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

Alright, Andrea thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

When I was growing up, I always wanted to be an artist. While all of my friends were dreaming of being doctors, lawyers, teachers and scientists, I could never get over wanting to be a painter, sculptor or photographer. But, as I got older and started to feel the pressure to find a “realistic” career path and the idea of the starving artist came into my mind, I began to lose faith that there was any way for me to make a living in the creative industry. In high school and college, I began to dread the “what career do you want to have?” question because I was too scared to tell them I wanted to be an artist.

In college, I decided to pursue a degree in Art History because I figured that if I couldn’t make a living making art, at least I could make a living being surrounded by it. While in college, I started taking portrait sessions in my spare time to make some extra money, and I loved every second of it! After a few months, I booked my first wedding client, and from there, I started to book more and more. Throughout the first two years, my business began to grow and grow while I was a full-time student and by the start of my third (and last) year of college, I remember being so busy that I would spend all the time in my lecture halls editing galleries and updating my website.

Even though my business was growing right under my nose, I still had trouble having the confidence to see that I could make a career out it. I was making enough money to pay my bills but I couldn’t imagine actually being a full-time business owner, even though it’s really what I was already doing. During my last semester of college, I had to make the big decisions about whether I wanted to pursue photography after graduation, or continue with my path in Art History. I loved art history so much, but it was at that moment that I really had the realization that I had a real business and that I could actually make a living photographing weddings! So, upon graduation, I dove into full-time work as a wedding photographer and I’ve never looked back!

While I sometimes wish that I would’ve had the confidence to be say I wanted to be a full-time artist sooner, I am so proud and thankful for the journey that I’ve had and I feel that my time in college was pivotal in my growth as a business owner! Every year, when I track my income growth and business statistics, it is so wild to me to see how far I’ve come and knowing that the life I have now is one that I didn’t think was possible for me just five years ago!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Andrea O’Bert and I am a destination wedding and elopement photographer based in Tucson, Arizona! I focus my business on creating warm, modern, emotion-filled images that authentically represent the couple and the environment! Being that wedding photography is such a personal business, one of my biggest goals is to create genuine relationships with each of my clients that allow them to open up in front of my camera. I also aim to be more than a photographer to each of my clients, and am there from them from the second they book as a resource for any questions that they may have about wedding planning.

One of the things that I am most proud of as a business owner is the importance of my values and showcasing them as a part of my brand. I am constantly seeking education in order to be an ally to underserved groups such as the BIPOC & LGBTQ+ communities. Because of this, I have changed, and continue to change my business in order to be the best wedding photographer I can be to ALL couples. I have also chosen to work with a local non-profit organization in Arizona called Youth On Their Own (YOTO) which helps homeless and underserved teenagers to graduate high school. In the last three years, we have donated over $12,000 to Youth On Their Own and for 2022, I have committed to donating 5% of all of my business proceeds to Youth On Their Own! Every time I have a client reach out to me and say that they are excited to work with me because of my values & choices as a business owner, I feel proud to own the business that I do!

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

While it is obviously incredibly rewarding to get paid to make art, one of my most rewarding parts of being a wedding photographer for me is the concept that I get to create images that will live on for generations. I know that my grandmother’s wedding photos are one of my most prized possessions and the idea that I get to create that same type of memory for my clients, and their kids, and their grandkids, is incredibly special to me.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I get the majority of my clients off of Instagram and am very thankful that I have been able to build a large platform on the app. I think that Instagram can be really intimidating & frustrating, especially when you’re starting out and it feels like the algorithm is out to get you, but the biggest thing that I encourage other photographers to do when trying to grow on Instagram is to reframe your mindset surrounding the app. The fact of the matter is that the Instagram algorithm is not designed to punish small business owners, it’s designed to keep users on the app for as long as possible. And since your goal as a business owner is to get users engaged with your content, your goals and the algorithm’s goals really aren’t that different after all! So, instead of focusing your energy on trying to “beat the algorithm” or finding tricks and hacks to get ahead on the app, work WITH the algorithm. Follow the rules, utilize the features and engage with other users! And overall remember that all the statistics: your views, likes, follows, etc. don’t really matter. The statistic that really matters is the new clients that you find on the app. So focus on that number, and not on the rest!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.andreaobert.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/andreaobertphoto
• Facebook: facebook.com/andreaobertphoto