Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Angela Delahoussaye. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Angela, thanks for joining us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

In our experience, anyone in any type of sales role is conditioned and indoctrinated to squeeze as many dollars out of customers as possible. And we do understand that a business needs to make money not only to operate but to pay its operators and contributors not just a fair wage but a thriving wage. However, we do not believe that we need to start here. Our approach is very different from others in our industry, as we do not approach our clients with the desire to make as much money as possible. Our job is extremely up close and personal — we are in the weeds with people who would otherwise be strangers, and it is our job to care for them and serve them with our skills. That’s what they hired us to do, and they chose us because they felt safe and comfortable with us. To us, that also means we need to respect their finances. We never pressure our clients to spend money they didn’t plan on spending. We never push our clients with upselling or outrageous and unnecessary fees. And we NEVER up-charge just because we can. Instead, we focus on coming through on our commitment to making them feel comfortable and confident in how their stories are told through our lens, and we go above and beyond the minimum standard. Focusing on that has proven to generate more revenue for us than any other sales strategy, because we start with why.

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

We are Angela Sue Photography — a sweetheart team of wedding + portrait photographers named Michael and Angela. And we are perfect for couples and clients who get excited about bright and fun photos of their stories. We document our clients as artfully and joyfully as possible with a focus on those genuine moments between loved ones. I (Angela) also have a rich background in graphic design, communication strategies and brand development. Typically, we work to not compare ourselves to others in our industry and instead focus on what we think the main reason is that clients not only come back to us year after year but also the reason more and more people are coming to us each year: we make our clients feel comfortable. Posing for photos isn’t a natural talent, so our clients always receive coaching and encouragement from us to help them look and feel their best in photos. Our organization and communication is out-of-this-world from timeline coordination, family photo lists and everything in between. We are with our clients every step of the way. It’s also no secret that other vendors LOVE working with us. Wedding pros are always supported by us on wedding days, not disrupted. We work closely with planners, florists, DJs, venues, and more to make sure we’re all working together as a team for our clients. And we’ve also been called crazy by our colleagues for our investment in the safety of our clients’ photos. All this to say that our priority is our clients and their trust in us. Whatever it takes, we are there for them.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Absolutely! I think the biggest mistake I made at the beginning of my business was falling into the trap of only listening to one source of wisdom. It’s common in my industry for others like me to sell their knowledge as a e-course. Whether it’s shooting and editing, posing, business, or something like that, it’s typically how photographers expand their business to add an additional stream of passive income. I found one source of this, and completely blinded myself to any other ways of thinking. Doing this limited my ability to create my own truths and my own opinions on how I wanted to do business. My best advice for others is to diversify your mentors. Don’t just listen to one person’s or brand’s opinion. Please do yourself a favor and glean wisdom from different types of mentors.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

We’re actually in a time of pivoting now. Events have slowed down after the big boom post pandemic. 2021-2023 were insanely busy for a lot of event-based businesses. Things have started to slow, and even if they weren’t slowing down, we are feeling the call to make a change. It’s not like we’re that old, but we are getting older and picturing myself doing the manual and emotional labor required of a photographer for the next 20-30 years just isn’t doing it for me. I dream of a greater influence, wider reach. I wish there had been a trusted influencer 10 years ago (before “influencing” was an industry) who could list out products and software that would be useful. I want to be the resource for photographers and “celebrators” as we like to call them (a single term to describe all the different people who might book photography as a service) that they can trust will not lie to them for money and will have their best interests at heart. We’re in the early stages of conceptualizing this, so we haven’t fully fleshed it out. But I think that’s also really impactful to be able to be vulnerable about our vision for the future and be open to what may come because of it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.angelasue.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelasuephotography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angelasuephotos
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angeladelahoussaye/
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@angeladelahoussaye

Image Credits
All photos belong to us as we are the original photographers of these images. Credit can be given to Angela Sue Photography and you can link to our website or use our instagram handle.