We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Paige Neal a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Paige, thanks for joining us today. Do you take vacations? Why or why not?
As a business owner it is very important to take vacations- and I mean actually take a vacation. It’s so easy to fall into the habit of traveling while still responding to emails, DM’s, sending invoices and posting to your business social media accounts. To this day I still struggle to actually ever truly disconnect from my business. I see this as both something I want to work on, as well as a good sign that I am still so passionate about the work that I am doing! There is a fine line between sharing your personal life on your business accounts, and being consumed by working. I think that balance can be different for each person, for me it means when I travel I try to stay off of my business accounts and then do a recap of my trip once I am back home. I know my clients enjoy getting to know me, and so many of my clients have become friends, so I do love sharing my experiences with them! Vacations and spending time with loved ones while totally disconnected from work is super important no matter what line of work you are in.
Paige, 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?
I have been a full time photographer for almost four years now in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area! I specialize in family, maternity & newborn, branding imagery and couples/destination weddings. I always wanted to follow a creative career path, and when I picked up a camera in high school I never looked back. I am very proud of the business that I have built, and so excited to see how it continues to grow. My ultimate goal with my career has always been to be able to travel for work, and in the last two years that has really started to come to fruition for me! Ive been able to shoot weddings in Las Vegas, Florida, Atlanta and South Carolina recently. I am always down to come to wherever people need magical photos taken! I am also very honored to say that so many of my clients are long term. I love getting to know them and their families on a deeper level as I document their big life moments. The people I work with are truly so important to me and I am thankful every day for the people this career has brought into my life!
About me, I am 24 and a proud dog mom to my catahoula/lab mix, Gatsby! Born and raised in Iowa, I moved to Texas about 6 years ago and love it here. Outside of photography, I enjoy concerts (emo kid forever), reading, yoga, scary movies and wandering endlessly around antique shops.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
My business social media accounts have been pretty steadily growing since I started! The best advice I can offer is to post regularly, utilize local hashtags, always tag your location, and to interact as much as possible with other accounts! For a photographer, an account can naturally grow as new clients post their images for their friends and family to see, I always make sure to have them tag me!
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
Social media is a big way to keep in touch, even if its just liking/commenting on their posts. I think being genuinely interested in them and their story is the best way to show them how much you care! People are more likely to be a repeat client if they feel comfortable, listened to and if they feel like they can relate to you. I love that so many of my clients and I end up hanging out outside of the business relationship!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.paigealexisphoto.com
- Instagram: @paigealexisphotography
- Facebook: Paige Alexis Photography
Image Credits
All images are by me- Paige Alexis Photography