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

Bethany, appreciate you joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

Truthfully….I wake up every day and have gratitude for being able to make a living running my own business. I went full time with photography a little over 2 years ago and haven’t looked back once.

There was a time, for over 4 years, where I would wake up and dread getting out of bed and going to work. 4 whole years, Monday through Friday. I decided I was tired of dreading most of my life. No one should spend that much time unhappy just to make a paycheck. Not to mention, working 40+ hours a week was making it difficult to actually focus on my own business. My weekends were spent shooting weddings or with clients. PTO was taken just to shoot destination weddings…which was great, but also exhausting. There was no down time. It was intense. It all paid off though!

So yes, I am happier as a business owner. I do not miss having a “regular job,” outside of the health insurance benefits you get with the corporate jobs.

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 photographer and filmmaker working heavily with analog formats, shooting digital and 35mm film photos alongside Super 8 video to document weddings, travel, and brand stories/editorials. I’m drawn to work that feels raw and lived-in, where the focus is less on perfection and more on presence.

I found my way into this industry through a love of art, connection, traveling, and the ability to notice. My mother is an artist and my father was a tech lover. We traveled often through my childhood. I eventually combined influences from all of that…utilizing what my mom had taught me from her years in art school, snagging my dad’s nice camera when he wasn’t home to play around, and learning to document what I noticed on our travels. It all eventually snowballed into this giant love for photography that I haven’t been able to kick, even 18 years later.

Today, I work with couples who care more about how their wedding feels than how it’s supposed to look, and with brands who want visuals that feel human, artistic, and maybe even a bit edgy.

What I often hear from clients is that they don’t want to perform. They want to be present. They aren’t comfortable in front of the camera. Or that they have this vision in their head, but don’t know how to execute it. Those are the problems I’m always solving. My process is calm, observant, and collaborative, creating space for people to relax and be themselves while I focus on the story unfolding in front of me.

I’m most proud of building a business that allows me to stay creatively grounded while working with people all over the world, making an impact and connection through art.

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

Yes! I started doing photography when I was just a kid. I took my first paid shoot in 2013. Business ebbed and flowed over the years of doing it on the side. There were times when I was too busy with school or work, doubted my skills, or didn’t think I had what it takes to be a business owner.

I eventually learned that you get what you put into this business. If you want it, make it happen. Once I understood that I was only going to feel fully fulfilled working for myself, and that no one was going to be able to make that happen but ME, things really took off. Every spare moment I had was dedicated to working on the business. The truth is that most people don’t just “blow up” over night. There’s a lot of hard work behind the scenes that goes into building a reputable brand and business. That’s how I made it happen!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

To me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is being able to express myself in my art, and having that same art foster emotional connections with my clients and viewers. Every time I am on a consult call and someone mentions how my art makes them feel, OR my clients get their photos back and send me a text about how they impact them, it makes me teary eyed. For so long, I didn’t think my photos could have an impact on someone else…let alone a stranger (or someone who started as a stranger!)

It is a really amazing thing to be able to connect with someone over art and see how my view of the world impacts them. I love it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bethanyreidvisuals.com
• Instagram: @bethanyreidvisuals
• Youtube: @BethanyReidVisuals
• Other: TikTok: @bethanyreidvisuals