We recently connected with Annette Tillery and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Annette thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s go back in time a bit – can you share a story of a time when you learned an important lesson during your education?

Wow, this is a great question. I have learned so many lessons in my life, but I think there is one that stands out above the rest for me. Junior year in high school, my band director, Mr. Parker, volunteered another instrumentalist and me to accompany the choir on a piece for a holiday program. I agreed to accompany the choir on the piece thinking it would be easy and I wouldn’t have to perform solo. I thought I wasn’t the best instrumentalist in the band to collaborate with the choir director on the piano. I hated playing alone and was relieved that the other musician would play with me. We had a few weeks to prepare the piece. When I received the music, I was freaking out. I have never played a complex composition like that before. I had to play 2 octaves higher than normal. Even though I was terrified, I didn’t want to disappoint anyone. Every day, I dread going to practice because I know I will mess up. Therefore, I worked diligently playing that selection daily. My grandma would listen to me practice, come in the room and tell me to slow down and take it to measure by measure. I would, but it seems impossible. A few weeks later, the other musician suddenly dropped out, which left me performing the musical selection solo. Now it was just me, and the fear of messing up in front of an audience increased tremendously. Every time I looked at the choir director, I saw regret and worry, yet he wouldn’t inform me of his concerns. The choir director asked me to do some additional practice; because he saw that I was missing notes and cues. As I was waiting for my mom to pick me up from school, I would practice persistently. One day, Mr. Parker saw me practicing, and I was struggling with the music. He looked at the disappointment on my face as I played the last two runs in the piece. Mr. Parker said something that resonated with me. He said,” this fear I had was all in my head. I had to get out of my head and let go of the fear of failure. I believe you can conquer this piece and many more when you do. After he left, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, cleared my mind of the negative thoughts, and returned to practicing the piece. The day before the performance, I did a full practice with the choir. You would have thought that with all the practice that I had done, I would have perfected my performance. But nope, I was still messing up the music. I decided that it was what it was and performed anyway. That afternoon, the band was invited to perform at a Christmas parade. So, I board the bus with an entire big bag of skittle. Yes, skittle… I thought if I were sugared up, I would be better at the performance that night. Did it work? I thought it did. I truly thought I was energetic and ready to tackle the task. After the parade, we headed back to the school. My bandmate asked me if I was ready for the solo. I was laughing like I had taken a whiff of laughing gas and said yeah. It was a long ride back to the school, and I realized that I wasn’t truly ready and the candy didn’t work. However, it was too late. The time had come to perform the selection that had haunted me for weeks. I quickly took out my music and started going over my music for the last time. When we arrived back at the school, I left the auditorium, went into an empty hallway to meditate, and remembered to think about what my band director had said to me. I cleared my mind and prayed. I got up and returned to the auditorium to warm up. This was it. The holiday program started, and the band was on the program to perform first, then the choir. Halfway through the program, the choir director signals me to come to perform the next selection. I took a deep breath and got up with my music stand and sheet music. The choir director looked at me, nodded, and began playing the piano. My heart was beating so hard. I took a deep breath, and I started playing. Miraculously, I played like a flutist, not just an ordinary flute player. I was amazed at how exceptional my ability sounded as I played my flute. I made it to the last two measures of the music and closed my eyes, and played the last two measures effortlessly. I opened my eyes; everyone was on their feet when I played the last note. That was the most amazing feeling I ever had. The choir director was impressed.I was shocked by my mom, and my band director smiled. I was proud of myself. Those few words that my band director said to me have been the motivation I used through all the photo sessions. I have kept that belief tightly and know that no matter what transpires, I must push forward with all I have to see the final results. Quitting is not an option but an excuse not to excel to my full potential. I have woven those words on my journey to achieve everything I can, from small tasks to large projects. I want to assist others in attaining their goals. The sky is reachable, and I will continue to make strides knowing someone took the time to inspire me.

Annette , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Certainly, My name is Annette Tillery. I am the owner of Martha Smith Tillery Photography, located out of Raleigh, North Carolina. I specialize in wedding, lifestyle, senior, professional headshots, and branding photography. Originally, I am from a small rural town in Eastern North Carolina. I grew up on my grandparent’s mini farm with various crops and small farm animals. I learned a lot from them as they sold their produces and crafts to the people in and surrounding towns. I saw their business venture from harvesting to weighing and packing to pricing and distributing from town to town. Even though social media wasn’t established, my grandparents sold their merchandise by going door to door. Their client would express their satisfaction to those by word of mouth. People knew who my grandparents were and would be ready to purchase from them. Did they sell out? Yes, sometimes Was it consistent? Only some of the time. They would bring home the remaining produce. Yet, they didn’t worry cause they would cook it for the house and pack it up for the winter. Did they make a profit? Yes, they will save and repeat the routine of budgeting and investing back into their business, land, and their family. They were faith led in believing that all things through Christ shall prosper and be successful. As a kid, I love photography. My first camera was a Kodak Star 110. It had a pink Mickey Mouse exterior and was bulky. I would take pictures everywhere. I was so much in love that my mom upgraded to the updated Kodak Star 110. She would develop the photos in town and keep them in an album as a keepsake. I would continue to take pictures after graduation. When I went to college, my photography journey was put on hold. I picked it back up after the passing of my grandmother. I wanted to document my family so I could have physical memories to share with others. At first, I was taking pictures at church. A fellow church member who’s a wedding planner asked me to have I ever consider starting my own business in photography. I never thought about it. It sounded fantastic to capture memories for other people. So. I started the process of working with church members on small photo sessions and milestones. Someone noticed my work and asked me to photograph their wedding. After that, the calls kept coming in from people who heard about me from previous clients who were very pleased with my work. These clients have been longstanding and included me in their milestones from engagement to their first child. I value my clients’ ideas and opinions. We try to incorporate their vision in their photo shoot. We take extra care to ensure their session is comfortable, relaxing, and fun. I am proud of what I have created- a business of something I am passionate about that gives me the opportunity to work with a diverse population of people and travel to amazing cities and states.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The pivot point of my life was a few years ago. The business was booming, and the workloads had increased tremendously. I was photographing events after events leaving little or no time to unwind and rest. Eventually, I was getting overwhelmed and a little burnt out during events. I had to stop and reevaluate my life before I thought about my zeal for photography. I wanted to focus more on creating beautiful content than getting hundreds of clients. Now, I am in the process of slowly leaving out of the wedding industry. Don’t get me wrong, I love capturing weddings; but I want to broaden my platform in the photography world.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Social media and word of mouth play a significant factor in the success of my business. When you start a business, you must have an idea, craft, and talent that brings clients. It can be something other than original, but it has a certain uniqueness that excels above others. When I began photographing families and friends, I knew they would immediately post them on their social media. Their friends would inquire about the name of the photographer. It starts the verbal conversation of my work and my ability. With the impression planted in their mind, new clients would want to utilize my services for their upcoming projects or events. It begins the chain reaction of inquiries, seeking information about my business and my availability to work for them. I am grateful to have built a clientele that continues to use my services to capture milestones in their families and friends. It creates a solid foundation to secure more opportunities to use my services. It keeps my finances growing daily.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://photosbymarthasmithtillery.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marthastilleryphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marthasmithtilleryphotography/