We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alexandra Koreivo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alexandra below.

Alex, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Taking care of customers isn’t just good business – it is often one of the main reasons folks went into business in the first place. So, we’d love to get a conversation going around how to best help clients feel appreciated – maybe you can share something you’ve done or seen someone do that’s been really effective at helping a customer feel valued?

Being a photographer, I set myself apart by providing and promoting the client experience that I provide. When a client books, I send guides full of information to prepare them for their upcoming session, for example a Welcome Guide for wedding couples to explain the process of photography on a Wedding day and for smaller sessions a style guide.
I’m currently working on creating a Welcome box to send to couples filled with goodies from other local vendors that they may want to use during the wedding process or to use as ideas for their own Welcome bags for their Wedding weekend or for other details such as for bridesmaid proposal boxes.

The biggest thing though, is my commitment to be with that client throughout the entire process. Especially for weddings, at times they are booked a year or more in advance. I’ve heard so often from couples that they had difficulty getting in touch with vendors after booking them. That is not the case with me. I believe that once a client books with me I am committed to not just that day but the entire process with them. Planning a wedding is stressful and it’s our job as vendors to relieve some of that stress, not add more!

Alexandra, 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 was always the girl with the camera, even long before the professional gear. Much to the dismay of my friends, I was the girl who posted a new MySpace album of random photos weekly, so I was always drawn to photography.

Thankfully, over the years, I’ve advanced my craft through educational resources and my gear and have taken my creative hobby and turned it into a thriving business.

I think something that sets me apart is that I’m also actually an occupational therapist. When not doing photography, I spend my days treating children with delays and disabilities and educating families on ways to help improve their child’s skills and advance their independence. Being a people-person and using my skills of education, I have formulated a system of poses and specific instructions in order to create natural, un-posed looking images, while making even my most camera-shy of clients feel comfortable in front of the camera by the end of the session.

While my business does not have to be my main source of income, I believe that allows me freedom to take on clients that I actually want to work with and I am able to pour myself into each session, because I thoroughly enjoy doing so. There’s something about working with someone who does this because they LOVE it, rather than because it’s the next client on their schedule for a job.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Being an occupational therapist, over the past 6 months, I took on multiple students at work. I essentially was an educator to students currently in an occupational therapy doctorate program. While it didn’t necessarily take much more of time than during my typical work day, I became mentally fatigued. Over the past 2 months or so, I realized because of this added responsibility, I had been neglecting my by business, of which is my passion and is an outlet for my creative side. I was not happy. So I decided that come this fall, I will be reducing my responsibilities, while continuing to provide exceptional care for the patients I have, but increase the time and energy I have to spend on my photography business. With only the impending change, I have already booked out almost the rest of 2022 and am so much happier and excited.

I realized I need to take care of my creative side in order for my over all mental health to feel content.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

When I moved to Austin from the northeast, I stumbled upon this Facebook group that is an area for all Austin Wedding Vendors to communicate amongst each other.

While I’ve had my business in northern NJ and Philadelphia in the past, this is not something I was able to find in either location.

I love having a community I can easily reach out to for services clients are looking to hire for and have lots of individuals and business willing and excited to become involved! That’s been a game-changer for my client experience as I can easily make countless recommendations to couples looking for a variety of services for their big day, and once again, take some of the stree off of them.

Contact Info:

• Website: alexannphotography.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @alexannphotography
• Facebook: facebook.com/alexannphotography

Image Credits
Alexandra Koreivo of Alex Ann Photography