Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Matty & Elizabeth Simpson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Matty & Elizabeth, thanks for joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?
Hi y’all! Matty & Elizabeth Simpson here…the the husband and wife team behind Simpsonography Creative House. How did this ridiculously long name come about? What started as just plain ole Simpson Photography, LLC was shortened to Simpsonography for social media handle purposes. There are a blue million Simpsons in the world after all. We’ve rocked this name for years and just recently reworked our company name to better reflect all the different services we provide in our cozy blue building. While we definitely still offer photography.. videography, brand building, coaching, courses, and styling are newish additions. Our studio is inside a historic home, downtown on Main St. right in the heart of Cynthiana, KY. Everything that happens inside is some sort of creative venture…hints…Simpsonography Creative House.
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 [Elizabeth’s] degree is in art education and I have been a full time photographer for 6 years, part time 3 years before that, very very part time a million years before that haha. Matty has helped me off and on over the years with anything and everything and was actually my very first photography student guinea pig. Looks like it stuck, because he joined me this year as a full fledged filmmaker. He has done so much work training/researching/developing his skills- I’m so proud! We specialize in family, wedding, band, and brand storytelling. We are also passionate about mentoring beginning photographers and helping them launch their own businesses. We fully believe there’s enough room for everyone at the table- so to speak! During a normal work day, you can find me [Elizabeth] photographing, Matty manning video cameras, and both of us editing, designing/creating custom artworks, social media-ing, laughing at ourselves, and caffeinating like pros. We love hard and live crazy, but we wouldn’t have it any other way! We love love LOVE storytelling and make that our number 1 priority with each and every client. We hope to be doing what we love traveling abroad someday too & we’re so thankful for all the opportunities that have come our way. To our clients: our favorite things to take off your plate are- helping you plan/shop for your session wardrobe, creating archival fine art paper prints and wood prints to enjoy in your home, designing family heirloom albums, building the perfect gallery wall display for canvases, and holding your hands through the whole photo process! When a client refers us to a friend/loved one, returns to us time and time again, and supports us via engaging with us online or in person…that’s our greatest joy in this business. We hope to be a part of your life and watch your families and companies grow & we’ll be your biggest cheerleaders along the way. Basically, we’re best friends now, okay?! Glad that’s settled.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
Well, since my business partner is also my husband, you’re in for a very mushy/cute story… The year was 2007, I was 19 years old, fresh out of my first year of college and ready to enjoy summer break. I grew up attending a week long summer camp nearly every year in Falmouth, KY called Camp Northward. I was a little too old to actually be a camper, but not exactly old enough to be a counselor for high school students [some of them just 1 year younger than me] but was invited to come and learn the ropes of being a counselor anyway. Day 1 I was introduced to this handsome fella named Matty. I had heard a little about him from friends that knew us both and they all told me how much I would just love him. I was certain they were wrong haha. I’ve never done the thing that was expected of me, ever…not my style. Enter Matty…and his spiky hair with slicked down emo bangs, always with a guitar in hand. To make a long story short, by Taco Tuesday of that week we were flirting pretty heavy and by Wednesday we were full on dating. I’m glad I was wrong about this one. We got engaged right before I graduated college and have been married a little over 10 years now. I’ve never enjoyed being with a human as much as him. We live together, work together, hand out together, he still carries around that guitar and I follow him around with a camera in my hand…
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
COACHING!! I was very very lucky to find a mentor as early on as I did, but if I had found her even sooner, I would have saved myself from a few terrible desk jobs biding my time haha. My photography skills were pretty developed after college because I had an art degree even though the focus had been teaching, but as far as having business knowledge…lets just say this is an art brain, not a numbers brain. I believe it was a Facebook ad that I happened across [really I was targeted well] for photography and business coaching online. Her [Cyrissa Carlson’s] brand of smart/sassy/artsy boss spoke to my heart and I took every class and coaching session I could. There is so much knowledge out there for the taking, but there really is something magic that happens when you can learn it from a teacher that aligns with your exact brand of quirky. That’s what I recommend to anyone starting out in their journey. Find a business coach & let them be your roadmap.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.simpsonography.com
- Instagram: @simpsonography
- Facebook: @simpsonography
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/simpsonography
- Other: Email: [email protected] Pinterest: @simpsonography
Image Credits
Kandice Smith Photography (for photos of us) Simpsonography Creative House (for Matty bts, concert, wedding, & child)