We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Robin Kunzler Photo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Robin Kunzler Photo, thanks for joining us today. One of our favorite things to brainstorm about with friends who’ve built something entrepreneurial is what they would do differently if they were to start over today. Surely, there are things you’ve learned that would allow you to do it over faster, more efficiently. We’d love to hear how you would go about setting things up if you were starting over today, knowing everything that you already know.
One thing I would change if I were starting today is connecting with vendors earlier. I have made many connections with photographer and videographer friends, florists, venue owners, dress shop owners, makeup artists, etc. recently that I would have loved to make earlier in my career. These connections have led to lasting friendships and amazing collaborations.
A lot of people aren’t aware that photography and entrepreneurship can get lonely. You don’t have coworkers to chat with, to lean on, you can’t ask someone to take a shift, you are home alone all day editing, etc. I absolutely LOVE the time I get to spend behind my camera connecting with my clients – but that is only a little piece of the puzzle for what I work on on a daily basis. I have now made some connections and friends with fellow entrepreneurs that help the lonely editing days feel a lot more fun. I get together with these friends and we edit together, we brainstorm how to improve our business models, and it’s someone to relate to as well! I enjoy editing to finish the creative process, but it’s fun to have a few days here and there where I’m not alone in it.
Also, connecting with these amazing entrepreneurs has both been inspirational and has led us to help each other in finding some of the best clients around. I am a big proponent in “Community Over Competition” and getting to help each other has brought so much joy to me and my talented friends.
A few things I wouldn’t change is first – marrying the most supportive man ever. My husband, even though he can’t be at home while I edit throughout the day, has been a HUGE support for my business. He gets excited for my successes, and listens to me when I go through hard decisions and hard days. He sacrifices time with me so I can continue to grow my business, and I cannot thank him enough.
I also would never change all the money and time spent on quality education. I have taken several online courses, college classes, was the yearbook editor in chief in high school, and tech school classes all about photography, marketing, and entrepreneurship. This has set me up for success in my photography business, and allows me to serve my clients much better than ever before!
Robin Kunzler Photo, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Robin and I have been a photographer for over 8 years! That is, if you count the years starting out as the yearbook editor-in-chief for my high school. I was always fascinated with the fact that you can freeze a moment in time. It intrigued me for awhile how different poses and lighting can make a person look better, or worse. And I wanted to master it.
I saw how photography is artistic, creative, technological, and entrepreneurial all at once. These combined curiosities and passions about photography led me to where I am today, a full time Logan, Utah wedding photographer.
My parents gave me my first camera when I was around 14 years old. A Canon point-and-shoot with LOTS of zoom ability! I took that thing with me everywhere! Family vacations, hikes, and even out on the lake where I got some sweet pics of my brothers wakeboarding! Experimenting with my camera was so fun.
After a few years of experimenting and falling in love with photography, I was given the opportunity to be the yearbook editor in chief at my 5A high school. That is when I decided to upgrade to a DSLR, and start taking it more seriously. I learned SO much by photographing in all sorts of different lighting scenarios, events, and basically photographing something different every day. There weren’t a lot of students on the yearbook crew so it gave me a lot of practice. I have been addicted to photography ever since. I always wished I could be a Wedding Photographer one day, but wasn’t sure if that was something actually doable for me.
In the spring of 2019, I returned home from serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I served in Lansing, Michigan! My mission taught me a lot, not only about how amazing and loving God and Christ are, but also about having confidence and setting goals for things you didn’t think could even be possible.
Before returning home I had set the goal to shoot at least one wedding that year. I was home for less than ONE MONTH before booking that wedding.
ONE MONTH! I was floored I booked a wedding that quickly! There is POWER in setting goals.
I started my business officially that spring, and got busy with many different types of shoots very quickly! I loved every single one and was learning a lot.
Soon enough, I decided to invest in some courses to learn how to become a better Wedding Photographer, and to this day I still use the concepts taught in the first courses I learned from. One of my favorite courses was the Shooting and Editing Course by the Amy and Jordan Demos.
Upgrading my camera, learning how to charge sales tax, creating a website, and going back to Utah State University to study Marketing really up leveled my business in it’s beginning stages.
Because I was a poor college student, I still worked part time while juggling my full-time student schedule AND a growing photography biz. The hard work paid off though. Not only was I able to graduate school in the fall of 2021 debt-free, I was also able to go full time with my photography business after graduation. I thank God every day for this opportunity. I couldn’t have done it without His guidance.
Studying marketing and entrepreneurship – and directly applying my learnings to my Logan, Utah wedding photography business helped SO much while I was at USU. I was able to create business and marketing plans, learn about my ideal client, and understand digital marketing. I took some photography courses as well. One of which taught me thoroughly how to notice DETAILS. That class was hard, but taught me a whole lot.
It was NOT an easy path. But I have my family, God, and my AMAZING husband to thank for their never-ending support and love as I have plowed forward on this journey. I can tell you that I will not take your wedding for granted. Why? Because I have worked so very hard to get where I am today to photograph weddings.
There have been tears, there have been laughs, disappointments, and so much JOY. Being a Wedding Photographer was a dream I actually didn’t think was possible. So being able to shoot the BEST day of people’s lives is literally a dream come true for me.
The main lesson I have learned through this journey is that if you want it bad enough – you will make it happen. Sometimes it will require a whole lot of patience and learning from your mistakes. But if you really want it, you will work hard enough to earn it.
Thank you for your support, whether you have hired me in the past to shoot your wedding, family, portraits, brand… Or if you are simply reading this. Know that I am SO grateful you are supporting Robin Kunzler Photo. ♥️
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect is being able to 1 – help others enjoy their wedding day as much as possible. I work hard to go above and beyond in helping my clients so they don’t need to stress on their wedding day. Whether that is noticing details, like straightening a tie or fluffing the bride’s dress for each photo, or sending a vendor recommendation list before the wedding. I try to serve and help make it as fun and stress free as possible. By doing this, it is so rewarding to see my clients being able to enjoy their wedding day because I am helping with so much. Giving them peace of mind that I am doing my job and helping them in every way possible is so rewarding to me.
2 – While editing the photos and falling in love with them! I get so excited for the clients to see them, and when I deliver that final edited gallery to the client – it brings me SO much joy when I hear positive feedback and touching words. Hearing about how much they enjoy and love their photos, how it made them feel beautiful, special, and all their memories were captured is very rewarding to me as well.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
The best source of new clients is word of mouth! There is nothing better than getting referrals from past clients, friends, or family. It means a lot that they would trust me enough to refer me to someone else.
I have also been working on blogging at least once a month, and that has helped my website SEO to improve over time, helping others to find my website easier!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.robinkunzlerphoto.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robinkunzlerphoto/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robinkunzlerphoto
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@robinkunzlerphoto
Image Credits
Photos by Robin Kunzler Photo