We were lucky to catch up with Haven Viola Photo recently and have shared our conversation below.
Haven, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.
Starting my photography journey at 17, I never dreamed that it would become a full-time job 5 years later. I wanted my first camera because I loved to sing. I wanted to make better quality videos for the covers of songs that would later be put on YouTube or Instagram. After receiving my first camera, Canon rebel t6, I realized that I loved to take pictures, it was so fascinating to me. At the time, it was capturing whatever was around me like my dog, landscape, or a plant that my mom had sitting outside. After a few weeks, I started taking pictures of my family and friends which was so much fun yet a huge learning process. I decided it was time to make a business Facebook and Instagram page to build a portfolio and within a few months of posting my photos, I received my first ever paying client. It was a sweet family from around the area and I charged $75. I remember getting that money and just feeling so proud. Whats cool is I actually got to photograph that precious family twice after that first session! I look back now with a heart of thankfulness, it matters where you start because I wouldn’t be where I am without my first clientele.
I am now a full-time wedding photographer and I couldn’t be happier!
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 got started in the wedding industry by second shooting for other photographers first. Wedding photography was something that I was interested in doing but not until I was able to shadow other photographers first. I remember my very first wedding and I was incredibly nervous. I didn’t know that wedding packages existed so I charged $700 for a full wedding day. I got there at 9AM and I didn’t leave until around 10PM that night. I soon realized that I needed to make wedding packages and a charge way more. While I do consider myself a lifestyle photographer, I mainly shoot weddings and elopements! I absolutely love to photograph couples and get to know their story. It is always an honor to be booked for a couples wedding day! Something that I think sets me apart from other photographers is that I just want all the raw and authentic moments to be captured. I see a lot of posed photos on Instagram which isn’t a bad thing, I’ll do some of those too. However, it is really neat to see not only the classic poses in a gallery but to also see the personality of the couple come to life in the photos. Right now, I am most proud of the weddings booked this year and the amount of couples that I’ve got to meet because of it. I’m also proud that I finally feel confident in my editing style because for a while I liked it, but I didn’t love it.
For future clients, I just want you all to know that whether you book me for a wedding, an elopement, or a lifestyle session.. I don’t take it lightly! It’s always an honor to capture phases of life for people. I also want you to know that if you’re booking me for your wedding, I will be you hype girl 1000% AND I will be out on the dance floor with you!!!
How did you build your audience on social media?
Building my social media following wasn’t easy and it’s still a work in progress. Something I’ve noticed over the last couple of years is that social media is always changing. For instance, Instagram used to be just for photos. This was the PERFECT app for photographers, and still can be if you move with the times. Reels are huge right now for Instagram, photos aren’t really being seen anymore. To build your following, you have to expand your creativity and begin making reels to reach more people.
Another way to build more connections on social media is join groups on Facebook or Instagram. I’m from tennessee, so I joined a wedding group of photographers in TN that will give advice or post brides looking for a photographer.
Make friends with people in the industry and remember that it’s better to support other photographers rather than to be in competition with them!
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
The best source of new clients for me is Instagram. I’m always getting clients from Instagram whether it’s for weddings, senior portraits, family sessions, etc!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.havenviolaphoto.com
- Instagram: @havenviolaphotography
- Facebook: Haven V. Haines Photography