We were lucky to catch up with Heirlume Photography recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Heirlume, thanks for joining us today. Are you 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?
We both feel truly blessed to earn a full-time living from our creative work. It isn’t always easy, but the freedom and agency it gives us is well worth it. There are a ton of tiny things that have added up to making our business successful, but the most important thing has always been our partnership. Starting a new venture can be scary, but having each other has always given us a sense of security because we were in it together! We met shooting freelance and found that we had very similar approaches to documenting weddings and people in general, but were also different enough to fill in each other’s gaps. Most importantly we had a great basis of friendship and mutual respect, so going into business together seemed like a wise (and fun!!) choice. As our business grew and we brought in associate shooters, we kept that same ethos going by hiring photographers whose work we respected but perhaps more importantly that we really liked as people. This has allowed us to keep Heirlume feeling tight knit despite our growing team. Aside from our teamwork, we attribute most of our growth to word of mouth and smart social media use. From the very beginning, we gave our all to each and every client we booked. They told their friends, who told their friends, and before we knew it we had a thriving business. We try to make sure that our social media platforms reflect the passion we bring to our work and also gives a sense of who we are as people. Our followers get to know us as humans as well as photographers, because fostering real relationships with clients can be the difference between working with someone once and being a family’s go-to photographer for years ;)
Heirlume, 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?
Heirlume is a highly experienced team of photographers and videographers that work hard, support one another, get sh** done, and just generally bring the vibes ;) The core of our company is the belief that no two weddings or clients are the same. We celebrate the differences that make each human unique, and strive to create an experience that is perfect for YOU.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
We have built a positive reputation within our market by building real relationships with other wedding vendors. Most venues, coordinators, etc. have a preferred vendors list that they share with their clients, and being a go-to person they recommend can be absolutely game changing. We get those referrals by always going above and beyond for our clients, being team players on a wedding day, and bringing great energy. You want to be someone that a planner can confidently recommend by maintaining a high standard of work, solving problems efficiently, and getting along well with the other vendors working that day. Everyone wants to like the people they work with, so being positive and personable can go a long way!
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding thing about working as a creative is the autonomy and variety it brings to our lives! Obviously working for yourself comes with its challenges, but we absolutely love being the people in charge of our own schedules/projects/growth. And it is always changing. No two people are the same, so no two shoots are the same. We get to meet new people all of the time and attempt to document who they are as humans, which is such a fun and fulfilling challenge. We also get to continuously push ourselves to grow in our craft by trying new things even when we aren’t totally sure it will pan out. That freedom to experiment keeps our work fresh and allows us to stay creatively charged.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://heirlumephotography.com
- Instagram: @heirlumephotography
- Other: Pinterest: heirlumephoto
