We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chris Hensley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Chris thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, folks often look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight – but that often obscures all the nitty, gritty details of everything that went into the growth phase of your business. We’d love to hear about your scaling story and how you scaled up?

Starting a photography business was something that I never thought I would actually do – I always thought it would be a hobby. But as my love for photography & the stories that I got to tell grew, I realized the potential it had for growth. My journey started off pretty slowly, taking photos for friends & family whenever I could and doing it for free. I then had more friends reach out for photos as my work made it out into the world, and I realized that my time, effort & skill was valuable. I began to charge clients for shoots, and surprisingly, my business began to grow. One of the hardest decisions I wrestled with at first was “What do I charge? What if I raise my prices and I lose my business traction altogether?” I had many other photographers around me encouraging me to charge my worth and showed me how to calculate reasonable pricing for my business model. June of 2021 comes around and I have been in business at that point for a little over 2 years. Seemingly out of nowhere (I suppose as the world started to really open up again from COVID and clients had begun recommending me to their friends & families), my business exploded. I realized that, while balancing a full time job & now a rapidly growing photography business, I had to have processes in place to manage the growth so people didn’t slip through the cracks. After all, that’s why I really did this to begin with…the people. Luckily I come from a background in operations & process improvement, so I began to map out what systems I would need in place: a robust CRM, cloud storage & editing software, scheduling/booking, a functional website for an easy funnel, set pricing that was clear & competitive, more robust contracts (for clients & contractors) and a way to track my financials. I feel like I started to put these things in place a bit behind the 8 ball and learned some valuable lessons along the way….most importantly with pricing & scheduling. By 2022, I found myself showing up to shoots realizing I had severely undercharged for my time & effort, and ultimately had done a really poor job of scheduling out at a sustainable pace….I had WAY overbooked myself (hello 4 weddings in 10 days while juggling a full time job?!). I was bound & determined to get things set straight and to act confidently & swiftly. I began utilizing Pixieset, which helped standardize my contracts and quotes/invoices (so I was able to stay on track of collecting money and communicating clearly). It also gave me a trustworthy platform to deliver my images and a solid website where I could display my work and make my pricing accessible (this helped me trim down time on clients that maybe didn’t fit my budget and held me accountable to charging what I said I was going to charge & not short-selling myself). It also gave me the opportunity to funnel all of my clients into 1 place (my “contact me” form) which ensured they always entered my process so they didn’t fall through the cracks. Finally, word of mouth & relationship with my clients is one other method I wouldn’t overlook. I really pushed in on my relationships with my clients, which I truly love, and I believe that contributed heavily to my growth and scaling my business to take me to the next level.

Chris, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a Nashville-area based photographer, born and raised in the South. I love Jesus – He is the foundation of who I am and all that I do. I’m married to my beautiful wife, Chelsea, love escape games, and never turn down a snow cone. I take my photography very seriously, but you’ll never find a shortage of laughs, fun, and dad jokes with me. I love getting to befriend my clients and capture remarkable images that will last a lifetime. My goal is to help my clients feel comfortable in front of the camera and for them to be able to trust me with the details, both big & small. I believe in capturing God’s beauty in creation, and so my editing style is warm and vibrant/true to life. My main focus is wedding/engagement & family photography, but I am passionate about photography overall, so I pretty much cover the gambit.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Other creatives. Man, I know the Nashville market can be really competitive with Creatives (and specifically photographers in my case) around every corner. However, I made some really great connections with photographers willing to help me, give advice and help me grow in my journey. I do everything I can to give back in the same way!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Honestly, my social media presence was a slow roll for many, many months. I’m awful and social media and needed some help. I enlisted the help of a social media marketing guru, who over the course of a year helped me grow my following by over 5,000 and gave me the tools I need to continue to have a strong presence with a captive audience. It was another game changer for me, because I believe my social media presence has also allowed me to gain credibility with the clients I work with.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.chrishensleyphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrishensleyphotography/?hl=bn
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrishensleyphotography

Image Credits
Chris Hensley Photography