We were lucky to catch up with Irene Abdou recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Irene, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?
In 2020, I started a project called the “50 Over 50 & Fabulous” Project, in which my goal is to photograph 50 women age 50+ to embrace the beauty of aging. I’m currently in Round 2 of the project, and I’m planning a Round 3. One of the women from my inaugural round wrote this in an online review on Google:
“I have not had portraits done in about 10 years. After losing my mom I realized this portion of her life was not documented. I remember her always having an excuse to stay out of the picture. I didn’t want that to be the same for me. I want my girls to see I’m proud of the wrinkles, the gray and the scars. I saw the 50 over 50 project and felt this was a great way to celebrate that I’ve made it. I am not a model and don’t want to be. I was nervous going in but Irene’s sweet nature put me at ease and allowed me to enjoy the experience. I’m thrilled with the outcome! She’s truly an artist. She allowed me to shine through her art. Thank you, Irene!”
So many of my clients have written in their reviews that they dislike being photographed, but that I changed that. Or they say that they’re unphotogenic, but that they loved the images I created of them. One mom wrote that my photographs of her 11-yr old daughter and of the two of them together made her daughter feel and look so beautiful, and that it was an amazing bonding experience for them. Feeling beautiful at that age and learning to feel comfortable in their own skin at those tween years sets the stage for so much later in life.
And so if I can make a positive difference in the self-esteem and self-confidence of the people around me, regardless of age or gender… if I can give people a photographic memory of their loved ones… then I will be truly happy to call that my legacy.
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 background and context?
When I originally became a professional photographer, it was because I loved the art of photography and being behind the camera. But what I’ve come to realize over the years is that one of the most rewarding things about being a professional photographer is that I have this amazing superpower to make people feel great about how they look.
Putting pen to paper and thinking through what my true mission is today as a professional photographer & artist, it’s to remind every person that they hold a rare and unique fierceness unlike any other, and that it should be celebrated in a portrait legacy they can cherish for generations. I help to encapsulate a moment in time when a person’s spirit and vitality transcends from inspiration to digital image to tangible artwork. I want to be part of building a world that sees, celebrates and empowers the beauty, strength and courage in each and every individual and family, one portrait at a time.
Photography is a tough career. There are so many part-time photographers out there, and very few full-time photographers, and the reason is that it is not easy to make a decent living at photography! So the single thing that I am most proud of is that I have been able to build a thriving boutique photography studio. I’m living my dream, and it is so wonderful to be my own boss and to both work hard and be able to play hard!
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
Photography is my 3rd career, if we count my university degree. Coming from an Asian family, my parents heavily pushed me towards math and science, and I ended up with a Bachelor’s degree in physics from Cornell University. Much to my parents’ chagrin, though, the summer before my senior year of college, I met a returned Peace Corps Volunteer from West Africa who inspired me to join the Peace Corps after college. I lived in a mud hut in Niger for 3.5 years… some of the best years of my life. Had I never had that Peace Corps experience, I’m not sure when I would ever have picked up a camera, as it was my newfound interest in photographing other cultures that got me interested in photography.
That Peace Corps experience launched me into a 10+ year career in international development and humanitarian aid, during which time I only picked up my camera when I traveled. At some point, I took a job in South Sudan as the Malaria Technical Advisor for a large, international public health non-profit, where I lived in a tent for 2 years. That’s when I started trying to really learn photography.
Two years later, I emerged from South Sudan burnt-out and looking for something else to focus on. Photography became that thing. That was 2007. I was still working full-time in international public health, but I was also working 20-40 hours a week building up my photography business. In 2010, I decided to quit my international public health job and plunge into photography full-time. It was a risk, because I still wasn’t making enough money in photography at that time to support us. But at that point, photography had become the air I breathed… I felt like I had found my true calling.
I delved into all different types of photography – selling landscapes/florals/Africa fine art prints – I gained representation by some commercial art galleries and art consulting firms. I tried to get freelance jobs with international non-profits photographing overseas. But I quickly found that I would forever be a starving artist if I continued down that route.
And so I focused my efforts on portrait, wedding, and corporate event photography. And over the years, I’ve further narrowed it down to simply portrait photography – maternity/newborn, families, high school seniors, individuals, couples, boudoir, online dating photos – as well as headshots/business portraits/personal branding photography.
After all those years of helping people overseas, I found it time to help people here at home, whether by helping professionals move up in their careers and small business owners grow their businesses, helping mothers remember the minute details and expressions of their children’s faces, helping singles find their special someone to share their life with, or by helping women feel beautiful and empowered and glamorous and confident.
It may sound a little obvious, but another key milestone that I didn’t discover until 3 years into my business (yes, silly I know!) was that there are Facebook groups for professional photographers, where I could go to learn from others and seek advice about the business of photography. Another more recent step I took just a few years ago was to join some mastermind groups for professional photographers. Having that coaching as well as access to other successful photographers has been another key to my success.
I have big long-term goals for myself and my photography studio, and if I am to meet these goals, then I must continue to innovate and evolve. What I’m most proud of for 2022 is the launch of my “Magical Santa Photography Experience” (https://landing.ireneabdou.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I think the #1 thing that has most helped me build my reputation has been online reviews. I probably have accumulated around 150 five-star reviews in different places around the web. In 2021, internet searches and directory listings were my #2 client source. (Facebook ads was #1.) Sometimes, people call me up, and when I ask how they found out about us, they’ll see they keep seeing us everywhere. And when they see you everywhere, it enhances trust.
In 2021, I started to focus more on social media. And recently, for the first time, we had a reel go viral. It got over 31,000 views and more than 1,200 likes in a really short period of time! I was out playing racquetball, and my Apple watch would not stop dinging. Literally every second, there was a new like on the post! And I think what was key here was that the video was of a 75-year old female client. We had draped her in fabric, and she was spinning around and having so much fun! I think the audience loved seeing a 75-year old woman full of spunk and life! And so, the key here was not the quality of the imagery (video), but the choice of the person we were featuring! People really connected with her!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ireneabdou.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ireneabdou/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ireneabdouportraitsweddings
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ireneabdouphotography/