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

Grace, appreciate you 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?

Photography went from a college side hustle to my full-time job in May of 2021. Throughout my college years, I worked jobs in public relations and local news/digital media that I feel prepared me for a lot of the aspects of running my photography business full time, but I didn’t have a lot of business knowledge. My strongest skills came from my formal education in art and communication, while I developed my business skills as I built and grew the photo business.

After graduating college with my degree in journalism, I spent 5 months working part-time in social media for a local nonprofit before making the jump to full-time. I am so thankful for my time there, and for the flexibility that my manager gave me to grow my photography business while working for them!

I was able to scale GTP quickly through investing in education, getting a lot of wedding experience, and working hard on marketing through social media, networking with other vendors, and my website. Building out a portfolio that would resonate with my ideal clients, and creating a high-end experience helped me to raise my prices so that I could eventually go full-time.

Grace, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Grace Torres and I’m a 23-year-old traveling wedding and elopement photographer. I live in the sunshine state with my husband, Christian, and our puppy, Scout. We are a husband-wife duo and absolutely love what we do! I specialize in photography, and Christian is my main second photographer as well as a videographer.

We create candid and journalistic imagery with an editorial and artistic flair! Our couples are typically laid back, in love, and ready to ENJOY and celebrate their wedding day THEIR way – whether that means eloping just the two of them, or doing the big wedding with some more untraditional elements.

Our dynamic as husband and wife creates a fun and relaxed atmosphere for our couples to feel like they can be themselves and show true emotion throughout their wedding day. We put so much time into getting to know each client before the wedding day so that our time together just feels like a double date!

We travel for about half of our weddings and love hiking and the outdoors! We have had the opportunity to capture couples in places like New York City, Utah, California, Tennessee, Arizona and beyond!

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

I have always done business with a “human first” philosophy, which I think really served my business in its first year. At the end of the day, I always want to put my clients first. This means making sure that I’m advocating for their wants and preferences on their wedding day (and no one else’s!), answering questions thoroughly and joyfully, putting extra time into the prep and backend work, and just overall being an understanding person.

I love the quote, ‘People will always remember how you made them feel.” It’s so true and it’s important that my clients always feel so special, celebrated, and valued!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media was a huge driving force in the early years of my business. I acquired so many of my early clients through organic social media growth. Consistency, showing up on socials daily, and constantly learning the updates on each social platform helped me to stay on top of my content.

My best advice for entrepreneurs who are first starting their business is to build a strong social media presence. Post consistently, create video content, keep learning through podcasts, and have fun with it!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.gracetorresphoto.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/gracetorresphoto
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/gracetorresphoto
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GraceTorresPhoto
• Other: www.pinterest.com/gracetorresphoto

Image Credits
All images by Grace Torres Photography