We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Destiny Styles a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Destiny, thanks for joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
Yes, I have been lucky enough to have been able to make a full time living off my work. Honestly, I didn’t expect it to come so soon into my career. But it wasn’t easy to begin with, I was working for the bare minimum to and fore free to get my work out there and find clients.. I got beyond lucky to have an area of dedicated clients who are more than happy to share my work and spread kind words.. that’s been a huge help on my business growth the last year and I know I wouldn’t be here without them. Besides that – finding weddings outside of my area feels defeating some days, but services like Zola and Google have been a huge help outside of word of mouth. Last year (2022) was my first full year into weddings as I started them November 2021. Throughout 2022 I booked 26 weddings for myself as a first year wedding photographer which was huge! It was an amazing feeling to know people saw my work, and liked it enough to pay for it. I don’t think that I could have sped up the process, I think I’m lucky it happened as fast as it did.
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
Sure, so my name is Destiny Styles, I reside in Muenster Texas – which is about an hour from the DFW area. I started photography as a hobby for fun in 2020 after having my daughter. I was borrowing my mother in laws camera to just capture my newborn in her element. From there I realized just how much I loved to be behind a camera, and my husband saw that spark in interest. For mothers day he bought me my first DSLR & I went into online classes as soon as possible to learn the ins and outs of my camera and photography in general, because it’s not as easy as just snapping photos like we all think. As I learned and grew I offered a lot of giveaway sessions, pay what you can sessions and SO many free ones, like I was making maybe $20 for an hour of shooting and 3-4 hours of editing.. but that’s what I had to do to get experience and get my name out there with work to show for it. I didn’t do my first wedding until November 2021 when a friend from high school reached out, from that moment I knew my niche. I was GOING to be a full time wedding photographer. I found my happy place. One thing that sets me apart and I feel has since the beginning is that I don’t just show up for the photos, I show up for YOU. I want to be as present and helpful as I can be from the moment you book me.. need help with the stress of wedding planning? You have my number.. Want to share your wedding dress with ONE person, text me. Have a million questions but don’t have a planner? I’m your girl. All the day to the day of and after. I’ll fix your dress at the alter, I’ll hold your drink for photos, I’ll bring you a tissue. I’m not just a hired hand for the day, I have made friends from this amazing service. I’m proud of my growth in just a year, I went from knowing nothing at all about a camera shooting with automatic settings to learning the ins and outs, and helping others start and grow their own businesses as well. I found my style, I found my niche, and I did it all in a short amount of time.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Yes! Absolutely, the goals don’t stop at wedding photography. My goal for the next 5-10 years is to have my own wedding venue, it will be an all inclusive venue in the North Texas hill country. My sister is joining my business this year as my videographer so that will be offered to my clients soon as well! We have so many big things coming, it doesn’t stop here.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Honestly, it’s the response I get from my clients. Working in a creative industry is hard, you will ALWAYS second guess your work and wonder if there’s anything to “fix”. After hours and days of staring at a gallery then sending it to the clients, the most rewarding moment is the moment they respond to the gallery and tell you how beautiful you made them feel, or how their gallery is everything plus more than what they expected, or that they were so happy they chose ME. Those are the moments I live for, they’re most rewarding.
Contact Info: