We recently connected with Joshua Gaffney and have shared our conversation below.

Joshua, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

How did I begin on my photography journey? Honestly it all started with a conversation with me and my wife as we were headed into town from home. My wife turned to me and said, “we should start a business.” From that moment we begun to brainstorm business ideas and came up with photography. We came home and found a business plan template and wrote out our photography business plan. Once we had the business plan written out, I begun to study and do an intensive study into the world of photography. I spent numerous hours and long nights watching YouTube videos, reading, and going out during the night hours to practice what I had learned. I purchased my first camera from a pawn shop in Inman SC, it was a Nikon D3200 (crop sensor camera body) which was an entry level DSLR. I understood that going from idea to execution meant that I needed to have some idea on how to operate a camera which also meant that I needed to own a camera. When I first started, I was doing landscape photography in order to get my feet wet and then I started asking family and friends if I could take their photos in order to practice taking photos of real individuals. I knew that I loved photography after I first picked up the camera. It was my wife (my help meet) that helped me see the potential that I had and that we had together that allowed Joshua Gaffney Photography to be born and is why we are still in existence now. Little did I know that not only did I have to study up on photography, but I also have had to take the necessary time to study social media marketing, website design, logo design, financing, starting an LLC, creating contracts, building pricing, and so much more. Running a business can be tough but you have to be confident and eager in order to get the results you want.

Joshua, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hello,

My name is Joshua Gaffney. I am a photographer based in Spartanburg SC, I specialize in weddings, family, birthday, and portrait photography. I begin my photography career back in 2019 which is also the first year of my marriage. As stated above I got into this industry though the process of brainstorming business ideas with my wife. What sets me apart from others is that I believe in staying true to who I am, and I don’t believe in compromising in order to make a profit. The Bible states in Matthew 16:26 “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” I want my clients to know that I love creating a fun experience where each client is able to see their vision come to life. I was born and raised in the Spartanburg/Greenville area, went to James F. Byrnes High School, go to church at the Promised Land COGIC in Spartanburg SC, have been married going on 5 years, and have two beautiful children.

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

I built my audience on social media by joining groups on Facebook and sharing my work in them. I also reached out to models and random people to do photoshoots with them in order to build my portfolio which allowed me to grow my following on social media platforms. Recommendations allowed me to increase my following. People I worked with would tell others and post their photos which would then allow my social media reach to increase which allowed my followers to increase. One piece of advice I can give is to promote and share your content with people and find ways to add value so that people will want to follow you.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

I use email marketing to stay connected with past clients and this allows them to stay updated on upcoming specials.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.gaffneyphotos.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/joshuagaffneyphotography/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/joshuagaffneyphotography/