We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brenna Lyons a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Brenna, thanks for joining us today. What’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?
I genuinely believe that you don’t need to spend a lot of money to start your own business. From a photography standpoint, you don’t need to spend $3,000 on a new camera and think that the camera is going to do the work for you. I used the same camera starting off that I used for videography. Learning how to use your equipment properly and learning how to edit will give you the best results. As your business grows, and you are able to become profitable you can then invest into better equipment. Don’t let the fear of money keep you from starting. Start small and invest in your gear over time! It doesn’t happen over night!
Brenna, 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 name is Brenna Lyons and I am a Lifestyle photographer that is local to the Sandusky, Ohio area. I that capture meaningful, priceless moments that tell a story. My goal as a photographer is for you to look back at your photos and be able to remember exactly how you felt in that moment. For many years, leading up to the start of my photography business, I posted motherhood and lifestyle content on YouTube and Instagram. I’ve had the privilege to work with some incredible brands including Kodiak Cakes, Big Lots, Function of Beauty, Yasso, Lansihoh & Delta Children. While working with these brands, I would work alongside their social media team to create photo and video content that I would then promote on my social platforms. The brand would also use the content that I created for advertisement. I’ve loved sharing my life online over the last few years, but I definitely noticed a switch within my business, and I wanted to create more meaningful content. I would often get asked to take family or engagement photos but I always turned down the opportunity. I didn’t think that I could ever take images of other people. I was so used to being the model and taking photo and video of myself. After the pandemic, I really wanted to be able to create a successful long lasting business to support my family while being able to be a stay at home mom. That’s when I decided that I wanted to pursue photography full-time. Because of my following, the connections and friendships that I have made from sharing my life online, ultimately has helped the success of my business and I am so grateful for that!
Something that I’m really proud of is being able to have a successful business as a mom! I really want to be an inspiration for other moms that want the opportunity to provide for their family and start their own business. Some days are so hard but the reward is so worth it.
I really want my clients to know that I genuinely want to create beautiful images for them. I really want to build friendships through my business that will last a lifetime. It’s so amazing that I’m able to follow a couple throughout their whole journey. Starting with engagement. to their wedding and then having the opportunity to capture their growing family. I feel so lucky to be able to do that and that my clients trust me to tell their story.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Growing my audience on social media definitely took a lot of time. I think that it is really important if you are providing a service that you are on social media in some way. I believe that it’s really important to use your social media platforms in some way on a daily basis,. Your clients want to know you, they want to see your personality and what you have to offer. By showing up for my audience I’ve been able to book more clients because I’m building a relationship with the people that follow me. My biggest piece of advice for getting started is to just start!! Use social media to your advantage.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
I’m very passionate about education. I’ve taken many courses online about photography to learn about my gear. I’ve watched countless hours of YouTube videos about building a brand. I’ve attended workshops and I’ve created genuine friendships within the industry of people that I can rely on. Photography education never stops, the trends are forever changing and there’s so much to learn. I’m still learning something new every single day! In my personal community I know so many incredible photographers. We are all able to show up for each other, give advice, learn from one another. There is always room for growth and that has been huge in my journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: brennalyonsphotography.com
- Instagram: @brennakatlynlyons
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brennalyonsphotography