We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marcella Lanier. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marcella below.

Alright, Marcella thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

Choosing what to name my business was an interesting task. I didn’t ponder very long over what to use, although my choice was anything but obvious considering I hated my name growing up! To me, Marcella, was an “old” name. Even now I’ve only met one other person with that name. In my young, opinionated mind, my middle name ‘Colette’ was even worse. Again, I was young, and it just didn’t sound like a name someone growing up in the 80s would have. Forgive me, I was a bit naive. But while I sat one day meditating on Exodus 3:14 where God told Moses “I Am that I Am”, the words resonated with me. I am that I am; and I am Marcella Colette. It’s my name whether shared with others or not. It’s a major part of my identity and looking back, I understood there was no shame in it. I am who I am. Nothing will change that. I wanted my business to truly be an extension of who I am and what I represent: fun, genuine connections, and uniqueness among other things. No better way to announce that, then with my very own name.

Marcella, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Who is Marcella Colette? Well, first and foremost I’m a believer/follower of Christ. I’m a wife of 14 years and a boy mom to a teenager (yikes). I appreciate a great cup of coffee, or two, and several years ago I stepped out on faith with a little anxiety and started a photography business. I could go on to say how the journey has been a breeze but that would not be 100% accurate. It has been amazing, challenging, and rewarding; but certainly, no breeze. But, what is? Everything worth doing will have ups and downs. This profession, in my opinion, is truly what you make it. For me, its the understanding that I am not a good fit for everyone, and that everyone is not my ideal client. Realizing and accepting this helps me to avoid getting to a point where photography becomes a job that I no longer want instead of remaining a joyful venture that I’m involved in on purpose.

During my time as a portrait photographer, I’ve captured many faces from energetic toddlers to couples celebrating 16 of marriage and a few ‘genres’ in between. Each year I learn something new about myself in business and where I want to take it moving forward. Currently, I’m still photographing couples, families, and individuals; offering product collections to suit the printing needs of my clients, but I’m very excited to see what the future holds and whether that involves any changes to what I have to offer the world of portraits. In the meantime, I will continue to freeze time for my clients while capturing precious memories giving them something to reflect on for ages to come.

I’m very proud that I ventured into this world obtaining something so creatively awesome and inspiring for myself. It’s not about competing with the next person, although this is a heavily saturated market! It’s just about me doing something that I enjoy and sharing that with others. I believe that is what sets me apart from many. I’m not just good at it, I actually enjoy it. It’s one of my happy places. I’m able to be myself and share who I truly am with my clients. In that, I’m still able to offer a 5-star portrait experience from start to finish. It’s never just transactional with me. My clients and I have fun! It’s sort of a requirement. I mean, I’m pretty silly so I doubt I could avoid it. But, none of that takes away from the professionalism they expect and deserve; as it shouldn’t.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Word of mouth! Believe it or not, it still works. I have a professional website and I’m available on social media; however, the majority of new clients that come my way were referred by a past client or mutual friend. I don’t spend a lot of time on social media; not even to post my work, and I’ve never dug deep into social media marketing. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t, but with photography being part time for me, the number of clients sent my way simply works. I’m not overextending myself or turning my passion into a job by taking on more than I desire or more than I’m willing to juggle. I get to do what I love at a pace that’s comfortable and convenient for me. Working a full-time corporate job and wearing many other hats, photographing 2-3 clients a month is ideal for me. So, I think I’ll stick to word of mouth. At least for now…

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I recently pivoted from photographing Boudoir. I never imagined saying that considering Boudoir was one of my favorite genres and I’d considered transitioning my business to photograph Boudoir only. However, God had other plans for me. Right before I made the full-time switch, I had what I guess you can call a spiritual encounter. It’s an interesting story, for another time, but just know that by the end of it all not only did I not pivot to Boudoir only, but I eliminated Boudoir from my photo genres altogether. After 6 weeks of planning to transition, building a new website, ordering sample products, adding to the studio, etc., I walked away from it. With a clear mind and content heart I rid myself of all the preparations I had made, emailed my subscribers to fill them in and almost immediately began a new project that I’m not yet ready to reveal, but I’m thrilled about! Owning a business is a mere extension of someone’s life and life at some point will require you to shift, sometimes unexpectedly. Embracing change with an open mind is the best way to navigate it without inviting stress into the situation.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.marcellacolette.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/marcellacolettephotography
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/marcellacolette

Image Credits
Images by Marcella Colette Photography