We were lucky to catch up with Amber Cordova recently and have shared our conversation below.

Amber, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you have any advice regarding quality control and maintaining quality as your brand grows?

Quality control has always been one of the most important factors in running my business, not only in the pictures that I give to the clients, but also in the experience of the photo shoot. I once heard another photographer say that when people look at pictures taken of themselves or of their children, they don’t tend to remember certain details like what type of camera was used, or how much they paid for the photos. What people remember the most is how they felt when those photos were taken. When I heard this photographer say that, I immediately remembered when we had photos done of our oldest son as a baby. This was during the time it was still very popular to take pictures at a department store. Till this day, when I see those pictures, I still remember feeling so upset of how the photographer didn’t do a good job at making sure our baby was comfortable for a good picture. I always strive to make sure our clients feel special from the first inquiry email they send till the end when I send them their personal gallery of pictures. My husband has been a huge help as well this past year. Whether it’s reminding me to send a followup email, helping with creating my website, posting on my social media sites, or even just going out to photo shoots with me so he can help carry my gear. It’s because of us working together that we have been able to incorporate videography as well into our business. Working as a team has been huge for me in maintaining the quality we give to our clients, and we’re so excited to see how our business will continue to grow in the future.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I married my wonderful husband, Andrew, who’s also my web/tech/videography guy 16 years ago, and since then we’ve welcomed 4 sweet babies into our little family. Andrew and I decided in 2012 after baby number 2 that I would be a stay at home mom with the kids and homeschool them. With this leap of faith with our finances, I was almost instantly blessed with the tools and training in photography. One of my cousins, who is a full time wedding photographer, was gracious enough to take me under her wing. I had the opportunity to be a second shooter with her for several years. The Teal Album blossomed in 2013 and we began to capture beautiful families, babies, seniors, couples and even weddings. My favorite part of photography is having the privilege to capture sweet memories for each client. During the photoshoot, I encourage my clients to be themselves and have fun! I try to make it as easy on them as possible because I know some aren’t as comfortable in front of the camera as others. Along with photography, we are now offering videography as well. We are so excited to be able to offer our clients this additional option to record their most special moments and occasions. We have been so thankful for each and every one of our sweet clients, and are deeply humbled by the opportunity to capture every special milestone for our clients.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Word of mouth was very effective at the beginning. Taking pictures of family members, their friends, and then their friend’s friends, they were able to help spread the word of me being a photographer. However, when my business took off was when we realized word of mouth alone wasn’t going to cut it long term. We needed to start marketing in other ways. My husband did research on SEOs and how to use them to get to the top of lists on search engines such as Google and Google Maps. We became more active on our social media sites. We started advertising on Facebook and Instagram, and we continued to update our web site along with creating a brand new booking site where our potential clients can see my availability and book their time slots.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Probably the most rewarding aspect for me is knowing that I’m capturing a specific memory for my clients. I like to think of it as stopping time for that moment. The picture that is created will always be able to be shared with my clients, their children, their grandchildren, and for all generations that follow.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thetealalbum.com
• Instagram: @thetealalbum
• Facebook: facebook.com/thetealalbum
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7STlKGMdLDcV6OmjbMZokw
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-teal-album-photography-rowlett?osq=the+teal+album+photography

Image Credits
All images are by The Teal Album Photography