We were lucky to catch up with Nikki Laughlin recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nikki, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about how you got your first non-friend, non-family client. Paint the picture for us so we can feel the same excitement you felt on that day.

Of course in photography, word of mouth is key. I started taking photos of friends and family as favors because there were no affordable options around Columbus. As I started taking more seasonal and event photos for those friends, and as they shared them on social media, their friends became interested. So on and so forth, I’ve had people from out of state reach out wanting me to take their photos by traveling here just for me. I had one client and friend who shared her photos, and so many of her coworkers loved them so much, they all hopped on my schedule for their photos! It really is crazy how word of mouth spreads like wildfire, and luckily for me, it was for a good reason! I went from one or two photoshoots a year, to 20 or more in a month. The feeling of actually starting to be a known photographer, as well as starting to profit a little bit from all my jobs, was an incredible feeling. Just a thought of, “wow.:. I did this. I built this from the ground up.” But I wouldn’t be anywhere if it weren’t for those first few special people who helped spread the word.

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 have had a camera in my hand since I was a child. It started in the 90’s with a Polaroid instant camera where I would happily snap away at anything that caught my eye. Shortly after that were instant film cameras where I would have ten on hand at any given time. I just loved taking pictures of anything and anyone! Fast forward a decade, and I graduated to digital cameras. Everyone knew that I would be bringing my camera and they could rely on me for the best shots. I even learned how to edit out those pesky middle school pimples on MS Paint! I was the photo guru. Fast forward yet another decade, and I realized that most people my age were settling down with families, children, pets, new homes, etc. and wanted to capture the moment. But being in a capital city means big bucks for a small photo session. I decided that someone out there needed to be that friend with a camera they could rely on. Someone who wouldn’t charge an outrageous amount, who would edit ever so slightly so you felt confident without looking plastic, and someone who was in it for the customers happiness and not the money. So, Nikki Leigh Photography was born! The best part about my business has been meeting people from all walks of life and learning that everyone has a story behind the photo. I’ve tried to incorporate those stories in my pictures so that way anyone looking might not feel so alone in what they’re going through. I have depression and anxiety myself, but getting out of the house and making others happy with my photography has really helped pull me out of a very dark place. And I hope my photos can do the same for someone else.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The hardest lesson I’ve had to unlearn was that I physically and mentally cannot cater to everyone who needs me (which is really difficult because I am a people pleaser). For awhile I would sacrifice my sleep, my family time, and my health to help other people get their photos done. There were times I agreed to 4 or 5 sessions in a day with a one week turnaround time to get back 40 plus edited photos, and I had to learn to stop making promises like that. Because although I could deliver that, I was getting little to no sleep, spending hours upon hours locked in my office away from my husband and our daughters, and staring at the computer screen until my eyes were so dry they felt like raisins! Eventually I started having such bad panic attacks before a day of photoshoots, I had to learn to put my foot down and just say no (actually more of a “pretty please can you move you to the next day that works best for you and I promise I’ll make it work!”). It’s a bad feeling when I think I’m letting people down because I can’t accommodate everyone all at the same time. But luckily most people understand and are extremely gracious. I couldn’t be more blessed than with the clients I’ve had!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

One advantage I had when starting my photo business was my social media presence. I had a YouTube account from 2010-2018 where I had over 60 thousand subscribers and over 20 million video views. I focused a lot on mental health as well as some beauty and lifestyle tutorials. Those loyal followers of mine have been with me through the beginning and even after I decided to end my YouTube job, and I am forever grateful so many of them supported my new venture into photography when I became an official business in 2020. Even though so many of them are from different countries around the world, they still made sure to follow my photo social media pages on Instagram and Facebook. Other than that, word of mouth (.and a few hashtags here and there) have been big helps in gaining followers!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/nikkileighphotography614?igshid=MmIzYWVlNDQ5Yg==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NikkiLeighPhotography614?mibextid=LQQJ4d