We recently connected with Harriet Thompson and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Harriet thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.
Being a photographer means that you are expected to take pretty photos – now, this is true, however my focus is on the experience itself as opposed to just the photos. I won’t lie, the photos do end up being really beautiful, but I attribute this to the experience I create for my clients during a photoshoot. By making my couples or seniors feel comfortable and confident during a session, we are able to create magic together and end up with amazing photos as well as a memorable time.
Harriet, 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?
At the age of 12, I started playing around with my mom’s camera. I would make my brother model for me, do photo shoots with my friends, and eventually people started paying me. Now, over a decade later, I am a full time intimate wedding + high school senior photographer based in North Georgia who specializes in capturing the beauty of my subjects in amazing landscapes. I’m different in that I provide more than just pretty photos – a huge reason I have grown as a photographer is because of the experience I create at photo shoots. I thrive on making my subjects feel confident and comfortable in front of the camera, and most of the time we end up as really good friends at the end of the session. After graduating from UGA in May, I feel really proud of how much my business has grown just in the last couple months. I’ve been doing shoots almost everyday and creating work that I’m really proud of – not being in school has allowed me to be so much more flexible with my work and I am super excited about it.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
About 70% of my shoots are high school seniors – these are some of my favorite moments of my job. Senior year of high school can be a really great year, or very stressful and I’m so lucky to help provide an experience that takes their mind off of college applications, ACT scores, and whatever else seniors have to worry about. I also have to thank them for building my reputation – word of mouth is how I got to where I am today. Seniors tell their friends about me, and then suddenly I have 5 more inquiries on my website for a shoot. I can’t thank them enough for always spreading my name around.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The people I meet and work with are absolutely the most rewarding part! Some of my best friends today were first a client – it’s so crazy to think back to their shoot and see how much we’ve grown over the years. My seniors are literally the best ever and our shoots always just feel like a couple of friends hanging out and taking photos together. I love capturing the milestones of my couples – whether that be their 1 year anniversary, getting a dog together, getting engaged, and eventually getting married. It’s so magical telling the stories of people I love so much.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.harriets.world
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harriets_world/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harriets.world/