We were lucky to catch up with Rachael Stonecipher recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Rachael, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with a fun one – what’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?
There is a notion that it is important to specialize or have a niche. People are either family photographers or wedding photographers, newborn photographers or editorial photographers. I prefer to be more versatile. There are definitely session types that I feel most comfortable with, but I like being able to work with all kinds of people and document all kinds of stories.
I started practicing on my friends while we were all slowly graduating college. Then it progressed to their engagement photos and families. My experience grew organically based on my stage of life. I love being able to follow my clients through their journeys. I have clients who I’ve taken their graduation photos all the way through their newborn photos. I feel so honored to be able to capture their stories and their lives for them.
Rachael, 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?
I am a portrait and event photographer. I shoot family photos, senior portraits, weddings, all kinds of things. I know every photographer says this, so it’s a little cliche, but I consider myself to be more of a story teller. I prefer for my photos to be authentic representations of my subjects/ clients. I love being able to capture genuine emotions. Those moments are so fleeting but they are the most meaningful experiences for people.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
I built my business while I was working as a preschool teacher. I’m so glad I gave myself the time and space to grow slowly. It gave me more time to reflect and perfect my craft. I went from being able to get maybe 10 usable shots in a session to 50, to now over 100 in just a quick hour session. I gained a deeper understanding of how to communicate with clients and how to protect my business. I learned how to work with different types of people and how to meet a spectrum of needs.
The reason I left teaching and went full time is simple: I was turning clients away because I couldn’t meet their needs. I was exhausted from teaching and literally didn’t have the time. My turnaround time for galleries was getting longer, I was losing leads because I went too long without responding to emails, etc. It was always the goal to go leave teaching and go full time with photography, but it suddenly happened. It was scary as all get out, but the realization that it had happened was astounding.
It’s been just over a year of working for myself full time and I had no idea how much growth I was capable of in such a short amount of time. I’ve entered the wedding and event spectrum of photography, I work with small businesses and entrepreneurs to promote themselves and their products, and I even have my own studio. I’m exactly where I’ve dreamt of being for the last 10+ years.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
I wish I had connected with other professionals earlier! I am so introverted, so this is already hard. But going to classes, joining Facebook groups, second shooting for other photographers, and putting myself out there has helped my business tremendously. I think I was afraid that if I connected with other professionals, it would confirm the imposter syndrome living in my head. But it didn’t. It helped me grow as a professional and be better for my clients.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lilyandhawthornco.com/photography-services/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilyandhawthornphotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lilyandhawthornphotography