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

Anna, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

Something that I think I do or offer that is different from other photographers in this industry would probably be the workflows I set in place for my clients! Each client has their own profile within my system and once they book a session, they receive a Next Steps email that goes into a little bit on how to prepare for their upcoming session and a questionnaire to help me better prepare and get to know them better. They also receive my Style Guide email with all things styling. I provide a link to my client closet with a full curated closet for mamas. I offer 50+ dresses + 2 pieces to make mamas feel and look their best, from sizes XS-3XL. I also offer a kids client closet from newborn-6T, as well. In that email they receive links with visuals of the color palettes that photograph well with my editing style and locations I shoot at. Styling is HUGE when it comes to a session! They receive all the planning tips for styling and get to choose their location based on their vision and the locations I shoot at. So it isn’t just about taking my clients money and meeting them at the session and it being an awkward session.. My goal is that they feel heard, seen and know their investment into my business is handled with love and care, so they know I will execute their vision!

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

My name is Anna + I am the owner of Portraits by Anna. I am a wife and mom of 3 sweet babes. I am a former bartender and teacher. I have always loved taking photos since I was a little girl, even before I knew family photography was a thing. My whole family has always loved photography as well. My mom is the one that takes all the pictures taken and makes cute little cubes of the pictures, makes collages and even cute mugs as gifts. When you walk into my sister’s house, her walls are filled, top to bottom with pictures of her family and little boy and how proud she is to have them.

I was always that mom taking pictures of my kids all day and sharing it with friends and family, daily. Once I had my first baby I had a friend capture my maternity and really started thinking how I would love to take photos of friends and family for their important times in their lives. But I honestly didn’t know how to use a camera and anytime I tried asking people I knew who did photography for help, I got brushed off and told that “the market was too saturated and I wouldn’t want to do it”. So I kept putting it off for a few years. After bartending for almost 8 years and teaching for a few years, I just did not feel happy with what I was doing. My family had always told me I had an eye for it and capturing people’s true candid, authentic moments that we all wish for. So my mother in law let me borrow her canon t3i rebel to learn the basics. With lots of youtube and pinterest, I began to teach myself the basic things I needed to know. I wasn’t great with the big camera, but my friends and family trusted me and let me practice with them. It wasn’t until I had my second babe where I said I really wanted to just bite the bullet and go for it! My husband said to give it 6 months and see where it takes me. Then covid happened and that was scary because the world shut down. But it was honestly the biggest blessing in disguise because everyone began to be on their phones almost at all times. I made all my socials and website and began marketing my work and then here and there people started asking me how much I would charge. That was the start of Portraits by Anna.

About a year of doing business and charging dirt cheap and feeling like I was always behind a camera or my computer, I finally hired a business mentor because I knew what I was doing (the basics of shooting anyways lol) but had no idea how to actually run a successful business and I am a people person who likes taking care of people so I wanted to make sure I was doing what I could, so if I wanted this business to last or be successful, I knew it was an investment I needed to make. Brooke Jefferson was the best investment I made into this business and she helped me get all of my behind the scenes things in place.

My clients are required to sign a contract and pay a non-refundable booking fee upon booking to hold their date on my calendar. Then they receive a Next Steps email, Style guide email, and all things styling/location so we can be sure to bring their vision to life, etc! I don’t take my clients’ investment lightly and always want them to feel confident that I will execute exactly what we talk about! Their workflows alone are how I stay and keep each session organized.

My clients know they can reach out at any point in the planning process for anything pertaining to their session. It is NEVER a bother for them to reach out, no matter how busy I am.

I am most proud that I can say this business is MINE – that I worked so very hard the past 3 years to get it to where it is today! And a successful one at that!

I want my clients to know they can come to me about any and everything pertaining to their session and not feel like a bother. Clients know all things planning are done through emailing as that is how I am able to keep all of my inquiries and potential bookings in one place. Through my website and socials, I have a link in my bio for them to fill out a contact form with their information and what kind of session they are looking for that gets sent to me and from there I will email them back to get all the deets to make sure we are a good fit and can begin planning their session. I may be a mom of 3 and a business owner, but they are just as important! I am an enneagram 2 and truly love people, so as much as this is a business, they will absolutely feel loved and not feel as if I am being short or don’t care!

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

The way I keep in touch with clients and make sure that everything stays organized within communication and brand loyalty is using Iris Works! It is a Photography Business Management Software that provides online booking for clients to view my booking calendars and easily book and get on my calendar, email marketing where I can reach out to my clients who will receive my minis and holiday deals first, automation workflows to keep it organized for each client and how they can prepare, invoicing and quotes, contracts, questionnaires, a leads page so clients can inquire and create their own profile for easy future bookings, and a mobile app for easy access to all of your information. I can store locations, and so much more within it that makes it so easy and streamlined for my clients and myself to work with!

If I didn’t use Iris Works, I’m not sure my business would be as organized or successful! I definitely don’t think I would have been booked out months in advance the last 2 years without it. I feel customer service is HUGE when it comes to running a business and that is definitely why I keep a contract in place, but I also understand that things happen and I’m human also, so being able to offer my clients this kind of experience helps me keep all my ducks in a row so I can bring their vision to life and keep their minds at ease through the entire process.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I think I built my audience on social media by being consistent with posting and showing my face! The biggest thing with having an online business is both of those things. But mainly, someone doesn’t want to spend their hard earned money and hire someone they don’t know or aren’t sure about. The biggest thing is having a face for them to see who you are on your main profile. Also, sharing your face on stories here and there to really see you are a real business and not just a social media bot. Being relatable is also huge to find your ideal clients, so I share my everyday life with my family + behind the scenes of my business and I truly started seeing my following grow, organically. I have never paid an ad for social media, so I am very proud to say I’ve grown my following organically the past 3 years! I’m not knocking those who do because we all run our businesses differently but this is what works best for me.

If I could give you any advice on growing your business, is to show up! The algorithm is constantly changing so even though I have so many followers, all of those followers may or may not even see your posts because of it. So just finding what works best for you when it comes to posting and sharing your work. For me, I share on my stories daily and try not to let my stories expire – this helps new potential followers and clients to see you are a real person/business. I also try to post on my feed daily, whether it’s a photo, carousel of photos or reel.

Remember, showing up and putting in the work is the key! Social media can be draining to keep up with, but if you are able to, it is definitely a free way to market your business and get new potential bookings!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://portraitsbyannak.mypixieset.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/portraitsbyannak/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/portraitsbyannaknapp
• Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@portraitsbyannak?lang=en

Image Credits
Photo credit to my business, Portraits by Anna!