We recently connected with Abby Hubert and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Abby thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

Almost every photographer in my area has a second job to support themselves. There are only so many weddings and family photo shoots that happen in smaller rural areas like the town I live in, and there are about twelve part-time photographers competing for them. I started watching the photography industry about ten years ago and I noticed a pattern of photographers starting out and building their business for a few years, just as they become very talented they often disappear all of the sudden. I wanted to really understand the industry challenges as I prepared to pursue professional photography. I think our biggest challenge as photographers is that all the work floods in over a few months in the summer and fall and we feel like we have to take all the jobs we are offered in order to make some money. By the end of the busy season we are burned out socially and creatively, and then many months of almost no work follow the busy season. Naturally everyone goes and gets a job to pay their bills, but most work places don’t have the flexibility to accommodate a photographer in their busy season. I think so many photographers quit because it’s all too much and then not enough and they get tired of the cycle.

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 mother was an observer of people, she was so curious about people and how they interacted with the world around them, she taught me this curiosity towards people. This has been my biggest strength in every job setting I have ever been in. I can read people well. Anyone can learn to hold a camera, find the perfect lighting and master their camera settings, but that’s only half the battle. You have to be able to connect with people. I talk to clients about things that make them comfortable and take them away from the awkwardness of being in front of a camera. I try to learn very quickly about their insecurities and the things they like about themselves. I noticed that I capture the most natural beautiful expressions from people when they are being photographed with those they love, or talking about people and things that they are passionate about. I am often walking backwards and tripping over things during photo shoots because I am so focused on getting the shot, so I laugh at myself and treat my clients like they are my friends and family. I feel a special connection to people I have photographed because I have taken the time to really look at someone and care about them in order to capture them well.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

I had been doing some professional photography for about four years when I started dating my husband, Freddy. I was a single mom, I had a few part time jobs and I was in school to become a care aide. I would do photography jobs when clients would track me down through my Facebook photography page. I never advertised because I was so overwhelmed with life, Secretly I didn’t want people to find me, because I lacked confidence, but there was a part of me that loved it as well, so I couldn’t bring myself to quit photography. Freddy is a programs developer and an economist who also happend to enjoy wild life photography. He had all the skills that I was lacking, and he is just a calm confident person in general. He encouraged me to develop the business and actually give it at real try. I kept telling myself I would take it seriously later at some other point when I felt ready, but the feeling of being ready never actually arrived. I realized you have at least try before you give up! We never planned on becoming business partners, it just happened naturally. He designed a website for me which was a real game changer for the business. Now he accompanies me as a second shooter when I photograph weddings. He handles accounting and invoices and keeps equipment in good working order, so I can focus on the creative side of the business and client relationships. We now have a son together and my two tween daughters. we both have other jobs and our photography business together. I plan to transition to doing photography as my full time job within the next couple years.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

So many things are out of my control with photography. The sun is too high in the sky, it starts to rain. Small children and dogs won’t cooperate, or the mosquitoes eat us alive during a photoshoot. It’s basically my expectation that taking the photos will be chaotic and stressful. The next day or that evening I will upload the photos and start sorting through them, it brings me great joy to see that somehow in all the chaos I captured joy and beauty and that I can give my clients something to remember their lives, a special moment frozen in time. I have always loved photographs, it’s a mix of things I enjoy, people, being artistic and making new experiences all in one. I love it when my clients give me feedback and tell me how much they love their photos. I love creating beauty, but I do this job to bring people joy and make them feel good about themselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://crestonphotography.com/

Image Credits

All photos were taken by me (Abby Lee Art) with the exception of my portrait taken on my front porch, that photo was taken by Sheldon Shurgelo