We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ashleigh Mrozek a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ashleigh, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with what makes profitability in your industry a challenge – what would you say is the biggest challenge?
Technology. Everyone has a cellphone equipped with a high quality camera now adays. Don’t get me wrong it’s super convenient to just been able to take high quality photos with a gadget that fits in your pocket. But, it causes a lot of people looking to save a few bucks to be DIYers, because “why pay for a professional portrait when i can do it with my phone at no cost”. If not a cell phone, high quality dslr camers are cheaper and more accessible than ever… so now, not only does your local professional have to compete with other nearby professional for clients but now we have to compete with everyone else.
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.
I’m a professional photographer, owner of Flash by Ash Photography. I started out as a holiest just taking pictures on my phone (the same thing I just complained about) Eventually I had bought my first DSLR to take pictures at family members wedding and just fell in love it. My family loved the photos I took and would make comments like “hey your pictures are amazing you should do this professionally!” Or “wow you really look like a photographer” So I came up with a buisness name and slapped in on some buisness cards and started spreading the word.
From that point on I’ve only fallen further in love with photography and decided I don’t want to limit myself to just one specialty, all of it intrest me. So I when people ask me what kid of photographer I am, I just say “I’m a photographer of opertunity” it’s like hunting Pokémon but for pictures. You need wedding photos? I go you covered. Seniors and family? No problem! Boudoir? Absolutely. Everry shape, color, size,sexuality, gender I don’t care.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Before photography, I was an engineering student scooping Icecream to pay for college I really couldn’t afford to drop a bunch of money on a fancy camera. But my mom saw what I could do with just a cellphone and wanted to suport me on this new found creative journey. So she offered to chip in and help me buy my first dslr camera. From there that all I needed along with a Facebook page before I was able to start making enough money to purchases upgrades on my own.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Word of mouth and social media. Nothing brings in clients better than word of mouth. It’s like trying to find a movie on Netflix, theres so many options you don’t know what to pick, because it’s hard to pick a show by just the cover picture, and who the heck wants to watch every movie trailer before making a decision, nobody. But, if your buddy walks up to you and says “hey, i watched this movie last weekend it was really good!” Theres a good chance next time you can’t find anything to watch that you’re going to remember your friends recommendation. It works exactly the same way for photographer. Photography is way more than just providing a clients with good pictures of themselves, it’s about the experience they have with you in shoot. It’s about making them feel special and good about themselves, where you can capture their true essence. Do that and they will come back, with friends and family.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mrozekphotos.wixsite.com/my-site
- Instagram: Ashphotography906
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FlashbyAshPhotography?mibextid=ZbWKwL