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

Felicia , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I actually started on the other side of the camera. In 2010 I was modeling, and one day I found myself on set for a Disney commercial with music group “One Republic”. While everyone else was focused on the talent and the lights, I couldn’t stop watching the crew. I fell in love with the energy behind the scenes — the storytelling, the direction, the way everyone worked together to make magic. That same week I bought my first camera!

My first official gig was kind of unpaid — I literally didn’t know what to charge. I told them to “just give me whatever you want,” which shows how unsure I was… but at the same time, I was completely in love with photography. That spark was enough!

I went all-in on learning. Nights on YouTube, investing in mentors, teaching myself through Facebook groups, saying yes before I was actually ready, and figuring it out as I went. During that same time, I was working a full-time 9–5 at ADT Security. I was the top sales rep — getting paid extremely well and even earning free trips to Mexico every year with my husband because my numbers were that strong. I remember battling with myself because I knew I was called for more, but it felt crazy to walk away from that type of security. Eventually I took that leap of faith, trusted God, and acknowledged that the call on my life wasn’t to stay in a 9–5.

By 2019, I finally went full-time in photography.

Around that time, my husband and I started investing in Airbnbs — and we didn’t just stop at one or two. Before long, we were managing thirteen properties. That season taught me operations, hospitality, systems, booking platforms, guest experience — all things that would matter later in ways I didn’t expect.

Then came the moment that changed everything: I needed a studio for a shoot in Jacksonville that had clean design, good natural light, AC, an all-white aesthetic, and an easy online booking system. And there was literally nothing like that here. I remember saying, “Why is this not a thing?” — and then realizing it was an opportunity.

The idea hit, but turning it into reality took steps:

Step one was research. I started looking into spaces in other major cities. I actually went to a space in Atlanta and loved it. I reached out to them hoping to learn, connect, or at least understand how they got started — and they literally left me on read. I didn’t want to do the same thing they were doing anyway, but I thought the concept was amazing as I was thinking about my own version. Nevertheless, I ended up having to figure it all out on my own because they ignored me — which is funny looking back on it now.

Step two was vision and scale. My first actual studio wasn’t the big one I have now. I opened in 2022 with a much smaller 900 sq ft space. I proved the concept, it took off quickly, and I expanded extremely fast. By 2024 I moved into the larger space with the 16-foot ceilings, cyclorama wall, dressing rooms, natural light — the whole vision I originally had in my head years prior.

Step three was numbers ( my husband Lee did this part ha!). While all this was happening, he was running spreadsheets, pricing models, buildout costs, and break-even points. Years of Airbnb operations taught me how to analyze spaces, optimize bookings, and think about user experience.

Step four was execution. Buildout, AC, lighting, painting, furniture sourcing, booking software, insurance, contractors — all the unglamorous things that make a space actually work. Photography kept me inspired, Airbnb operations funded the dream, and faith kept me moving.

When Luxury Point Studio finally evolved into what it is today, it wasn’t just for me. It became a solution for the photography and creative community in Jacksonville. Brands, couples, photographers, videographers, bridal parties, content creators — everyone now had access to something that did not exist here before.

So the process wasn’t “have an idea → open a studio.” It was years of collecting skills, listening to God, identifying a real problem, doing the homework, and building the thing I wished existed.

And now that space serves an entire community, not just my own portfolio!! It feels like a dream to say I’ve built a multi-figure business off of something that I honestly didn’t think was possible but here I am! This isn’t the end of my story thought this is literally just the beginning!

Felicia , 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?

For people who haven’t met me — I’m Felicia. I’m what most people now call a multi-hyphenate: photographer, studio owner, creative, wife, mom, property owner and investor.

Now that you know how I got started, here’s where that journey has led and what my work looks like today:

I operate in two main worlds: photography and creative space ownership — both rooted in storytelling, excellence, and hospitality.

Photography:
I specialize in couples, maternity, and brand content. My style blends lifestyle and editorial — real emotion with elevated direction. I care deeply about making clients feel seen, confident, and beautiful. I’m not chasing stiff poses; I’m capturing connection, moments, and intention. For brands, my work leans into narrative-building — imagery that actually supports identity and growth.

Studio Ownership:
Luxury Point Studio is my creative hub in Jacksonville — an all-white, natural-light, intentionally designed space for photographers, videographers, content creators, brides, and small events. It’s clean, aesthetic, easy to book online, climate-controlled, and built for creatives who need a reliable environment that doesn’t work against them. It’s the studio I always wished existed here.

The problems I solve:
• For couples and families: I document milestones in a way that feels both elevated and honest.
• For creatives: I provide a space that solves the constant headache of “Where can I shoot that looks good and makes sense?”
• For brands and business owners: I create visual content that supports launches, storytelling, and online identity.
• For brides: I offer a chic, functional, beautiful “getting ready” location that photographs well and aligns with modern wedding culture.

What sets me apart:
I sit at the intersection of creativity, operations, and hospitality. Most people are strong in one lane; I’ve built strength across all three. Modeling taught me how it feels in front of the camera. Photography taught me vision. Sales taught me communication and customer experience. Property ownership and Airbnb taught me systems, design, and functionality. Together, those experiences allow me to create not just images or spaces, but experiences that feel smooth, intentional, and high quality.

Faith and purpose are also core to my work. I don’t build just to build — I build with intention. Whether it’s documenting motherhood or designing a space for someone else’s dream shoot, I care about the deeper meaning.

What I’m proud of:
I’m proud that Luxury Point Studio has become a resource for the community — not just a personal workspace. Every week I see proposals, music videos, brand launches, maternity announcements, editorials, and small events happening in that building. That impact matters to me more than any metric.

I’m also proud of how quickly everything has scaled without losing heart. Growth is one thing; growing with integrity and purpose is another.

What I want people to know about me and my brand:
I care about quality. I care about experience. I care about legacy. I care about seeing others win. Whether someone hires me as their photographer or books the studio for their own vision, I want them to feel supported, inspired, and proud of the outcome.

At the end of the day, my goal isn’t just to create beautiful things — it’s to create meaningful ones.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Honestly, I built my audience on social media kind of by accident. In the beginning, I wasn’t “strategic” at all — I would just post for fun, here and there, with no structure and no plan. When I started my photography business, I realized pretty early that the more you post, the more you attract. And then I learned a deeper lesson: what you post is what you attract.

So my first piece of advice is always:
Post what you want to attract.
If you know you do not want to photograph babies, don’t post a single baby photo. There shouldn’t even be a baby toe in sight. Social media is a magnet — if you post it, people will assume you offer it.

It was a whole learning process. You’re not going to come into business knowing everything. It’s almost good to fail forward because every “failure” is a lesson in what not to do. And if you never learn lessons, you never grow into the person who can actually handle success.

For me, the real shift happened when I had overhead. Once I opened a studio, posting wasn’t optional anymore. It wasn’t “post for fun,” it was “post so people book and the bills get paid.” That pressure actually became a blessing because it created discipline.

At the same time, I genuinely enjoyed the creative side of posting. It was fun for me to make content, try ideas, and show up online. It didn’t feel easy, but it felt creative — and that kept me consistent. I noticed a pattern: when I created consistently, I booked consistently. Yes, you will still have slow months — that’s business — but for the most part, your high months outweigh your low months when you stay present and visible.

So my advice for people just starting out:
• Post what you want to attract. Don’t confuse your audience.
• Fail forward. Lessons are valuable; perfection is not required.
• Be consistent enough to stay visible. You can’t grow if no one knows you exist.
• Expect slow seasons. They don’t mean you’re failing.
• Have fun with it. When it becomes a chore, the audience can feel it.

You don’t need to have the perfect strategy or the perfect feed from day one. You just need to show up, learn, adjust, and keep going. Over time, the audience builds itself.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I always say I’m not the only resilient person out here. I actually believe everyone has resilience — they just haven’t met the opposition that activates it yet. For me, my opposition showed up in my first studio space.

The space itself was fine, but my landlords were not. They didn’t care about my business model, didn’t try to understand it, and honestly weren’t kind. It felt like I was constantly being attacked or questioned for doing exactly what they already knew I was there to do.

One day, I walked into the studio and every single window had been tinted with the darkest black tint you can imagine — no notice, no conversation, just pitch-black tint. And when you run a natural-light studio, that’s not just inconvenient — it’s devastating. It broke me. It was two days before my daughter’s birthday and it honestly ruined everything. I remember feeling crushed.

What’s crazy is, before that happened, I had already felt in my spirit that it was time to leave that space. I had that nudge from God, but I kept ignoring it because I was scared — scared I wouldn’t get approved for a bigger space, scared it wouldn’t work, scared it was “too soon.” Sometimes the door doesn’t close because you’re ready — it closes because God needs you to move.

The resilience kicked in when I realized I had two choices: let them bully me into staying and shrink myself… or fight for myself and my future. And fighting back was not easy. They told me I couldn’t leave, I couldn’t remove the tint, I couldn’t pay to remove it — basically, “deal with it.” I had to get lawyers involved, advocate for myself in front of the board, and push through so many moments where I wanted to shut everything down and walk away. At one point, I honestly thought the dark tint was the sign that my studio journey was over.

But that situation wasn’t a sign to quit — it was a sign to upgrade.

Eventually, I won. They let me out of my lease, and I started looking for a new space. And here’s the part that still makes me emotional: I ended up walking into a building that I had put on my vision board — not because I thought it would really happen, but because I just liked it and thought it was “impossible.” It was huge. It was insane. It was beyond anything I thought I could get approved for. And I’m standing there realizing… this is exactly what God was trying to push me toward.

So my resilience story isn’t about being tough or strong every second. It’s about not letting fear or intimidation make me shrink. It’s about advocating for myself when I wanted to give up. It’s about trusting God more than my comfort zone. And it’s about recognizing that sometimes the opposition is the vehicle that delivers you to the blessing God already prepared for you.

Sometimes resilience doesn’t look like fighting — sometimes it looks like trusting, moving, and letting go of what’s small so you can step into what was always meant for you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.feliciavphoto.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/feliciavphoto
• Facebook: Felicia V. Photography
• Linkedin: Luxury Point Studio
• Youtube: Luxury Point Studio
• Yelp: Luxury Point Studio

Image Credits

Photo of me holding a photo frame taken by Olivia Morgan Phorography
Photo of me on desk taken by Hi Def Photography
All other images are Felicia V. Photography