Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Colette Forsyth. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Colette, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

Figuring out how to price yourself within an industry is always a challenge, and I think it’s particularly hard for artists. But I find it even more difficult when you *really* love what you do – because no matter what, you just want the best possible final product. That’s why I’ve set up my pricing structure a little different than most in the industry I’m in. For weddings, instead of splitting up package choices by the number of hours I’ll be shooting – I just offer one, all day, price. I don’t want folks having to choose between the fun, chaos moments of getting ready in the morning, or their first dances being photographed. I want to be there to capture all the important moments as much as you do – to tell the FULL story of the day.
I also offer a lot of my smaller sessions on a sliding scale basis – because I never want photos of your kids growing up to feel out of reach financially. We live in such an incredible time when it comes to preserving memories, I want to take the pictures that you look back on for years to come.

Colette, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve been playing around with a camera since middle school, before smart phones, before social media. By the time I graduated high school, I was taking friends senior photos and family photos for folks that I knew! It was a great way to learn, and I thank my lucky stars that it was before everything ended up on the internet immediately so I had some space to grow and develop my skills. I ended up getting an art degree from the University of Minnesota, and all along kept working on slowly building my business and a clientele while working *many* various odd-jobs. I’ve been a chatty extrovert since I was a kid, so photographing people has always felt like a natural thing to me! With a background in the service industry, I’ve got a strength in matching peoples energies and making people feel at ease while getting their picture taken (which is not most people’s comfort zone 😅).

I truly love getting to know people and learning about the relationships that they foster! That is the best part, and the goal, of what I do – documenting you and your loved ones, in a way that feels true and natural to you. I’ve worked with some people for 10 years – from engagement, to wedding, to babies, and now ever-growing kids – and it’s such a joy to get a front row seat to all the phases of their lives.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Truly the best marketing is word-of-mouth referrals. If people can leave their experience with you thinking “wow, I’m going to tell others how GREAT that was!”, that is the best case scenario. So really making sure that people feel prepared before your interaction, and they feel taken care of and at-ease during their experience, so that they leave feeling happy and glad that they trusted YOU.

Plus the bonus for you is two-fold – not only do they spread the good word about you, but if you got along well with that client, you will likely get along well with their friends! So you start building a base of clients who not only love you, but you love working with them.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

In my field – I get to create art that is specific to the client that hired me! I get to use what they’ve built – their love, their babies, their family – and show them the beauty that exists within it. We live in an image-heavy world, but still, most people will say that they don’t like photos that they see of themselves. To be able to capture someone in a way that they see as beautiful, is really something special.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.colette-rochelle.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colette_rochelle
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coletterochellephotography

Image Credits

Colette Rochelle Photography