We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brittiné Mantilla. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brittiné below.
Brittiné, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One thing we always find fascinating is how differently entrepreneurs think about revenue growth and cost reductions – both can be powerful ways to improve profitability. What do you spend more of your time and energy on?
I can honestly say that I struggle with this part of business because my heart and my head don’t always see eye to eye. It has only been about three years since I stopped cutting my price or accepting lower offers. I’m pretty fair on price- not the most expensive but not cheap. I use to feel bad if someone could not afford me so I would take a lower price and that ended up with me just giving a lot of my time editing for free. I, like most people, did not grow up with money. Even as a young adult I lived paycheck to paycheck. I remember when I was pregnant and looking into photographers to take my maternity pictures and I just could not afford it. Thankfully, being a photographer I just did my own however, most people are not photographers. I don’t want to have my prices so high that people cannot have high quality images. At the same time, I have another job working with my husband and I homeschool my son so I cannot afford to work for free. Over the years I have raised them here and there but not a drastic amount. I am happy with the balance I am at currently- I started to accept payment plans so raising my prices last year did not hurt my heart as much. I by no means am trying to take away from Photographers in the industry or lower the price bar for creatives in any way so I also try to look at others in the industry and what the average prices are so that I am still holding value for creatives and all the hard work we do. Keep in mind though, I am also not paying for a studio or a second shooter. My overhead is pretty low so it works for me. I would say each individual needs to just look at their cost and see what works for them and what price point they are willing to work at.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Well, my name is Brittiné Mantilla. Born and raised in South Florida. I am a Photographer, I co-own Mantilla Yacht Company LLC with my husband, and I Homeschool my 7-year old son. I don’t ever remember not being drawn to photography. One of my earliest memories is going to visit my Great Grandparents up north. I was under a side table in their living room staring at a brand new pink barbie film camera that someone on that trip had just given me. This was 1997- I was 5 and I fell in love. It was a couple years after that, that my Mom could no longer take care of my brothers and I and we had to go live elsewhere. She printed this picture- a selfie before selfies were a thing- of her and I. It was on regular paper, not very clear but I cherished it. I folded it and had it in my pocket every single day for the next 8 years. I actually have it in my desk right now- scotch tape holding it together and half of the ink gone. The importance of that one photograph, and the comfort it gave me only made me love capturing moments even more. As I got older I had the privilege of living with a wonderful woman who bought me an endless supply of disposable cameras! I went crazy with them but she supported every second of it. In High-school I learned to develop that film in the dark room and it was a sanctuary for me. Then digital became the main attraction and thankfully money was saved not having to buy film everyday- and finally you could see the picture you took without waiting weeks to get them developed. Fast forward to now, many photos and cameras later- many loved ones have since passed and I am forever grateful to have pictures to look at when I feel like I am forgetting their faces. It is because of this that I lean more toward a documentary style. I don’t use a flash. I prefer natural light- exactly how it is in that moment that you are there. You get more of the persons real self- their smile, not just their mouth but in their eyes and the way they light up. Even just the way people look at their loved ones. Capturing that in the moment is just beautiful. I truly love my job. I don’t really limit the “category” I stick to but lately I am drawn more to maternity and baby/kid sessions. Although intimate weddings hold a place in my heart and so do engagement sessions. I also do not limit the number of photos a client receives. They will receive all of the photos that meet my standard so they do not have to choose between what to keep and what not to. I know for me as a parent I have such a hard time choosing between what photos of him to keep, especially with each of those micro expressions being so cute! (insert melting face emoji here) Occasionally- depending on the type of session- my son will be with me and I am super proud to have him as my behind the scene guy. He has shown an interest in taking photos the last couple of years so I gave him the first camera my husband bought me 11 years ago. I am 100% biased but he is actually good! Haha. He even took my headshots for me. That’s just another plus on the list of why I love my job; my son gets to do it with me. But seriously, I love my clients. I love coming up with ideas and creating their vision, maybe even clarifying it when they don’t quite know what they want yet. I love watching their families grow and getting to capture their milestones. I have so many cake smash sessions this year from all the newborn sessions last year and it is so fulfilling to see them grow and change. Even watching the parents with a one year old and how much they have grown as people since their newborn session. The confidence they now have. It’s just beautiful. The whole process is just addicting.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
This one I had to apply to a lot of different areas of my life. I had to stop expecting “me” from people. Meaning, just because I think/feel/act a certain way does not mean they think/feel/act the same way. In business I was a little naive in the beginning. I trusted that everyone had good intentions and that everyone stuck to their word. This bit me in the butt more than once. For example, I would still do sessions even if the client had not paid yet and then sometimes would not get paid. I also did not have contracts, I just took them for their word. There were also times that I did sessions for free because I had an idea for a photoshoot in my head and I wanted to use those photos on social media. I made it known that those photos would be used for that and they would have a free session in exchange and they agreed. It was not until after they received the final pictures that they said they did not want their Childs pictures on an account that was not private. So that was fun. I did not fight it because I absolutely respect peoples privacy but it did teach me to get things in writing. I now have contracts that need to be signed before the session. There is a section in the contract regarding the use of the photos and I always let my clients know that if they do not want their pictures up- to please let me know before they sign and I will revise that section. I also started a policy where the payment needs to be made in full before the session and that is also in the contract.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
My husbands favorite thing to say is, “the only thing constant is change”. I think in life, you have to be flexible or you will be miserable. My life has constantly changed. Who I lived with, where I lived. The rules of where I lived. Who was married to who. I don’t remember having real stability until I got married and had my own household. And even then we have had things thrown at us that rocked our world. In the beginning of our marriage we had two miscarriages, then were told we could not have kids. I was a VPK Teacher at the time. Taking pictures on the side for fun. A couple years later my Father-in-law got sick. Stage four Kidney Cancer. He died within three months of finding out. That whole time our life switched to focus on him. I stopped teaching. My husband worked his full time job managing a marina and his Dad’s full time job in the evenings and weekends. Even after his Dad died he did this for a couple years to make sure his Mom could grieve without trying to find a new income. That was quite the change for the focus of our life at the time. Within a year of that- we found out we were having a baby. Almost three years after being told we could not have kids. Our whole situation changed- again. Work for me changed. I was pretty much on bedrest most of my pregnancy. After our son was born we decided to start Mantilla Yacht Company LLC. My husband quit his job- he was working salary and I was home with our 5 month old baby- we started our business using everything we had in savings. I had to learn how to do accounting, how to set up a business, how to do taxes, hire employees, and all that jazz. (Photography is definitely my preference) We lived off vegetables I would pick from my moms farm, rice and ramen noodles. At that point it was about surviving. Within that first year of starting our business we all got sick and it turned out our washer was leaking into our wall causing black mold to grow inside the walls of our closet and bedroom. We moved in with his Mom and renovated. We did it ourself because- well, money was tight. I started cleaning houses for extra money – taking the baby with me most days. (Still doing photography when I could) We finally moved back in and then Hurricane Irma happened. It destroyed our home and 90% of our belongings. FEMA approved us for a new home. It took three years to get it. Back to my Mother-in-laws we went! Whew, good times! All of this to say- we never gave up. We both have our own passions that even when we we are doing other jobs and having to live, we still stay connected to and work toward. Photography always has my attention even if it is not always my full attention. Sure we cry a lot- mostly me- we lost a lot- and we had to adjust ALOT. It taught us a lot about being flexible though and being willing to take detours. We pivoted in many parts of our life but our core came with us everywhere. Currently my husband is a Yacht Captain, I am a Photographer, we homeschool our son and both get to travel for work and work together occasionally. We are back in our home now. Both of us focusing on our careers and where we want to go, while also focusing on my son and his education- reminding myself that he is only this small for a short period of time. The older he gets the more I have been able to give to my photography. We make our own schedule, we do what we love, and we do it together. I know that we will be having to adjust at some point again and I’m okay with that. That is life. Photography is a part of me and it always will be. So if you have something that lights up your soul, don’t let it go, stay humble, be willing to have patience, and bend when you need to so you don’t break.
Contact Info:
- Website: brittinemantilla.com
- Instagram: @brittinemantillaphotography
Image Credits
Brittiné Mantilla