We recently connected with Mallory & Mariah Sterrett and have shared our conversation below.

Mallory & Mariah, appreciate you joining us today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. So, we’d appreciate if you could open up about your growth story and the nitty, gritty details that went into scaling up.

First and foremost, starting up and operating any business venture is HARD. Mallory and I (Mariah) started to really take our craft of photography seriously during COVID and the pandemic which fortunately gave us ample time to fuel our creativity. While we had already grown up taking our friends senior portraits, and capturing special events for our friends and family, we always knew we had a bigger vision for ourselves as creatives, however it has not been an easy journey. As we are sure many photographers can relate to, it was a slow burn to get where we are today. Throughout the “in-between” of our success, we most definitely went through trial and error when it came to curating our brand and aesthetic, attracting the clientele that was able to collaborate with us on our mission, and most importantly mature our values as business owners. While going through these changes in our earlier stages of business, one of the biggest obstacles that we went through were financial losses on projects.

Since Sterrett Photography is based out of the Easter Shore of Maryland, we come from a very unsaturated market where there is little to no diversity when it comes to the fine art and luxury photography. Every corner that we were turning there was more and more repetition. Whether it was doing weddings for significant discounts, establishing styled shoots for ourselves, or doing unpaid jobs for content, we were just hungry to be diverse and creative. Looking back at those sacrifices however, led us to be the photographers that we are today! Even though we no longer have to take those hard losses, I believe that it installed a certain resilience and diversity into our values that not others may have. When it comes to necessarily HOW we scaled up our business, it truly comes in categories. One of the main categories was pouring time into social media outlets. Mallory is truly a social media genius when it comes to reels and content. Now that we are living in such a digital age, it was important that our socials matched our vision and translated our aesthetic. Secondly, in order to elevate our service, we also had to elevate our equipment & technology. Through financially investing in our technology and equipment, it truly transformed our images to the quality that we were looking for. Third and finally, one of the most meaningful areas of growth to us has been curating our client experience. When looking at weddings, we aim to give our clients an elevated experience for their once in a lifetime day…and we must say it is SO rewarding. When others see the quality of service that you provide, they truly can not help but to refer you to others!

Mallory & Mariah, 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?

We are Sterrett Photography, a sister duo based out of the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Growing up our mom always had a camera in hand and whether it was our childhood birthday parties, or beach days now as adults, she never fails to capture the moment. Though growing up we may have given her many eye rolls, looking back, we can not imagine not having those memories documented. When starting our photography business, we wanted to capture those moments for others during some of the most important days of their lives! While spendings years curating our vision, we have truly found value in detailed storytelling and genuine relationships that last a lifetime.

Our services range from couples and engagement shoots, to full wedding photography services. Our main area of work and creativity is through our wedding services that we provide. As we mentioned previously, our goal is to curate a luxury experience for our clients. Not only are we there to capture your special moments, but we are also there to design timelines if needed, and bring in elaborate details for photos that the bride may inquire about. Mallory and I truly believe that our client experience is what sets us apart from other creatives. While we do think our photography service is also timeless, we can not help but rave about the experiences that we share with clients. There is nothing more we love than leaving a wedding knowing that we provided an extraordinary service, but also knowing that we just made life-long friends!

We are so proud in so many areas of our photography, but we have to say that one of our most incredible shifts has been serving our clients in world-wide destinations! Sterrett Photography is now serving destination clients and we could not be more excited. Within the past few months we have been able to capture memories throughout California and Mexico for some incredible wedding celebrations. Though we have so many more upcoming and exciting clients that will help us add to our travels, we would love for our clients to know that we offer our services beyond the shore!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

When looking at this question, it reminds us of a multitude of trials and errors that we have encountered over the years. Though I believe that our journey was a little less of “unlearning” and more of a cultivating of our values, there are many experiences that have brought us to where we are. One of the biggest pieces that we have learned, if truly knowing the value of the service you are providing. As I know there are many creatives out there that can relate, we have definitely gone through stages of photography “imposter syndrome” in the past. Looking back, if the two of us now were to give advice to photographers with self-doubt or even ourselves back then, I think the message would consist of three things. Number one, would be to stay true to yourself, your brand vision, and your style. Secondly, a supportive community within your area of creativity that can share a growth mindset is also such a positive addition to uplift your work! Finally, and sometimes most importantly, it’s important to celebrate your work and own every second of it. Individuals, including ourselves, pour so much time and energy into their craft, that it truly deserves to be celebrated!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding part of being a creative is hands down providing lifelong memories for our clients. Weddings and engagements are arguably the most important moments in individuals lives, so to have the privilege to capture monumental memories for others is an honor. I also believe that on our side of the camera, it can also be so rewarding to curate an album from start to finish. Not all of our clients realize the time and personalization that goes into our product, however to spend an abundance of time polishing and perfecting our edit is something that we take immense pride in!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sterrettphotography.com/
• Instagram: sterrettphotography_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SterrettPhotography
• Other: [email protected]

Image Credits

Sterrett Photography