Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kenton Elliott . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kenton, appreciate you joining us today. Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?

I got my first client back in the fall of 2020. I was roughly two months into doing photography, so I was brand new. One day this young lady hit me on Instagram and asked me what my rates were. At the time, my rates were just $50. I didn’t have the material even to charge high. I just had my camera and lens. The young lady told me she had a birthday upcoming and she wanted to support me. I didn’t know her at the time, so it meant a lot to hear that from someone I didn’t know. I took her pictures, and she loved them, which made me happy.

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 back background and context?

My Name is Kenton Elliott. I am a recent Florida A&M University graduate with a degree In Graphic Design. I was born and raised in Orlando, Florida. My specialty is Photography and Graphic Design. I started taking pictures in 2020, but I became a professional Photographer last year. Growing up, I had numerous family members who were into photography, so my interest started at home. I created my business TealPine Productions, in 2020, where I currently have over 800 followers. I mainly do Portrait, Graduation, sports, event, and product photography. I managed to have my photography work published in numerous publications.

I am currently residing in Orlando as a Photographer, and I am starting to get into Videography slowly.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

POST YOUR WORK!! You must continue to post and showcase your work. The more you post, the better your chances people will discover you. That’s what almost single experienced Photographer has told me in the past. It is also essential to know your specialties. For example, if you are good at shooting sports, Post your Sports photography work so people can understand what you are good at. Having a good personality and knowing how to treat people are also essential. If you are a great Photographer, that’s nice, but if your people are trash, then you’ll just be known as that Photographer with a sorry personality. Nobody is going to book you at all. Learn how to talk to people in person and through social media.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I’m 24 years old and just recently finished college, so I am still young, so my audience is college kids. College kids always need pictures; instead, it’s a headshot, campaign flyers, or graduation pictures. College kids are always in need of images. I gravitate my work toward college kids and young people. Do not ever underestimate the power of word of mouth. Word of mouth can take you places. I can honestly say college and word of mouth have been driving my Photography business. I would not be in this position without those two things. If you are a young Photographer trying to make it, I encourage you to please shoot people in your age group. Create Flyers and ads so people can see and share them with someone who may need your assistance.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tealpineproductions.squarespace.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tealpine__productions/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenton-elliott-228994203/