We recently connected with Hannah Smith and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Hannah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

One thing I love in photography is that the entry point is low; often, with as little as a few hundred dollars, someone can purchase a camera and have the foundational components of a business. I believe this is a business that creates opportunity for historically disenfranchised identities, such as women and BIPOC. The challenge I see with this (and experienced myself, when I first started my business) is that as the market is flooded with lots of photographers who have not been afforded access to business education, many pick their pricing based on what the “going rate” is around them. So for a few hundred dollars, photographers are committing to 10-15 hours of work on a family or newborn session. Often this rate isn’t even enough to cover the overhead of a growing business, never mind turn a profit.

This is certainly how I started out. For my first “client” I charged $25 to meet in a park and let me try out my new camera. Soon it felt like I was making so much money, as lots of people were booking me for $200 or less. It was hard to see the forest through the trees in the moment; as a woman who had previously only worked in a helping profession, I had no idea how to determine how much money I was actually making. I certainly didn’t know my cost of doing business. Looking back, I was probably working for $1-2 / hour in those days.

After 14 months of doing business, I decided to take a scary jump and sign up for a class with a photographer who is also a CPA. As you may have expected, she let me know that my current rates needed to be raised by 300% to turn a profit that would make my business worthwhile. I had never heard of a photographer charging that much in my area, but I took the leap. I was terrified every step of the way. The only reason I kept going is because I had developed a strong network of photography friends who believed in me and allowed me to brainstorm and vent during those difficult first few months.

If another photographer is feeling burnt out or overwhelmed, the first time I advise is really looking at your financials and determining if your current rates are supporting the talent and skill you bring. You deserve to make a living and to work with clients who value you.

Hannah, 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?

I am a newborn and family photographer located in Cincinnati, and my sessions are focused on finding the beauty in the ordinary. I started my business when my daughter was only eight months old, and I bought a super cheap, used camera off of ebay to capture her everyday moments. I quickly began taking on clients and consuming photography education as quickly as I could.

Now, three years later, I am most proud of the clients I have who come back to me year after year, especially those who join my membership, Memory Keepers, and are intent on preserving their family’s legacies for generations to come. As a mom, I know how easy it is to be lost in the hundreds of items on your to-do list, and the idea of booking a family photography session can feel overwhelming. So many details to plan (outfits, location, printing images, etc.), so that’s why I have built a business that takes care of all of that. No more returning outfits five times to Old Navy, or bribing your kiddos for just one more smile. Instead I pamper mamas with access to my luxury client closet, and I capture authentic moments of love and laughter.

I absolutely love what I do, and I can’t wait to see how my clients’ families grow. I will consider my business a success if families have beautiful memories on their walls and in their albums. What more could we ever ask for in this life, but a legacy of love?

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Yes! I love to learn, and I feel so much more empowered when I have resources to lean on. If you are only going to read one book as a business owner, make it “Building a Story Brand” by Donald Miller. If you’re going to read a second book, make it “Profit First” by Mike Michalowicz. Instead of spending a ton of money and time on marketing strategies that don’t work (and then barely turning a profit), these two books create a foundation for a successful business that can find you the right clients and actually making money.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I grew up without much financial resources. For the first six years of my life, we lived in section 8 housing. I learned a lot of lessons about money growing up, and most of them were rooted in the idea of “never enough.” Even when I started my career and was financially secure, I still worried a lot about money. To be honest, it still makes me anxious, that I could be in a place of not having enough, of my family not having enough.

When I first started my business, this meant that I was often willing to accept clients at all costs, even if they were bargain shoppers or gave me red flags. It led to a lot of situations that made me feel uncomfortable, and I often felt beholden to the clients that were hiring me. Over time, I started getting more selective and working with clients that appreciated me. I set rules and boundaries in my business, and it led to rejection by a lot of the “wrong” clients, which was very anxiety-producing in the moment. But now, I honestly adore my families, and I feel so much more fulfilled in my business.

What’s more, it allows me to have a creative outlet that provides for my family, and now I am able to give to others out of a place of abundance. I am so proud that my business is able to donate to causes that mean the most to me. This summer, after the Uvalde Elementary School shooting, I was absolutely horrified and felt helpless; I decided to host a fine art portrait session day where I donated 100% of the profits to Everytown, a non-profit focused on ending senseless gun violence. I couldn’t have done that if I needed that time to make more money for my own family, or was so overwhelmed with lower-paying clients that I didn’t have the capacity to take on more pro bono work. We raised almost $3000 for Everyown that day, which showed me even more that charging my worth isn’t selfish, it’s necessary to allow me to give back in the way I want to.

Contact Info:

• Website: littlebugphotos.com
• Instagram: @littlebugphotoscincy