We recently connected with Genevieve Castro and have shared our conversation below.

Genevieve, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

The unique style that I have curated comes from a combination of self education and research. If you want to learn something new the tools and information is out there. You just need to look for it!

When I started out I didn’t have the money to pay for a mentor and it was hard to find one that would share the knowledge free of charge. I knew that if I wanted to learn how to be a photographer I needed to learn in my own.

I started with offering free photoshoots so I could learn how to get comfortable with my camera, how to work with clients, and how to edit photos. I found multiple you tube videos and free online resources to reach me the basics. Once I felt comfortable I started charging for sessions and then used the money to purchase courses to further develop my skills.

Knowing what I know now I wouldn’t change a thing to try and speed up my learning process. The slow and stead approach really allowed me to master each of my skills to the fullest extent. I learned so much through my own trials and errors that I wouldn’t have learned from a mentor from the beginning. Don’t get me wrong, having a mentor is great! I knew from the beginning that I wanted to be unique and different from the rest of the photography community. That meant figuring it out on my own.

The most essential skills that aided in my success were patience and drive. I needed to have that drive to continue to learn even though I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. I also needed to have a LOT of patience because the path that I was on lead to many failures along the way. I could have given up at any point but I knew that I would eventually succeed!

My biggest obstacle I faced was time itself. Working a full time job and being a full time job meant a lot of late nights as well as giving up a lot of my weekends. If I was able to dive into it full time I may have been able to reach my goals a lot faster. However, I found the beauty of not having so much time early on. It allowed me to take my time without the pressure of a timeline or deadline.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi, I’m Gen! The owner of NextGen Photography. I provide luxury studio portraits in the comfort of my clients homes. I specialize in motherhood and family photography with maternity being my most sought after session type. I have curated a custom style and and experience that celebrates the beauty of motherhood and captures the essence of family.

The photographer I am today is all because of my first born, Levi. I have always loved photography as a child and even tried making a career out of it after high school. It didn’t really stick. It wasn’t until I became a mother that I was brought back to my love of photography. I wanted to be able to capture the fleeting moments that the journey of motherhood brings. I remember taking my son to his newborn session in 2018 and being in awe the entire time. I knew all about fashion photography but this was all new. I fell IN LOVE.

I didn’t pick up a camera again until the pandemic hit in 2020. Work was slow and I felt ready to embark on my photography journey again. This time I was ready to make it! I started taking clients for free and learning all I could. I knew that I wanted to be unique and amazing! I also wanted to make sure that I made client satisfaction and professionalism true core of my business.

I owe the success of my business to each and every one of my clients! Through each referral my business continues to grow. Regardless of how much growth I make I will always have a profound gratitude for every client. They are like my family! Trusting me with their most precious moments. From maternity and birth to birthdays and milestones, I am entrusted with capturing those moments to live on forever! I love being able to watch families grow as I capture photographs for each new member of the family. It truly is a blessing.

NextGen photography is so much more than photography itself. I run a business with so much love and integrity. You are investing your hard earned money and I will treat it as such. From every conversation we have, to the day of your session you will feel the care that I take to ensure the entire process is a pleasant experience.

Being able to bring the studio experience to my clients homes is one of a kind. You really won’t be able to find other photographers that do what I do at the caliber that I do it at. I invest in hand made designer gowns to make my clients feel like the queens that they are. I take my time during each session to pose and adjust for each look to ensure the photos turn out amazing! I pay the closest attention to detail when editing to create unique images that are worthy of being put up on the walls. I care so deeply about what I do and represent as a business owner and am so grateful that I am able to do what I love every day!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

1000% transparency and creativity. When I first started my business I didn’t have an extensive portfolio to show prospective clients. Before I found my creative style I made it a point to be transparent with all of my clients through social media end client communications. I love sharing my own experiences through motherhood to connect with my clients and foster a great relationship. I believe wholesome connections are the key to making lifelong clients. These types of clients are the ones that will refer you to all of their friends and family and will continue to book you years down the road.

Another huge factor that helped me build my reputation was a unique experience and editing style. Being located in south Florida means that the photography market is over saturated. I knew I needed to stick out from the crowd. To do this I decided to bring the studio experience to my clients. I find that my clients are able to be fully themselves and comfortable because they are home in their safe space. They don’t need to worry about who’s going to walk through the door or feel nervous because they are in a new space. I also created a unique editing style that sets me apart as well. My editing style can be described as painterly, luxurious, and refined.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

WORD OF MOUTH!

As soon as my clients post their photos on social media and tag me, I immediately get more inquiries. The photography world is HUGE and 99% of the time my clients tell me that they went with a photographer that they were referred to because it was too overwhelming to find one themselves.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/_nextgenphotography_?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nextgen.photography20?mibextid=LQQJ4d