We were lucky to catch up with Heather Franklin recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Heather thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

My business is called Violet Aster Photography, and it’s something very special to me. I love birth flowers and how most people don’t know that they have one! Violet is the birth flower for February which is my birth month, and Aster is my sons birth flower for September.

Heather, 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?

Hi! I’m Heather Franklin, owner and photographer for Violet Aster Photography. I started doing photography as a way to be able to stay home with my sweet baby, but my love for photography started way before. When I was younger I dreamed of being a photographer for Times Magazine and traveling across the world for wildlife photography, but when I had my son at 18 all plans changed.
I knew I needed to find a career that would provide for my son but also allow me to not miss out on his childhood, and thanks to all of my amazing clients I’ve been able to do just that.
I never could’ve imagined my business growing and flourishing the way it has! Of course I’ve had struggles, made mistakes, gotten burnt out but I never gave up, I couldn’t.
One of the main things I love about doing photography is the friends it has brought me! From being the first to know about pregnancies or engagements to getting to be there every step of the way for all the big and little moments. I consider a lot of my clients as family, we’ve grown together over the years!
From Senior sessions to labor and delivery to weddings, and so much more- I’ve seen it all and I can’t wait to keep learning and growing with my previous clients as well as new!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

You can’t apologize for your prices. I used to feel bad (I still do sometimes) about my prices, but I had to learn that photography is a luxury not a need and I deserve to set my prices and it be paid. I have worked so hard and I still try to make my prices reasonable but still livable.

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

Market. Market. Market. That’s it. You can’t grow if you don’t market yourself!
Do giveaways once in a while, ask for honest reviews, and don’t stop posting!

Contact Info:

• Website: VioletAsterPhotography.mypixieset.com
• Instagram: Violet Aster Photography
• Facebook: Violet Aster Photography