We recently connected with Bethany Casey and have shared our conversation below.

Bethany, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?

If I were starting over in the photography industry, I might invest more time in honing my technical skills and marketing. Fourteen years ago, there wasn’t a ton of information out there to help guide someone like there is today. It is a huge community now and I love how we can lean on each other!

Bethany, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My husband bought me a camera for a trip in 2009. My niece was born in 2010 and from then on, people just keep asking me to photograph their lives. While a lot of photographers have their niche, I like feeling the creativity of various types of sessions. Newborns, weddings, seniors, products, pets, real estate….I love them all. What I love most is meeting new people and then documenting every important stage of their lives. Proposals that lead to weddings to babies to all of the milestones. I have so many families who have been with me for over a decade and I couldn’t have made it this far without their support.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I worked for the State of Kentucky for twelve years. When I started photography, it was an evening and weekend job on top of what I was already working. My daughter was born in 2019 and I decided to leave my state job and make photography my full time career. It was the best decision for me and our family! Now, I can’t imagine sitting behind someone else’s desk.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

When I started photography, the learning tools I had access to was books and YouTube. Today, there’s tons of social media communities to ask questions and teach what you know and share stories of accomplishments and failures. There are so many amazing photographers who offer mentoring. One-on-one or online. Daily or one time. To be a photographer takes a lot of work, but the wonderful people in our industry are helping make it easier.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: www.instagram.com/bethanycaseyphotography
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/bethanycaseyphotography