We recently connected with Christina Katelyn and have shared our conversation below.

Christina , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump right into the heart of things. Outsiders often think businesses or industries have much larger profit margins than they actually do – the reason is that outsiders are often unaware of the biggest challenges to profitability in various industries – what’s the biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

The biggest challenge to profitability in my industry is figuring out a way that is both inviting and educational to be able to share with potential clients about the value they receive from a portrait session with me. As technology advances, higher quality photography equipment becomes available to the public. While a high quality camera is a great place to start, what a lot of people don’t realize, is that it takes a lot more than just a good camera to get great images. I have spent countless hours on educational courses and years practicing to fine tune my skills and knowledge. From understanding how to manipulate lighting, flattering posing for every body type, and so on.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi, I’m Christina Katelyn! I am the owner (CEO, if you will) and photographer here at Motherhood Photography! I specialize in maternity and newborn photography. I have my own in-home studio located in Buckeye, Arizona.

I started my photography business in the fall of 2020 as CBC Photography. In 2021 I focused my time and energy on building my wedding and engagement side of my brand, Christina Katelyn Photography. Once I had that brand established and we moved into our new home that had enough space for a studio, I decided it was time to start building my “motherhood” branch of my brand. This branch of my brand is important to me because as a mother myself, I understand the struggles and the beauty in motherhood. I understand how important it is to document these seasons in life that never seem to last long enough. When I was pregnant with my daughter, my husband and I missed our opportunity to have maternity pictures taken. This will forever be one of my biggest regrets. That season in our lives is gone, and the worst part we don’t even have as much as a cell phone selfie together. Sure I have “bumpies” (selfies with a bump) but that is it.

As a maternity and newborn photographer, I have made it my mission to not only provide beautiful digital images to my clients but to help them take their images a step further by creating beautiful custom designed artwork. I love a well decorated home and love being able to showcase my family on our walls. To me it says not only am I proud of our home and the family we have built, but also the life we have created.

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

I am blessed to be able to say that after years of hard work and dedication that my photography business is now my full time career. When I first launched my business in 2019, I started small. I had a beginner level camera that I didn’t understand, I didn’t have a studio space, and I didn’t have any education or resources to back myself with. I quickly learned the importance of understanding these items and made it priority to gain ad much knowledge and experience as I could. I started with extremely low prices and used the income generated from those sales to invest further into my business. This meant things like quality gear, education, etc. After three years of being in business, I finally started to earn a small profit. Next year I am projected to make a full time income from my photography business!

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Email is my main source for keeping in touch with my clients. I make it a habit to create a consistent workflow of communication with each client before, the day of, and after every session. I have found that communication is vital in running a business and by reaching out to clients with answers to questions they likely have BEFORE they even ask them helps to really foster brand loyalty.

I truly care about each and every one of my clients and want them to feel valued, encouraged, and excited from the first moment that they contact me.

Contact Info:

• Website: motherhoodphotographyaz.com
• Instagram: @motherhood_photography_az
• Facebook: Facebook.com/motherhoodphotographyaz

Image Credits
Christina Katelyn Photography