What do you do when your creativity is gone? For me, getting out of the rut is easy: I just shoot for myself. My best work comes when I shoot for no money. When I am shooting an idea in my head just for me, just to challenge myself. I have booked the best deals of my career because someone somewhere saw a session that I shot just for the sake of being creative, so I am always doing it. It is rare this month that I don’t have a shoot just for fun. I like trying new things and I never stop learning. So if you are not creative, or you struggle to be creative, start by doing something that would make you happy without any hopes of monetary compensation behind. Just for the sake of it. Great things can happen when you enjoy your passion to the fullest without any reason behind it than pure enjoyment.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.solisphoto.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/solis_photo
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photography.solis