We were lucky to catch up with Chelsea McDonnell recently and have shared our conversation below.
Chelsea, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today.
I love this question! Looking back, I would focus more on connection and less on content. As a photographer, it can be really overwhelming scrolling social media seeing what others are doing and what you could be doing differently. I spent a lot of my time early on trying to create content for ads / instagram to expand my reach. I didn’t really have a brand voice yet or know what direction I wanted to go – I just had the goal of growing my business as fast as I could. There’s a piece of photography that I believe is critical to success and that is connection. My approach to photography is to capture the authentic connection that humans have so I believe that in order to be able to do that, you have to be able to forge connections yourself! If I was starting over, I would truly spend way more time trying to meet other creatives in the community first. In my experience, expanding your network & putting yourself out there has a much higher ROI than any ad ever could.
Chelsea, 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?
Hey! I’m Chelsea – I’m a multi-passionate entrepreneur local to Boulder, Colorado. I never thought I would be a full time photographer but looking back on my childhood I shouldn’t be surprised! Throughout middle school and high school I was always the friend who brought her digital camera everywhere. My friends and I even used to have photoshoots in my backyard! Before I moved to Colorado I decided to invest in a nicer camera to bring with me on all of my future adventures. I quickly realized how fun it was to take photos of people & human connection which is how I started my photography business!
When you start to dip your toes into the world of professional photography, you read a lot about the necessity to ‘niche down’ so you can better serve your clients. When I started building my portfolio, I was doing a variety of photoshoots – maternity, proposals, engagements, seniors, weddings +more. I found that I loved them ALL! I left every type of photoshoot feeling happy & fulfilled but also discouraged – ‘why can’t I figure out what to niche down to?’
Today I realize that’s just not true. I consider myself a ‘life journey’ photographer because I want everyone to feel welcome when they inquire about my services. It’s also fun to be with couples through everything – engagement, wedding, maternity, newborn & beyond. :) That sets me apart from the photographers in the area at least. I try to keep my doors open to every creative concept that comes through! I truly believe my mission here is to make other humans feel beautiful as they are & help them celebrate whatever phase of life they’re currently in. My overall vibe is candid, fun and in the moment. I don’t do stiff posing and hardly offer much guidance there when clients book with me. My prompts look more like “whisper something weird in her ear” haha. 100% of the time it makes both of them laugh and creates a fun photo.
Although I haven’t been in the industry too long (about 2 years) I’ve been feeling a strong pull to begin teaching other photographers how to grow their businesses. I’m hoping to create a community for kind humans to learn & grow from each other someday! And also create affordable educational tools because it is NOT cheap to learn luxury photography skills but I do believe everyone deserves the chance to learn. If it’s in you, it’s for you so I want to be able to empower other women to embark on their photography journey while learning skills in a safe & supportive environment! Planning on launching this piece of my business in late 2023!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Phew – this is going to be a tough one! I haven’t publicly talked about this yet but I’ve recently been feeling more ready to share this piece of my journey. Photography has been my side hustle for a few years and started to really grow last fall (2022). I was working an unfulfilling full time role with a constant questioning of ‘should I quit?’ or ‘am I ready to go full time?’ And my answer to myself was always, ‘No, not yet. Let’s get X dollar amount into savings first.’ I also had a major fear of failure, ‘what if I take this plunge then no one wants to book me?’ Well – in January 2023 the decision was made for me! I was shockingly let go from my full time role. It was a sucker punch to the gut because I felt like I made huge contributions to the company. I felt blindsided, angry, hurt and scared. After I was laid off, it occurred to me that I was in a sink or swim position. Go all in with my photography business or try to find another digital marketing role. The panic / imposter syndrome in me first applied to many new digital marketing roles. I received rejection after rejection and took these as a sign to pour into my business. And I am sure glad I made that choice! I still struggle with imposter syndrome regularly and fear of failure but when I wake up every day I am happy and my heart is full. They are not kidding when they say there is light at the end of the tunnel because I finally feel like I am living in the light.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
I get all of my clientele from two places: referrals & Instagram! Let’s break this down a little bit. I firmly believe that referrals are the biggest compliment my business could ever receive! That’s why I show up to every phone call, Zoom session, email, photoshoot, wedding day, texting, etc. with my BEST self. If I’m in a bad mood I don’t touch my phone or camera until I am able to practice some self-care. Photography in general is a luxury item so I recognize that people are paying a lot of money for my services. That’s why I strive to show up to every interaction with a client in a positive, professional manner. I’ve also found that being 100% myself around my clients creates a more relaxed atmosphere for everyone so I always crack a few jokes. By doing this I really hope to make my clients feel more comfortable, too. Client experience is my main focus right now and I believe that is the key to getting more referrals! Pour all your love into your clients and the ROI will be higher than any ad you might run.
And Instagram! I have struggled with boundaries on social media for a while. I also felt like it was kind of a Keeping Up With the Jones’ kind of thing. Always new trends to hop on, new Reel audios, etc. I’ve found that the best ‘strategy’ is creating a schedule that feels good to you. Because the second you start feeling like you have to post is when your content creation won’t feel authentic and might even feel a bit forced. And honestly? The number of views your Reel gets isn’t going to equate to your revenue so we have to stop attaching so much value to that number! When you show up authentically for your audience, you become a magnet for your business. So I’ve found taking a more go-with-the-flow approach has been very helpful for both my mental health & the growth of my business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://chelseamarieco.com/
- Instagram: @chelsea.the.photographer