Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Olivia Shaner. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Olivia , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My Photography business is definitely mission focused. I have a desire in going above and beyond in serving my clients, from the moment they come in contact with me, to delivering their timeless images. The passion from where this comes from, is really a foundation of not just my business, but my life. As a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, I follow Jesus’ example of a servanthood leadership. I strive to go above and beyond in meeting and exceeding my clients needs and desires. To help eliminate stress and in stead, provide resources which makes the wedding planning stages more enjoyable. If I can create an environment that makes people know they are loved, cared for, smile, feel comfortable and calm during their wedding planning and wedding day, my goal is met.

I’ve always had a love for art and photography. It’s such a precious thing to look back at a photo from a sweet memory. It’s almost as if you can relive the moment by just looking at the photograph. A wedding day is one in a lifetime kind of thing. Why shouldn’t I try my best to serve the heck out of my clients and treat them like royalty? :) Being a Wedding Photographer is literally such a fulfilling job and such an honor.

Olivia , 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?

I am a Wedding and Couples Photographer based in Northern Wisconsin but available worldwide. I first dabbled into Photography when I was 14 years old and had no idea what I was doing. People just told me I had an eye for it and I tried to learn as much as I could. I used to babysit for Professional Wedding Photographers on the weekend, and I have to say they were some of the most influential people in my life that encouraged me to pursue this dream. I tagged along with them to a wedding and LOVED every moment of it! From that, I ended up booking 2 weddings at the age of 14. Although I truly enjoyed the art of photography, I wasn’t sure if that was something I wanted to do for my life. I took a step back, pursued other things up until 2 years ago. My now Husband and I were engaged in 2020, we knew we wanted to have a family pretty quickly after getting married. I loved the idea of being a stay at home mom, but also tapping into my creative side and being my own boss. So, before we got married, I started my own business. I shot sessions for free to help build my portfolio and create a brand. I did not realize the amount of work that goes into starting and running your own Business. It’s A LOT of hard work and building your company from scratch takes time. I started second shooting a lot of weddings to build experience and understanding in 2021-2022. I had booked a few weddings on my own in 2022 and wasn’t sure what 2023 would look like.
I’m so grateful and humbled because before February of 2023, my wedding dates for 2023 were FULLY BOOKED! It’s such a fun job to have and I’m blessed to be apart of so many beautiful wedding days!
I do offer lifestyle Photography such as maternity, family, seniors, branding and other. Wedding Photography is definitely where my heart and passion is though. :)

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Oh yes… :) I have so many thoughts on this! I’ll just share a few. :) If you have been around the block, you know that burnout is a real deal. You don’t need to run your own business to have burnout. Like I said before, starting your own business takes a lot of time and LOTS of work. For the first year, I made the big mistake of never taking a day off. Even if I was “off” I was still working. Because I had the mindset, “I’m going to get behind and people won’t know who I am.” Let me just tell you, that’s a lie. Number one: There is ALWAYS going to be work to do but that doesn’t mean you can’t take days off to rest. Number Two: People may forget who you are, and that’s okay. The burn out turned out to be pretty bad. I almost lost complete interest in shooting anything. I wasn’t booking anything because I had no desire or passion to. People can sense that. So I gave myself a month to reset. No work. Rest.
let me tell you, that month was TOUGH but SO WORTH it! It helped me learn how I can better serve my clients, implement boundaries within my business, take days off and lots more.
So if I would give any advice, it would be this. Take days off. Rest. Relax. You don’t always need to be working. Even if you are still building a brand. A burnt out version of you won’t solve your clients problems and it will represent your business. I always encourage photographers to take one day a week that is a day of rest. Whether it’s a Sunday, or a Monday because you have weddings on the weekends. Find one day a week where you rest. You will be better for our clients, your business and for yourself and family.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I’m not gonna lie, I have a love hate relationship with social media. It can be rewarding but so discouraging at the same time. I’ll share a few things I did to help build my social media audience and it also can go along as some advice for those just starting out or maybe need a boost f encouragement. :) First things first. It’s NOT about the numbers! My goodness, I STRUGGLED with this for so long. But at the end of the day, I needed to shift my mind and strategy to target MY ideal clients. Not someone who had 30K followers. That is something that I think isn’t talked about enough in the photography industry. The struggle to compare which leads to defeat and discouragement. How I overcame that constant struggle? Let me share a few tips! :)

1. Show up.
Show up on social media who you truly are. Don’t worry about what others think. The reality is, we can’t please everyone, and you want to attract your ideal client. Your ideal client will appreciate you showing up with your fun and personal self. :)

2. Have boundaries within social media
Have time where you are off of social media to give yourself a breath and time to reevaluate what you’re posting, why you’re posting and when. If you are following other creatives that aren’t encouraging, uplifting and maybe even a competitor, put their profile on mute or unfollow. It’s not harsh to do and nothing personal, but if you need to do this so you don’t compare, do it.

3. Share posts, reels that solve your ideal clients problems.
I’m not saying go an copy someone else’s work. Don’t do that. Create your own and share in a way that is helpful to others. Think about it. Even if it’s a topic that you hear about ALL the time, no-one had shared it like you would. So, get out of your shell, put yourself out there and serve the heck out of potential clients! :)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://oliviashanerphotography.mypixieset.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oliviashanerphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OliviashanerPhotography