We were lucky to catch up with Abi Moore recently and have shared our conversation below.

Abi, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

I absolutely love being self employed. From a personal point of view, it’s great to have the flexibility of being my own boss. I was in a corporate job doing marketing and PR for nearly a decade and whilst I loved it at the time and it’s given me some great skills, I wouldn’t go back. The freedom I have now is great, both in terms of time, choosing when I work, but also in terms of creativity and getting to decide what I work on.

It’s hard to escape sometimes, I work from home, so you’re technically always at work, but I’ve tried very hard to have balance in my life. My word/intention for 2024 is balance and halfway through the year I feel I’m achieving that. I probably work harder now than I ever did in the corporate world, but it’s on my own terms and everything I do is for me and my family, rather than shareholders that don’t really care about you.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’ve always been creative. As a child, I loved books, art and music. I did a media studies degree which included studying photography on film and in the dark room. After leaving my corporate PR job to start a family, I found myself coming back to photography to capture my sons as they grew up, and decided to pursue it as a career. I had to go back to college as everything was now digital and Photoshop was completely alien to me, but passed with distinction and haven’t looked back.

I’ve been a photographer for 14 years now, running my own business. I started offering child and family photography, which quickly expanded to weddings and also commercial photography. Whilst I still work across all these genres, my passion lies in commercial and brand photography.

I work with small business owners to give them awesome photos to promote themselves. My images help define their personal brand, and make their marketing easier and more effective by giving them a professional online shop window and helping them to connect with clients.

I used to hate being photographed, so I used to shy away and prefer being on the other side of the camera. However, I now very much practice what I preach and have regular brand shoots myself. I’m proof that showing up and being visible works – I’ve grown my online following and now have regular fully booked months with clients that have found me via this.

This experience helps with clients that don’t like being photographed (more than 90% of the people I work with!), as I know how it feels to be in their shoes. I love seeing the transformation as my subjects go from nervous to being comfortable in front of the camera, finding their confidence and loving the end result.

My photography style is vibrant and emotive. I’m always looking to capture the true essence of a person and brand. My marketing background helps guide clients through the process, a photoshoot is so much more than just photography, they get clarity on their messaging and we communicate this visually.

I’m most proud of the level I’ve reached within my industry. I’m definitely a premium brand. I have been published in British Vogue and many other national and international media. I’ve photographed celebrities and have gone viral worldwide with my projects. I know how to take a photo that captures attention!

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building a personal brand and showing up yourself is key to growing your social media presence. We are suspicious of brands where we can’t see the person behind it. This is something I tell my clients, but I also ‘walk the walk’ myself. Show your face online and it will help potential clients get to know, like and trust you.

It can feel daunting at first, but the more you practice the easier it gets. Creating your own content, such as behind-the-scenes footage or selfies is an easy way to start. Building up to talking on video is the next step to take. I have some tips to build your confidence with this: Decide an opening hook and a closing line, then have bullet points of what you’ll cover in the middle rather than reading from a script; it will be much more natural. Picture who you’re talking to, such as a follower you get on well with or a client you love working with, this way you don’t feel like you’re talking into a void. And fake the confidence until you make it, channel the energy of someone you think does it well.

Whilst user generated content is a great start, professional photos will really give you an edge. It’s a library of easy ready-to-post content. A good brand photographer will also help put your nerves at ease and give you confidence appearing on camera.

I’d advise focusing your efforts on one or two social platforms, rather than trying to cover them all. Consider where your target audience are hanging out – taking it to extremes, you have a very different audience on TikTok compared to LinkedIn. Always engage, never just ‘post and run’; ask questions of your followers and always respond. Follow accounts that target a similar audience and engage with them to build collaborations.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

The adage ‘you have to speculate to accumulate’ is so true! As a self employed business, any money you invest in the business is money that isn’t ending up in your pocket. so it can be tempting to scrimp and save constantly. However, this can be counterintuitive.

By the end of 2022, after 12 years in business, I felt I was working harder than ever but not increasing my income, I knew that something had to change. I did some work on money mindset (I highly recommend books by Denise Duffield-Thomas) and took the leap of some big investments.

I employed a business coach, a virtual assistant and got help with marketing. It was a risk as meant I wasn’t able to pay myself that month, but I knew something had to change with a sense of ‘if not now, then when’. These investments ultimately paid off, helping me bring in more work, at an increased level of profit and find more balance with my time. I haven’t looked back.

I also regularly invest in my own brand shoots and social content creation. If you’re not prepared to invest in your own business, it sends out a message to your customers, how can you expect them to invest in it? Sometimes it’s necessary to take the big leap and spend before you see the return on investment.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.photographybyabimoore.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandphotosbyabimoore/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photographybyabimoore
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abi-moore-5943a411/
• Other: A free guide to getting visible in your marketing:
  http://tinyurl.com/visibility-means-more-clients

Image Credits

All images are credited to me: Photography by Abi Moore