We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mary Rye. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mary below.

Hi Mary, thanks for joining us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

Leaving a legacy is a big responsibility. To me a legacy is more than your accomplishments in life. It’s how friends, family and strangers remember you. I hope to be remembered by the love in my heart. People who don’t really know me assume I’m a little rough around the edges, when that is far from the truth.

I hope the legacy I leave is one of love, hope, strength, and fearlessness. I believe one should love with their entire heart and soul. No matter what life throws at you, never lose hope. Never back down from something you desire no matter how scary it may seem. Live free and without doubt. Follow your passion and happiness will follow. And when all else fails DANCE!!!

I hope my legacy will be, Mary, the woman who loved entirely. The one who never backed down from a battle nor gave up. The woman who could look death in the face and laugh. Mary the woman who broke out in random dance moves no matter where she was.

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

Photography has been a part of my life as far as I can remember. I’ve always had some sort of camera in hand with me.

As a multi-talented creator, I pride myself in the fact that I serve as the photographer, hairstylist, and make-up artist as well as fashion influencer, for my business. I specialize in taking a unique approach to photography, along with traditional portraits, families, boudoir, and newborns, I also offer themed shoots to showcase my heightened creativity. I recently started a session called Show Your Beauty, where I have a huge assortment of formals for my clients to choose from and we venture out to nontraditional areas for beautiful shoots. Being a woman who has overcome setbacks in life, I am most proud of the fact, I never gave up and now I am living my DREAM.

As a brand, I stand for confidence. I want my clients to see themselves as I see them through the lens. I love beauty, finding the inner source of beauty can be breathtaking. I have always had a connection with the beauty of the world around me. Everything and everyone give off its own allure of beauty, and I find it my passion to showcase it.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My lifelong dream is to be my own boss, to be a female business owner and a woman who shows others the beauty within. I am a cosmetologist as well as a barber. But I never had 100% fulfillment. It seemed more like work and less like the life I wanted. For years I worked trying to find ways to help others while I gave up a big chunk of myself. (I got lost in my own shuffle) My dream continued to be just that. After two diagnoses of kidney cancer even my career doing hair was put on hold. It was about that time that my husband took a job in Savannah, GA. We moved in November 2020, the year of chaos, loneliness, and self-reflection. Then life hit us. We were told my husband needed heart surgery. I decided my dream was to be pushed back again because my husband needed me. Surgery came and went. He pushed through and came out stronger.

It was finally my time. I had hesitated to tell anyone my dream for fear of being told I would not succeed. But courage and strength showed me to face my fear. I did it! After many years and with support and encouragement from my family and friends I decided it was time to push forward, and not look back. It was time to pursue my dream. It was time to go back to my long-ago roots, use the knowledge from high school as well as college film and photography class, combined with my knowledge of hair and makeup, my love for beauty, and finally, I have the life I envision for myself.

In February of 2021, my dream became a reality. I officially became a business owner. We worked hard becoming an LLC, crossing all our t and dotting all the I’s, creating a website and obtaining clients in a city that I knew no one. I have and continue to work hard to make all the struggles worth it.

I am a female business owner, living the life I want, and I am now working with the Judy Nicholson Kidney Cancer Foundation, as their photography liaison and a member of their survivor/caregiver board. I have most recently moved back to my hometown area of Indiana, and I look forward to adding to my clientele and continuing to build my brand and living my dream life.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Keeping in touch with client is easy for me. I have a big majority of them on my social media platforms. I consider them as part of my extended family. I post regular on my platforms as well as my website. I often will reach out personally if I haven’t heard from one in a while. In conjunction with social media, I now have a magazine that is issued out about every 2 months. This helps my clients see what I have been up to.

My clients are part of my brand and my brand is my business. In the upcoming year, Mary Rye Photography will also be adding brand ambassadors. Please check out our website for more information.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.maryryephotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maryryephotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maryryephotography/

Image Credits
Mary Rye Photography