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

Alright, Elizabeth thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights 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.

If I had to start over again from scratch, I would start nurturing local relationships as quickly as I could. You learn very quickly that even as a “solopreneur”, you can’t actually do everything alone.
Everyone in the world needs help. Every single person. There is no way to grow a business successfully without leaning on others to support and encourage you.
I learned this first hand when I uprooted my entire family and moved from Massachusetts down to Weatherford in 2021. We didn’t know a single person in the area and immediately hit the ground running by interviewing local businesses that coincided with my own to help boost both of our businesses.
The most important part of relationship building is to be yourself, stay honest and try your absolute best. What you put into your relationships is what you receive back tenfold.

Elizabeth, 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?

My name is Elizabeth Newton! I founded E Newton Photography in September of 2014. I had worked for Sears Portrait Studio since I was 18, but then they closed down due to poor financial decisions. My husband Josh hated seeing me without a creative outlet, so when we found out one of our best friends was pregnant, he encouraged me to buy my own camera so I could take her Maternity and Newborn portraits. And that’s where it all began! I threw myself to the wolves and started taking clients a week after my new camera arrived. I had no idea what I was doing, I’ll fully admit that now.
Gradually my photos became better, I was more consistent and confident, and my clientele was liking the product. I gained momentum and left my full time job so I could stay at home with my oldest son while photographing clients in my home studio.
I gravitated towards Cake Smash sessions and realized in 2019 that I was really good at making balloon garlands and incorporating props with them. That soon became my signature session and what most people booked with me!
Then the world shut down. I was born and raised in Massachusetts. Because of the COVID restrictions up north, I wasn’t allowed to work for most of 2020, and again my husband was really bummed to see me become depressed because I wasn’t able to carry out my artistic visions.
He proposed a big move to Texas and this is where the story really develops.
We had our second baby in April of 2021, renovated our entire home, sold it and moved to Texas in October of the same year! We knew that nurturing local relationships was how we would stay alive in a new market, so on our drive down South we researched midwives, cake bakers, party planners, chiropractors, anyone who serviced the same people that I would want to take pictures for.
That’s when we found Kassi Moore with Sugar Invasion.
I reached out to her after I saw the most beautiful crystal inlaid cake I had ever seen in my entire life. Her work was so clean and unique, I knew I had to meet her and potentially partner our businesses.
She showed up for her photoshoot with a Red Velvet Oreo cake and the rest is history. She’s my baker, I’m her photographer and we are the creative team deemed “The Cake Smash Queens”!
The biggest thing that sets us apart is the attention to detail. Kassi and I brainstorm over each background, outfit and cake design to make sure that our ideas are cohesive. Everything is thought through many times. We help inspire each other with all the ideas floating around!
My clients love the experience in the studio too! I provide the custom backdrop, handmade outfit, props, balloon garland, Kassi’s cake and digital images. Clients can even bring the ten foot balloon garland home with them to use at their baby’s birthday party!
I start off by talking with the parents when they arrive and let the baby acclimate to me. A lot of babies in the one year age range are shy and may experience some “stranger danger”. I like to let them watch me interact with their parents so they can see that I’m a comfortable person to be around. Once the baby is relaxed, they put on the first outfit for clean birthday portraits. I photograph them smiling, clapping, sitting, standing and doing the “scrunchy face” that most do in this age group. Once we’ve captured a good variety, I have them change into the cake smash outfit and bring out the cake. Nice cake pictures are taken before the client ever gets to the studio, just in case baby gets hasty with the smashing. I have mom or dad put baby down behind the cake and let them go! Anything goes in this portion. I’ve had babies politely pick at the decorations and I’ve had other babies face plant, flip, slide or even sit on the cake. Once the destruction has become enough for the baby, I bring out the clawfoot tubby! It’s splash time. I love adding this to all of my Cake Smashes. Not only is it a great photo op, it’s a fabulous way to clean greasy frosting off a one year old before getting them back in a carseat.
The relationship that I’ve grown with Kassi has completely changed my business for the better. The sets that I’m creating now, the cakes that grace those sets and the overall quality has improved beyond my imagining.
I am so excited to see what 2023 has for The Cake Smash Queens!

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I was fortunate where I have never needed a lot of sleep to function. I worked a full time job at a financial institution on the weekdays for seven years while simultaneously building my part time photography business. The day job funded the camera equipment, backdrops and lighting in the beginning, but then eventually I became much more business smart with a better product and service, so I was able to leave my full time job and become a full time entrepreneur. It was a wild leap of faith, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. I adore not having a “boss”. I’ve always had the drive to push myself through any challenge and strive for better.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

When we moved down to Texas, we we approached by a business networking group called BNI pretty quickly! They’re an international organization that has helped small businesses connect and grow with each other since the 1980’s. I would have put more focus into building relationships in different areas of business sooner because there is a lot I can learn from people with different perspectives than my own. I know I can’t just focus on my art, I have to build my business as well!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.enewtonphotographytx.com
• Instagram: @e.newton.photography
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/enewtonphotography
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@enewtonphotography843
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/e-newton-photography-weatherford

Image Credits
E Newton Photography