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

Hannah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later

I would have started my business sooner. I just became an LLC this year, but looking back I could have done that a lot sooner. I first started taking photos my freshman year of high school. It wasn’t until around my senior year that I was doing them more professionally. I entered college with photography as my major, and it was honestly what made me overwhelmed about starting my own business. I was extremely discouraged. I felt like everyone around me was thriving and knew so much about editing and creative apps. I began to lose my confidence and excitement for photography. I changed my major my sophomore year, but I never stopped taking pictures. I just told myself I would never be able to have my own studio space and make enough to do it for a living. It wasn’t until my senior year of college that I had multiple friends that really uplifted me and commented on my talent. I began doing so many paid shoots, the most I’d ever had at once. By the time I graduated I was doing enough photography to be full-time. I did not plan for that to happen at all, and was in fact working a part-time job at my church and nannying as well. I was so busy, running from job to job. I then grew the passion to start my own photography business again. It was my dream and I wasn’t going to give up this time. Even though I could have had even more clientele right now, I am so thankful for the way it happened. I am much more confident and kinder to myself. I have learned to never give up on my passion.

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?

I come from a very creative family, my great grandfather was actually a well known professional photographer when he was my age. I loved taking photos ever since I can remember. I won an art contest in elementary school for a photo I had taken on my mom’s phone. My freshman year of high school was the first time I had used a professional camera. I was on the yearbook team and was actually interested in journaling. One day my teacher told me someone couldn’t photograph an event anymore and asked if I could cover it. When I came back with the photos that following week she pulled me aside to tell me how much she loved them, and that I could shoot future content if interested. I was on yearbook all four years of high school and that’s where I developed my love for capturing all the moments. I took senior photos, family photos, second shot weddings, and any other sessions people would hire me for. I wanted to be different than other photographers. I always wanted to be affordable for families, and wanted to capture the real moments. My clients would always receive all photos from the session, not just five good prints. I’m proud of myself for finding my passion and sticking with it. Photography is the first thing I never fully let go of. I have had my struggles, but I never stopped taking pictures. It’s the only profession I have truly loved. I hope I always show that to my clients. I want them to know I am so thankful for them hiring me, because that means more to me than they will ever know. I don’t just want to show up and take the pictures, I want to have a relationship with my clients. I want to capture their wedding and when they have kids, and family photos as they grow over the years. This is part of the reason why I meet with couples before I shoot their wedding. I want to get to know them, build a relationship, and have fun celebrating them on their special day! I am a very detail oriented person and when it comes to my photos I want them to be the best they can!

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I knew my side hustle turned into a full time business when I couldn’t handle working a full time job on top of photoshoots. That’s when I knew I had to make a decision. About a year ago I quit my full time job to pursue photography. Before quitting my job I called multiple businesses and contacted clients to see if they needed branding photos or help running their social media. I now run four social media accounts for local businesses. I have made so many connections from doing that and getting my name out there. I leave my business cards wherever I can and make sure clients tag me when when they post my work. There are definitely slow periods and more clientele I would love to reach, but that’s what makes me motivated to keep working and trying my hardest to fulfill those dreams!

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I would say being the best I can for the clients I already have. 90% of my new clientele is from my current clients. It’s my amazing clients that are spreading the word about my business. I have gotten the occasional clients that just accidentally found me on social media and loved my work, but overall it’s the amazing clients I already have and have invested in. That’s why building a relationship with my clients is so important to me. I have heard a lot of stories from clients that told me they hired me because the photographer they had used before was rude or treated them like a burden. That breaks my heart when I hear that. I never want to be so caught up in getting a good shot that I forget it’s the people in the shot that are helping me reach my goals. It will never be about the money for me. Obviously, I need to know my worth and charge what I do to continue growing, but I never want to lose sight of building relationships in the process.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://hannahbutler.space/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannahskyphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hannahskyphotography

Image Credits
The image of me was taken by Gabby Coburn Photo