We were lucky to catch up with Leah Tyler-Szucki recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Leah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
Hard work but also knowing your limits and abilities. Not focusing on the things that are not working. Keeping the goal in mind and than trusting that the opportunies that come up will point you in that direction even if you do not see a clear path. I feel like so many people hyper focus on “the way” to do things but there are so many different paths. You truly never know who and when you will meet someone that will put you one step further to the goal. Sometimes things will seem like a waste of time or money but if you look at every job/idea as an opportunity you will continue to succeed.
Leah, 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?
I am a lifestyle and wedding photographer! I have been full time for nearly 5 years now. I started my business when my first child was 3 months old, I was running low on maternity leave funs and my husband suggested I start using my hobby camera on people. I started posting on marketplace sessions for tips, I did about 100 of those before charging $100, than another 50 sessions brought me to $200 and so on and so on. I believed that the more sessions that I did the more people would hear my name, the more people sharing on social media would bring more attention to my page. And it worked! I am now making over 100k a year, I get paid to travel the world for weddings and more importantly I have the flexible to raise my children. And I don’t mean that I don’t work around the clock, I most certainly do. But I can answer an email from the beach, I can edit at night after bedtime and I can take my kids on work trips with me. It hasn’t been easy but I made the most out of every session and took every opportunity (even article as an opportunity) to just one step closer to the vision I have for my future.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
I have always thought that it wasn’t just the equiptment that makes you great. It’s a triangle balance of decent equiptment, a decent amount of knowledge and passion to what you’re doing. For example, you might have the best equiptment on the market but if you do not know how to use it properly, you fail. If you have all the knowledege of photographer but don’t have any equiptment, you fail. If you have no passion you have no drive to work, you fail. But if you put a bit of all those together you will succeed. I have bought all my equiptment second hand, in fact it was just about a month ago that I bought my first brand new, top of the line camera body.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Share, share, share. I get 3 emails a day from old navy telling me about their sales. I might only click on it once a month but i will usually buy. Share your work, tell your story. Do not be afraid to get infront of the camera and show bits and piece of your life on your stories. People will connect with you emotionally and want to be apart of your journey. Get busy following your clients back and follow along with their lives, it will make your encounters much more personal and show them that you care about them in return. BUT the most influencial quote I have regarding social media is to nurture the clients you have. That means do not chase the followings, do not chase people that can not physically have any impact on your business. Cater your posts to the clients that you have and attract more like minded people that will actually support your business verses some fake account in india that might grow your numbers but never help put food on your table.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.leahtylerszuckiphotography.ca
- Instagram: @leahtylerszucki.photography
- Facebook: Leah Tyler-Szucki Photography
