We recently connected with Laura Quintero and have shared our conversation below.

Laura, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear from you about what you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry and why it matters.

I was at a photography conference a few years ago, after having spent about a year working really hard on my Instagram presences, sharing consistently and finally seeing some traction.

At the conference they offered an Instagram audit and they looked at my page and said “you look like you’re trying to be an influencer, not a photographer.”

I was so confused, since what I kept seeing everyone was to share MORE of myself, MORE of my face, and be MORE vulnerable online. And that’s what I had been doing!

Add to that that I was TIRED. Tired of talking about myself, tired of sharing stories with strangers that I had never even told my sister. Tired of coming up with new ways of baring my soul in the hopes that people would want to hire me.

And I think so much of marketing advice is about personal marketing, sharing who you are and hoping that the people that want to buy from you will also like you and that they’ll just find you magically online.

And all of this ignores what this experience might be light for camera-shy folks, introverts, or people who don’t feel safe posting about themselves online.

Plus, when did it stop being about what we do and become all about our faces?

I want my brand photography business to serve people who want to share about their work, their business, and the transformation they provide for their clients without feeling the pressure to be extroverted or become “influencers” for their business.

I want people who are more comfortable on the sidelines walk away from their photo shoot equipped with images that work hard for them and help them tell their story on their terms, in a way that feels safe.

I wish I had had that when I first started, and that someone had given me permission to market my business without having to expose my secrets.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m a brand photographer helping camera-shy, introverted, and neurodivergent business owners share their products and services without having to center their faces. Together, we capture images that let their work take center stage, while still infusing their values and personality into the frame.

As someone who has struggled with body-image and with being seen online, I know the power that feeling safe has in business, and over-sharing or pushing the edge of your comfort zone too hard can leave you feeling unsafe, burnt out, and resentful towards marketing.

I strive to help people find their social-media sweet spot and create images that narrate their brand’s story well, helping their dream clients find them and see their magic right away.

My astrological birth chart readings add a layer of nuance to this process, ensuring that we honor the CEO’s cosmic signature and allow them to shine in alignment with their birth chart.

Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?

I’m a brand photographer that also does astrology readings!

Astrology has been SUCH powerful tool for me to better understand and accept myself. Through astrology, I have learned to better meet my needs and make space for the things that make me special.

It has given me permission to be myself, exactly as I am, without the desire to change anything.

I started studying astrology in earnest in March 2020, as the world as I knew it crumbled. It anchored me and gave me something to work towards. It explained parts of my personality and experience I had previously felt shame about, and offered me something I had never had before: permission to embrace that thing.

I see myself with so much more compassion now, and am able to allow myself to be. I love offering that same permission slip to my clients, allowing us each to be our full selves and rewriting some old narratives into new, gentler, more permissive ones.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I left my full time corporate job of 8 years in September 2022, one month before my wedding, and about 4 months earlier than I planned to.

Even though I really enjoyed my job, was very good at it, and took a lot of pride from the work I did, I was completely burnt out. And I knew that my business would never grow if it continued to be 2nd priority. I knew I was simply limiting my own potential by not believing in myself.

I also had to do 2 weeks of new hire training right before my wedding, which gave me no time to rest and build excitement for the start of married life with my partner. After working nights and weekends for 8 years, I couldn’t even get 1 week prior to my wedding of low-stress work.

That was the last straw.

With the generous support of my husband I put in my notice and don’t regret it for a moment.

Being a full-time entrepreneur for about 6 months now, I realize just how unprepared I was for this leap. And yet, I feel so in alignment with the work I’m doing and so energized to keep moving forward and believing in myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: laurajquintero.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/its.laurajquintero
• Facebook: facebook.com/lauraquinterophotography

Image Credits
Laura Quintero Photography