We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brooke Silverman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brooke below.

Alright, Brooke thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

My photography journey began back in 2009 (my senior year of high school). I thought my senior year as the world’s most unathletic person it would be a great idea to try my hand at tennis. Well, I fell and broke my foot on the first day of tennis camp and was unable to take the required gym class I needed to graduate. Instead I was placed in two photography classes and unexpectedly fell in love with photography. My parents got me a camera as a graduation gift. In college I photographed my friends who were music and dance majors. Later on in college I got hired as an event photographer for the marketing department at my university. When I graduated, I had no intention of becoming a professional photographer and starting a business but after a few years of working office jobs and hating it, I was encouraged by others to take photography more seriously. I started going to creative / photography networking groups, learning from and working along side other wedding photographers and I updated my gear in 2016. Over the next couple years I built a portfolio and did a lot of experimenting with different types of photography until I found what I loved and did best. By summer 2018 I took my business full time.

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 specialize in wedding and elopement photography as well as surprise proposal, engagement and senior photography. In the last year, I moved from Northern Virginia to in Denver, Colorado. I have a team of 4 photographers who serve the Washington D.C Metropolitan area while I serve Denver and beyond. Our team’s photography style can be described as timeless, intentional, warm, emotive, and joyful. My team and I put an emphasis on capturing human connection and embracing vulnerability when working with our clients. We are also a team that believes in radical inclusivity. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community myself, it is very important it is to serve and represent ALL folks in our team’s work.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I started my business in the Washington D.C Metropolitan Area and had it based in that area for 6 years. Last year, when I found out I was moving cross country to Denver, Colorado I had to do a ton of work to move markets. I had to shift my online presence, move my LLC, and learn about the market out in Denver. I also at this time created my team to help me still serve the Washington D.C Metropolitan Area. At that time, I also figured it was a good time for me to scale back my offerings for photography and restructure my business. This was a very stressful time with a lot of learning curves and I was so grateful to have the support of others in my community who did the same thing to go for guidance when I needed it.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn was as a business owner there is not just one correct way to run your business. Different things work for different businesses. You need to be prepared for a lot of experimentation as a business owner (and not just in the beginning but literally throughout the lifespan of your business). You need to be willing to take a lot of risks to figure what works for you and you can’t rely on something working for you just because it works for another business. It’s best to stay in your lane and not let it get to your head when you see other businesses doing something different than you. In my first few years of being a business owner, I felt super insecure and would really let it get to if something I was doing wasn’t working out but it was for another business in my industry. I learned over the years to get past that and to be okay with trying to do things different ways.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.brookesilvermanphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brookesilvermanphoto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brookesilvermanphotography

Image Credits
Just my business Brooke Silverman Photography