We recently connected with Sakinah Ismial and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sakinah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

The name of my company is Thrive Photography. Most photographers opt to name their business after their name, but the word “thrive” has become so special to me. I have a little girl named Aminah Rose who is now 6 years old. When she was 4 months old, she was a tiny little thing and her small frame concerned her doctor. At this time, I heard the term “Failure to Thrive” used for the first time. We were sent to a hospital for tests and observations. We were at the hospital for 5 whole days, and after some tests and many observations, it was determined that there was nothing medically wrong with her. She was just growing at her own pace. This experience stuck out to me when naming my business. Thriving moments can be viewed in many ways and cannot be measured against each other. We all have our own definition of what it looks like to thrive, and every thriving moment should be celebrated. Whether it’s a birthday, the starting of a new brand, a wedding, or celebrating a pregnancy; I want to capture those moments for people so they can always have those images of their life’s triumphs.

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 name is Sakinah Ismial. I am a photographer, and I have been doing photography for 6 years. I bought my first camera in hopes of getting into the mommy blogging world (that didn’t happen). Through posting pictures I took of my daughter and close friends, people started contacting me to take their pictures, and the business grew from there.

I believe my business really took off during the pandemic, oddly enough. I turned my carport into an outdoor “studio” to provide backdrop options for my clients. At this time, no one was having birthday parties or anything celebratory with a group of people so they were having photoshoots to replace these gatherings.

Now I have my own “real” studio, and I service a lot clientele from SW Georgia, Alabama, and Florida areas. I’m mostly booked for classy and/or unique birthday and maternity photoshoots, brand and/or company sessions, and weddings.

My clients always say they come and keep coming back because of the vibe. I try my best to create a comfortable and fun atmosphere for my clients. I provide creative solutions and work with them to create the images from their vision.

I would love for future clients to know that I am a photographer who has a complete devotion to the craft. I am constantly evolving a perfecting what I do to be able to provide the best services for my clients. Creating beautiful images is a true passion of mine, and I put my heart and soul into every session.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Social media, of course, has been a great source in attracting new clients. I’ve always have had a pretty loyal Facebook following just because it is the social media I have had the longest and I very consistent on this platform. Tiktok, in the last year, has been such a great tool for me in attracting potential clients. I am able to show the creative process and the fun we have at a photoshoot. I am able to showcase an experience that people would like to be a part of.

Word of mouth has ALWAYS been my best source for new clients. Because of my professionalism, great customer service,
true passion for my work, and just overall intentionally being a good person to people, I get recommended ALL the time.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social media can be a scary place. Especially when introducing your business to it. I grew my social media presence for my business by 1. starting where I was at. I was using my phone to take and edit pictures when I first got into photography. Every stage of my growth I posted it on my social media platforms. What I have learned is your audience/supporters LOVE to be apart of your “story”. They love to see your growth. They love knowing they were there from the beginning, and they are usually the ones that share your posts, comment first, and give you that engagement you need. So don’t think you have to have it all together before you start creating a social media presence for your business. Start posting your beginnings as soon as you begin. 2. BE CONSISTENT. It’s hard with all the other millions of things you have to do to run a business, but being consistent is super important in maintaining a social media presence. To make things easier, I usually use the same content amongst all my platforms, and I try to post at least 4-5 days out of the week.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thrivephotography.net
• Instagram: kinah_thrives
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thrivephotographystudio/
• Other: Tiktok: kinah_thrives

Image Credits
Thrive Photography