Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lauren Nichols. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Lauren thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. The first dollar you earn in a new endeavor is always special. We’d love to hear about how you got your first client that wasn’t a friend or family.
My wedding journey began when I was in college, looking to step into the wedding photography industry, but I had no idea how to get to step one—booking a client with no wedding experience. Thankfully, I stepped out of my comfort zone and offered my untested skills for free on a community page on Facebook in hopes someone would allow me to see if this was for me. Though it was unconventional, I was really just looking for someone who was sitting on the edge of hiring someone for photos, so I could gain the experience of my first wedding. A few hours later, I was contacted by the perfect first client, and she put her trust in me; together we created memories for her to look back on forever. Her faith in my work, even without wedding experience, was the boost in confidence I needed to slowly build my career in weddings. Through her, I gained so many inquiries that led to bookings, and so many of these people have become friends. It took one person for my whole world to change, and my life has never been the same since I took the leap into the unknown.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My journey started when I was 13, walking on the beach in Florida with my dads phone in hand, taking photos of the birds flying around me. From there, I found a love for the feelings I could evoke from an image, pushing my interests from nature to sports to people. As I became more aware of my love for human connection, I ventured into building stronger relationships with my friends by doing shoots for them and then eventually opening my books to all people willing to put their trust in me and my approach to creativity through the lens.
I believe a huge part of my brand and my love for photography go hand in hand with my approach to life: I find life to be fragile and fleeting, and hope to experience everything I can while I am graced with the ability to live freely both in body and mind. Photography has brought me the ability to capture the fleeting moments of life and being able to visually look back at the beautiful memories that make up my life is something I am forever appreciative of. Through all of this, I have decided to offer it all: weddings, engagements, boudoir, families, adventure, nature… creating is my reason for continuing this path, lets create together.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
Word of mouth has been the most beneficial marketing strategy for me – I have found building relationships with people, before and after the event they have hired you for leads to a lot of great passive marketing. People love real life reviews – sure, you can see the best of someones best work on their website, but someone may wonder what it’s like working with you outside of your best of the best… do you present consistent work, do you make their event experience less stressful, do you have the same vision in mind as your potential client? Relationships are everything for my business – it means so much to me when I can make a friend, and often times in return, they become repeat clients.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
There are so many rewarding moments in this industry – the reaction from people seeing your work, the clients who turn into friends, the memories of all of the amazing things you get to do and places you get to go. I think everything about being able to do what I love is rewarding, even the hard lessons I’ve learned through the years. I have gained so much from each experience I have been through, good and bad, in the last decade. I have shot for major corporations, been to amazing cities, witness beautiful moments, all because one day I took a picture and decided that was it for me – photography was it. Chasing your dreams is daunting, especially when you have worked nearly half your life for it, but it also the most rewarding thing I have ever poured myself into.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://laurennicholsphotography.mypixieset.com
- Instagram: laurennicholsphotography
Image Credits
Lauren Nichols Photography