We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brandi Minor a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Brandi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you tell us a story about a time you failed?

I truly believe failure is a key part of owning and operating a business. You learn from that failure and make sure to never do it again.

One significant failure that sticks out to me during my photography career is a failed family session I had right after I opened for business. I am a natural light photographer, so 90% of my sessions are outdoors. This session was in the early evening in the winter time, it ended up being extremely overcast that day, so a touch too dark outside for my liking, that was failure number one. But that wasn’t it, it got worse. I charged my batteries the evening before, so I thought I was all set. Once I arrive to the session, mind you, it was the middle of winter, so it was cold and snowy out. I pull my camera out of my bag, get everyone lined up, turn on my camera.. battery is about dead. I thought, hmm I must not have charged this one. I grab another one out of my camera bag, that one is about dead. So, here I am low-key panicking and thinking what am I going to do?! I start doing the session until the first battery completely dies, it only lasted about 5 minutes. I grab my other almost dead battery and do the same. I ended up telling the family, I had mechanical issues with my camera. It was one of the most embarrassing moments in my photography career. I learned a lesson that day. I now carry 3 to 4 batteries per camera just in case, and I never leave them in a cold vehicle, as I believe that is how my batteries got drained. Lesson learned, you stand back up, and keep on going.

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.

Hey, I am Brandi! I am an outdoor portrait photographer located in the amazing Upper Peninsula of Michigan! I love the outdoors, so why not incorporate what I love with my passion of photography. I’m a full-time elopement + intimate wedding photographer. I also enjoy capturing family sessions. During our time together, you can expect a warm, adventurous, and positive atmosphere where you will always catch me smiling, laughing, and diving into my creative personality.

I started my photography business back in 2020. I have always loved photography, but in 2020 is when I got the push to pursue it even more. My best friend’s boyfriend (at the time- now husband) told me he was going to propose and asked if I would take pictures of the proposal. I, of course agreed! Then thought to myself, I have no idea what I am doing or how to work my new camera haha. So, I immediately went home that night, and started learning as much as I could. During this process, I learned this was a passion I never knew I had, I loved portrait photography. I then started my business and haven’t looked back since.

A little more about me, I am an outdoor lover! In the summer months, you will most likely find me camping, now that I found a way to work remote. I also enjoy going for side-by-side rides, swimming in any lake, sitting by a fire, simply enjoying my time outdoors. During the cold, winter months of Michigan, you will most likely find me hibernating and planning my next adventure, haha! I LOVE to travel! This past year, I was lucky enough to travel to Iceland, Jamaica, Georgia, and multiple places around the Upper Peninsula. You can check out my blog post on Iceland here – Iceland Adventures with Haleigh & Josh – Brandi Lynns Photography.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I started photography to have a creative outlet, a little extra money, and just something else to do for fun. Little did I know that it would one day be my full-time income. I started my photography business in 2020, and I went full-time photography last year in 2022. It was the best decision I have ever made. When I had posted that I was going full-time, a fellow photographer said to me, “Congratulations, life satisfaction just went way up!” This stuck with me, and, she wasn’t wrong. This past year, being able to have the freedom to work where I want, work when I want has been everything I wanted in this life. Freedom is the main reason I choose to purse this full-time. Now, the first two years was a lot hustle. I worked two jobs, plus running my photography business. I was always busy, never had any downtime, and was just plain exhausted. But, because of all my hustle and grind, I was able to work hard and make this dream a reality.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Google is my best source of receiving new clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: brandilynnsphoto.com
• Instagram: @brandi.lynns.photo
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brandilynnphoto20/