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

Paige , appreciate you joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

My love of photography actually began in high school. I had an amazing teacher who taught us the core elements of photography. We used a darkroom where we would roll our own film, develop it, and even edit out sensor spots on our prints by hand. It was invaluable knowledge.

I didn’t take photography courses in college but did major in advertising and thought I could merge the two one day. I kept shooting anything and everything just for practice and technique during college.

After college, I moved back to Nashville and began photographing for a local magazine. I quickly realized it wasn’t for me since it basically required setting the camera on auto and shooting social events.

So, I moved to Atlanta where I attended The Creative Circus, a school for photography, copywriting, graphic design, brand strategy, and art direction. I thrived here because we all collaborated on projects and had “books”(today’s version of websites) to show when we finished the program.

I think because of the timing of my graduation, it was difficult to figure out how to market ourselves. We were the last class to even make books to physically send to different ad agencies all over the country.

I ultimately just needed to start making money, so I started photographing my sister’s kids and then all of her friends wanted me to photograph their kids and it spiraled outward from there. I did that for about 7 years until I felt like I no longer had control over my own sessions. Parents had specific shots in mind, and that just doesn’t work with kids. The kids are the ones who tell the story that day as I follow them around. They don’t want to be forced to sit down in uncomfortable outfits and I didn’t blame them!

I then met who became of my very best friends to this day, Rachel Halvorson. She is an incredible interior designer and I asked if I could shoot one of her projects for free since I had nothing to show her in terms of interior/architectural work. Turns out, I was really good at it and I didn’t have to deal with impatient parents, so I transitioned out of family photography and into solely shooting interior and architectural photography.

In all honestly, I never really had to market myself. I have an Instagram account that my niece ran for a while and a website that hasn’t been updated since the day I created it. My business and my clients are all by word of mouth. The designers and editorials posting or printing the images with my name tagged or noted was far more beneficial than anything I could have done on my own. They are the ones with huge teams and all of the followers.

I’ve never had to actively seek out work except at the very beginning of my career. If you consistently do great work, continue to evolve, and treat everyone equally and fairly, they will keep coming back.

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 probably answered most of this within the previous question (oops!), but I am an interior/architectural photographer based in Nashville, TN.

In terms of how I can help my clients, I am very good at styling and design myself. I save us all time by knowing what will and won’t look good on camera.

I’m most proud of how much I’ve grown as a photographer over the past 20+ years. There is ALWAYS something new to learn. Share your knowledge with other photographers and listen to theirs if they’re willing to offer it. The more kindness you put out there, the more it will come back to you. I am a firm believer in karma. Don’t think of your fellow photographers as competition. Think of them as peers and applaud their successes.

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

Oops, again! Answered on previous pages.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Oops, again! Answered on previous pages.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.paigerumore.com
• Instagram: @paigerumorephoto

Image Credits
All photos taken by Paige Rumore Interior Design Credits: Cover photo: Rachel Halvorson 2nd image: Rachel Halvorson 3rd image: April Tomlin Interiors 4th image: Stephanie Sabbe 5th Image: Stephanie Sabbe 6th image: April Tomlin Interiors