We recently connected with Liz Banfield and have shared our conversation below.

Liz, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump right into the heart of things. Outsiders often think businesses or industries have much larger profit margins than they actually do – the reason is that outsiders are often unaware of the biggest challenges to profitability in various industries – what’s the biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

A flood of amateur and semi-professionals has caused a devaluation of the craft of professional photography. It seems that everyone is a photographer these days. And it looks easy from the outside! Proving its worth and charging enough to make a living can be a huge challenge.

The investment in equipment and computers needed to execute professional level imagery can sink a small photography business who can’t charge enough to cover overhead costs. I spend between $12 – $20K a year just on computers, photography gear, memory storage, software, and IT services. None of these expenses can be billed to a certain job so they come straight out of my income.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I had been working as an executive in advertising for several years and while it was a very engaging job, I longed for something creative that I could call my own. At the same time, my friends and family were at a phase of life where they were getting married but didn’t want their wedding pictures to be so traditional and staged, which was the standard at the time. These couples wanted something more candid and authentic to remember their weddings. It was a generation who came of age in the boom of lifestyle photography, when brands like J. Crew were reinventing commercial imagery to be more natural. I had been working on the Nikon camera account and my friends and colleagues at the agency also knew me as a lifelong hobby photographer. They asked me to shoot their weddings in the highly natural, artful reportage style that became my signature. This approach took off quickly. My first weddings, shot mostly in black and white film, brought me notoriety and I was soon able to transition into full time photography. My work was published in Martha Stewart Weddings less than two years after quitting my job.

Capturing people’s meaningful moments has become a life’s work for me. It’s an incredible honor to play a part of these intimate moments and be trusted with their memories. The resulting friendships and long term creative collaborations are an unexpected benefit of my career. I still receive holiday cards from clients over 20 years ago and have documented other major moments as their family grows. It’s heartwarming to think that I will soon shoot weddings for the children of my earliest clients.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

After 24 years as a professional, I have learned that clients don’t always know what they really want. I once had a wedding client who asked me to take a picture of her wedding party all jumping at the same time. I found this request to be at odds with my creative vision of taking highly natural, candid photos. But what I realized is what this bride really wanted was proof that her wedding was “fun.” When I could look at the request from this translation, I knew she’d love her pictures because I was capturing the real, genuine joy of her event. So pleasing a client and delivering on expectations can often mean that I must interpret their request and divine what they really want.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I’m in a referral business so it’s critical that I keep my clients happy and maintain relationships with key clients by simply staying in touch. It has never worked for my commercial photography career or my weddings to have someone else represent me. For years I thought my business would be better if I could just invest in having someone else promote me so I could focus on my art. Wrong. I need to personally show up. Consequently, I am top of mind when it comes to hiring me or referring me. Relatedly, social media has been a boon for creatives. I take advantage of this simple way of staying in touch with commercial and wedding clients as well as industry friends. Yes, it takes time. But I see social media a bit like growing a garden. I tend to it consistently (but not obsessively) and it produces results over time. I also make sure to show up in real life! I take people out on the town. I show up to industry events. And it must be both, online and in person, to be effective in the long run.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lizbanfield.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizbanfieldwed/ (weddings) and https://www.instagram.com/lizbanfield/ (brand/lifestyle)
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lizbanfieldphotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-banfield-536b435/
• Other: TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@lizbanfield

Image Credits
© Liz Banfield, all rights reserved