We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maggie Morris a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Maggie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

There are three things my parents instilled in me that have been instrumental in my growth as a human and as a photographer/business owner.

First and foremost, my Dad always said there are two ways to be successful as a business: 1) do something no one else has done, or offer a service no one else offers or 2) do something lots of people do, but do it better. The DMV area is inundated with wedding professionals, but I make an effort to go above and beyond for my clients and “do it better” as my Dad always said.

The second thing that both my Mom and Dad taught me is to assume the best out of everyone you meet. It doesn’t serve anyone to assume another vendor wants to compete with you, or that a client is unhappy with you. Assume everyone has good intentions until proven otherwise. And if you’re ever unsure, communicate and ask questions. We’re all human and just doing the best we can.

Thirdly, my parents taught me that earned is better than given. It’s always more satisfying to work for something that you want, and put in the time, than to just be handed it. This applies to booking weddings, gaining opportunities, and even growing/improving as a photographer. I expect nothing to be handed to me and always intend to put in the time for the things that matter to me.

There are so many more things that my parents have taught me, but these three have stuck with me and rang true in my business experience.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My Mom’s admitted lack of photography skills is responsible for my initial introduction into photography, and what sparked my passion. I’m not sure if the gathering to take group photos prior to homecoming and prom is a nationwide phenomenon, or just a Southern California thing, but that was my pre-dance ritual in high school. Like all the other parents, my Mom showed up with our family DSLR to take photos, and I would always excitedly return home after a dance to review them. To my dismay, I often found that she had cut off my feet, or head, or missed focus. I basically asked her to try harder and she said something like “forget it, you take the camera.” From that moment on, I claimed the family camera as my own and was thrilled to take self-portraits and photos of my friends. I soon realized that photography is empowering, and it can help people to feel beautiful, happy and confident. The response to showing people a good photo of themselves is addictive, and from high school on, my love for it grew.

I then brought my camera to college at GW and had a booming photography side hustle. I shot Greek life events, student orgs, headshots and grad photos. I never thought it was a respectable career, or something that could be a full-time job. After studying psychology and criminal justice in college at GW, I spent 2 years in a consulting role at a SAAS company. I knew pretty early on the job wasn’t for me, but I had signed a 2-year contract that I couldn’t break. Meanwhile, I was regularly booking photography work on the side. My recent graduation meant that I had lots of friends still in college, so my referral base was massive.

I didn’t have a ton of wedding experience, but I did have friends getting engaged and had a lot of exposure to wedding content on Instagram. One day about a year into my corporate job, I realized I was making more money that month from photography than I was from my corporate salary. Around the same time, I saw this incredibly moving wedding photo on Instagram, and I decided that what I wanted to do was full-time wedding photography.

I’ve now been a full-time photographer since June 2021, specializing in weddings and engagements. I also do elopements, maternity sessions and occasional portrait work. My philosophy is to create “joyful imagery for folks who want things documented exactly as they felt.”

I want people to feel like themselves when they work with me, and when they receive their gallery back. The best way for me to ensure this is by asking my couples questions, listening, and getting to know them, so that I’m able to document them in way that’s reflective of their personalities and priorities.

I operate under the belief that no two couples are the same. For that reason I don’t have a “standard” wedding approach. I feel that I serve my couples best when I empty myself of any preconceived notions, bucket lists or “must have” shots, and instead, show up as an observer and a participant in their day. I hug their parents, befriend their friends, and eat the apps during cocktail hour. In humanizing myself, I feel that couples become more relaxed around me, and see me as a part of their day as opposed to a vendor.

I believe that most of the industry treats weddings as a production; I see weddings as a celebration. The couple, their families, their guests and their vendors are all part of it. I focus on photographing everyone at the wedding. Not just the couple, the families or the bridal party. The elderly person sitting in the corner playing solitaire is just as important as the college friends going hard on the dance floor. In the wedding day story, there’s no such thing as an unimportant moment. All of the moments matter. A friend of mine said “you’re good at capturing behind the scenes, but those ARE the scenes.” I couldn’t agree more.

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

My philosophy is people first, photos second. So, after a couple inquires, I kick things off by getting to know them. I have a video call with every couple that submits a contact form. Although this happens to be my job, I don’t view weddings or sessions as work, but rather as shared human experience. Getting to know my couples helps me to better tell their story and makes everything a lot more fun.
Once I’m officially booked, I’m here for my couples to be a resource during planning. I like to make myself accessible, and I believe that the time between booking and wedding day is where the relationship really begins. I don’t feel the need to micromanage, or step outside the realm of my role as photographer, but I do like my couples to feel like they can ask questions, or even share updates they’re excited about. Many of my couples send me photos when they buy their wedding outfits, or purchase their wedding bands. They like to keep me posted. One of my brides texted me last week that she had a dream I was doing her hair for her wedding. She said,”you were very reassuring and I felt at peace about it.” I don’t have any clue how to do bridal hair, yet she felt comforted. This is the kind of sentiment I live for; I feel like it’s a testament to my relationship building and involvement in the process.

On a wedding day, I am neither a fly on the wall nor am I an orchestrator. I’m not going to be small and quiet, but I also won’t be disruptive. The way I get the photos I do is by getting involved and actively participating. I’ll snag a mini crab cake during cocktail hour while simultaneously chatting up their college friends and getting some epic candids. During dinner, I’m regularly seated at guest tables, and couples usually tell me that they want me to “be a guest too”. I use this opportunity to get photos from a guest perspective. And when the dance floor opens, you’ll find me in the middle of it. The intent is that everyone sees me as part of the event. They won’t forget that I’m there, but they will forget that I have a camera.

After a wedding, I usually maintain some sort of relationship with my couples. I’ve been invited to Thanksgiving dinner, gone to sports games, grabbed a meal and gone to workout classes with former clients. I don’t think or feel that a photographer HAS to or SHOULD be friends with their couples, that’s just unrealistic. I never force a friendship, but because I’m authentic in the way I show up on social media, my website and in person, I typically attract people that I would be friends with in real life anyways.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

I actually had a moment like this in spring 2023. I didn’t book a wedding for nearly 12 weeks, which is the longest I think I’ve ever gone without a wedding booking. As a result, my income in May 2023 was a record low, and I was really panicking. I started looking for and applying to other jobs, and mentally prepared for this to go back to being just a side hustle. But I kept thinking about a message from Ed Mylett, who I heard on “On Purpose with Jay Shetty”, that basically says “go one more.” Whether it’s one more rep, one more call, one more shot, one more day. And I kept giving it one more day and one more week as long as I possibly could. And the day I really thought would be the last day before giving up, was the day that I booked a wedding. I’m so glad I hung in there though the tough period because August and September 2023 were both record high income months. It’s crazy what can change in a few months and it’s important to keep in mind that just because something is hard, doesn’t mean it always will be. Just because you have a low booking period, doesn’t mean your business is doomed.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.themaggiemorris.com/
• Instagram: @themaggiemorris