We were lucky to catch up with Miachel Pruett recently and have shared our conversation below.

Miachel , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I’m very into taking calculated risks. Stretching into a bigger version of yourself or your business requires it.

It takes both acknowledgment and action of risk to be successful, and I think risks are largely built on personal fears. I find that when I extend myself beyond my fears—whether those fears are warranted or not—my business can grow in a beautiful way. That said, leaping into risk without weighing and understanding the pros and cons is silly.

One of the biggest risks I’ve taken recently is uprooting from New York City to Austin. I was in a comfortable full-time photography position with a great team, and coming back home to Texas meant starting over in a freelance position by myself. It was scary, but I acknowledged my fears and acted on them in a positive way, ensuring I could solidify my freelance career. Over the past three years I wholeheartedly built up my community, photo studio, and clientele list and I am wildly happy about taking that initial risk.

Now I’m working on my next risk.

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?

I started out in advertising. In college I worked and interned to land my dream job after graduating at an agency in New York City; but while my team was wonderful, after a few months I realized that I wanted to pivot and did not want to continue working in this industry.

So before work, after work, and on weekends I would practice photography with a little food blog. I also started going to food industry events to make friends and meet potential clients, which slowly led to me providing free (but not great) photography for small businesses.

Once I felt skilled enough to start charging clients, this slowly but surely led to my photography side hustle. After three years of shooting on the side, I left my full-time advertising job and took a part-time job as a barista to supplement my small but sturdy income. I freelanced shooting editorial and commercial work (like restaurants for The Wall Street Journal, seasonal dishes for The Plaza Hotel) until taking a full-time photography position with a publishing company where I oversaw a lot of different photo needs. After several years of learning here and becoming the Head of Photography, I moved back to Austin and delved into freelancing full-time.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

While my career is deeply important to me, my family always comes first. So it was a large shock to me when, the week before Christmas in the midst of the pandemic, my then husband left our one-year-old and me.

In addition to growing a freelance business from the ground up and going through divorce, I then had to learn how to raise my baby by myself. It was (is) a hard but ultimately rewarding experience, and I’m grateful for everything it taught me. I definitely have more strength and confidence in myself which leads to being a better mom, creative, and business-owner.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Build up your community! Other photographers and directors have been such a life-line and form my invisible support group. Whether it’s for asking industry questions, QAing equipment, referring assistants, or anything else, having good folks who do your same job as friends is crucial.

Early in my career I was too shy and self-critical to meet up with other folks in my same line of work, but I learned confidence and got over it. I’m so glad I started making friends in the same industry, because we all lean on and support each other.

In that same vein I also try to be as helpful as possible to green photographers whenever they reach out for questions or coffee.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.miachel.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miachelpruett/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miachel/