We were lucky to catch up with Abigale Wallace recently and have shared our conversation below.

Abigale, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?

I got my first real client when I lived in Germany! I had just started and was honestly clueless about really everything looking back, but especially how to get ACTUAL clients. I didn’t know anyone or have any photographer friends at the time so I decided to post in a local Facebook group offering pay what you can sessions with a minimum of $60 for an hour to just kind of see what would happen. Looking back that is obviously super low but when you’re just starting out you don’t know what you don’t know. I surprisingly had quite a few people reach out and boom! I had my very first paying client. They wanted to recreate their wedding photos since they didn’t actually get couples photos ON their day. I was nervous, excited, scared. You name it. Going up to the session I had so many butterflies. It felt like the biggest thing I’d ever done at that time.

Abigale, 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 had a friend in Germany who wasn’t able to get newborn pictures of her daughter. She knew I had a nicer camera because I was always posting pictures of our adventures to facebook, so she asked if i could take a few photos of her and her daughter. I of course said “sure!” but in my head I was so freaked out because I had never taken pictures of actual people haha. Well, as i’m sure you guessed I did the photos and LOVED it! It changed my life. Finding my way to wedding and elopements wasn’t hard because I’ve always been such a hopeless romantic. Now I mostly do weddings with a small handful of family sessions each year.

Once I left Germany I moved back to the US to the DMV (DC, MD, VA area) and stayed a sole proprietor for about a year while I got reestablished. Once I got steady clients I switched my business to an LLC (I highly recommend) and made a few other upgrades like business insurance, an extra camera body, and got Honeybook for booking clients. I also created a style guide so clients can get an idea of what will look good. In the back I also added a page of my favorite stores + brands to find items like the ones I suggested!

It’s really important to me that all my clients feel like they are getting the BEST deal. That they get the absolute best value for their investment. I want their photos to last. While I do include some non-traditional photos (like hazy, motion blur, grainy, etc) I edit true to tone and keep the majority of the gallery “traditional”. Trends can look cool In that moment, but ultimately I want my clients to have photos they still love 50 years later. Photos aren’t cheap and I truly want my clients to have the best experience! One of my favorite things I include in all my packages are GIFS. It’s something simple but so fun and special. I let my clients pick what they want it to be which adds an extra layer of special! With all my wedding clients I send them a little bit of dry starter and my own personal bread recipe. It lasts as long as they take care of it and I feel that’s kind of fitting for starting a new journey. That, and it tastes really good!

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

I send out yearly holiday emails to every client iv had and offer a refer a friend discount. Each time someone refers a friend to me and they book both people get at 20% discount on their next session.

Having a social media presence also helps! If a client follows me on socials I immediately follow back! I genuinely care about my clients so it’s cool for both of us to keep up on life moments. I congratulate them on a new pregnancy or send them well wishes if I see they are sick.

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

My first year I booked a client who wanted to go to the Mountains. Mountains I had never been to or knew nothing about. There was bad communication, misunderstandings, and traffic that made it go horribly wrong. First, I told her I would find a location once we got there. I ended up being an hour late because of traffic so I was trying to improvise. Again, in mountains I knew nothing about.
Then, after the session she told me there was actually an overlook she wanted and was unhappy with the overlook we used.
The photos were okay but didn’t have the mountain overlook she wanted, I was an hour late, and didn’t communicate well. She of course sent me a very very long email after she got her photos about all the reasons she was unhappy and it tore me apart. It was the first (and only) time I have ever had a truly unhappy client. I cried over it for about three days. Then I called my mentor and we talked and I realized I really needed to step up my game and be a better business owner. I ended up doing a refund for the client and obviously apologized. She did like the photos a lot but just wasn’t what she was expecting without the cool overlook. Going forward I said NEVER AGAIN! So, I got honeybook to help keep everything organized/ keep communication in one place, location scout every location weeks in advance, and never take on a client I’m not 110% sure I can deliver! I also learned that it’s okay to say no!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.abigalewallacephotography.com
• Instagram: @abigalewallacephoto
• Facebook: @AbigaleWallacePhotography,LLC
• Other: TIKTOK: @abigalewallacephoto

Image Credits

Abigale Wallace Photography (self)