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

Abby, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the story of how you went from this being just an idea to making it into something real.

Photography was something that I was always interested in. It first started in, I’d say 2011, in my neighborhood just messing around with my cousin. We would get all dressed up and take photos in our backyards, in the road, on my dad’s old Ford, really just anywhere we thought would make what we thought was a great photo! After a few years, we got older.. school and sports became our priorities. After I graduated high school in 2019, I started modeling with a local photographer. I went to college in Arizona and photography and modeling felt like a thing of the past. In 2020 my then boyfriend, now husband, hit the road and made our way to North Dakota and finally back to Colorado in 2021. I remember feeling so bogged down with my education. The burn out I was experiencing was horrible. I had dedicated my entire life to basically proving everyone wrong, graduating high school, making it out of my hometown, and hopefully never looking back. November of 2021, I remember my husband and I making the drive to drop our dog off with my parents so we could catch a flight for vacation. I told him that I felt like I needed to take a break from school and I was really interested in starting a photography business. We went and looked at some cameras that same day. Although I didn’t go home with a camera, the wheels were already turning. How could I save enough money to invest in a good camera and gear? What would my niche be? How would I gain clients while traveling? So many questions that I had answers for, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to put into action for a little while. Fast forward to that Christmas and he was so giddy to give me my present. It was my first camera. I really had to walk to the walk now.. my plans now had to become a reality. I spent weeks learning my camera, watching videos, joining photography Facebook groups, practicing and practicing some more. Since we travel for his job, I knew that this journey wasn’t going to be easy. Every time we move, I would be starting over from scratch, re-marketing myself to a whole new group of people. My first clients were a couple in our RV park who we had become close with. They trusted me to take pictures that captured their love story. The pictures were not perfect by any means, but I learned so much from the times I worked with them. From there I did quite a few free sessions just to gain more experience and then we moved again so I was back to square one. Since I launched Piece of Heaven Photos, LLC in January of 2022, we have moved a handful of times and I have had the honor of working with families, couples, and individuals who have made the entire journey worth it. I’ve learned that no matter how slow things may be or how down I get on myself that things aren’t moving as fast for me, that they do for others, that this whole thing is worth it.

Abby, 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 Abby and I own Piece of Heaven Photos, LLC which was established in January of 2022. My husband, Grayson, is a lineman so we are on the road for work! Typically we are not in an area for more than six months, BUT that isn’t always the case and we may be in an area for longer or shorter times.. it really just depends! It can be really difficult to find clients in a new area that don’t already have their go-to photographer, especially in areas where their businesses are well established.. and if I’m completely honest with you, it can be very intimidating. But I think that makes me want to work harder to set myself apart. How is my experience different from theirs? What do I offer my clients? Things like that. I am always striving to be better and really make my client’s session a whole experience from the second they reach out to when they receive their galleries. Like for families, I want them to feel like they’re having a day out creating memories with one another. For couples, I want it to feel like a fun date or outing. I want individual portrait sessions to feel like they can let their individuality and uniqueness shine. Ultimately, I want anyone who works with me to have fun, be comfortable, and be apart of creating memories that lasts a lifetime. These ideas played a big role in where “Piece of Heaven Photos” came from. I wanted my name to reflect what you are receiving. What may feel weird or odd in the moment being in front of the camera, results in beautiful pictures that are your little piece of heaven, a returning ticket to memories from moments that could be forgotten otherwise!

I currently offer sessions for families, couples and engagements, individuals, and branding sessions for businesses!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I honestly believe that my entire journey into becoming a photographer has instilled resilience, so this will be more of an umbrella story… I see a lot of photographers who have what I would consider a “home base”, they’ve been in an area for years, created a loyal client and following base, a name for themselves, etc.. basically they’re well established. Whereas I move often and I have to constantly restart and set myself apart from my fellow photographers who are already in these areas. When I say that I move often, it’s not in the sense that I get to travel to all these beautiful places and photograph new people, I literally mean packing up our home on wheels and moving to a completely new place! It’s taught me great resilience. I can’t lie, I’ve wanted to just throw the towel in and give up many times, but I keep pushing because I know that eventually I too will have that home base! In the year that I’ve been in business, I’ve managed to reel in those loyal followers and clients who took the chance to get to know me and really put their trust into me— a stranger, a new business in town. They’re why I keep going.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think the most rewarding thing for me is seeing my clients happy with their photos. I strive to deliver photos that they can look back on and remember what they were feeling in the moment.. to hear their children’s laughter, remember the embrace they shared with their partner. Things like that! It’s also rewarding to see that they’re happy enough to share their photos with their families and friends, put them up on their walls in their homes! I’m not in this for the money by any means, I want to create memories for my clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://pieceofheavenphotos.wixsite.com/pieceofheavenphotos
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/pieceofheavenphotosllc?igshid=Zjc2ZTc4Nzk=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PieceofHeavenPhotos?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Other: Pinterest: https://pin.it/68taETT

Image Credits
Photos taken by: Piece of Heaven Photos, LLC – Abby Eytchison