We were lucky to catch up with Rachal Montgomery recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rachal, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

Often in the photography industry there are businesses that offer less in terms of quantity for the price they set a session. For example, someone can charge over $200 but as a client you don’t recieve much materials back or you’d be upcharged for more. My philosphy is this, these pictures are my client’s memories… who am I to hold onto those memories and not share ALL of them to my client (aside from blurry photos). Instead, my business approach is to give my clients all their memories (photos) digitally and printed. They will recieve a flash drive with all original and edited photos as well as printed pictures of their edits. I value giving clients a great deal for the price they pay! Does it add more work for me, sure, but anything you love and are passionate about requires effort and work. I’ve been a photographer for 11 years now and I have enjoyed meeting new people and being inducted into so many families for my down to earth personality. So as far as being different from the photography industry I would sum it up to say I value people over the money.

Rachal, 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?

My name is Rachal Montgomery and I am a photographer! My motto is that there is beauty in everything God created and I capture the essence of people in my photographs. I also have been known as a family photographer for any occasion! I’ve been practicing photography for 12 years and counting so its certainly a passion of mine. What jumpstarted this passion for me was looking at a small weed growing inbetween a crack in the sidewalk. For some reason I saw how beautiful the green contrasted the cement sidewalk that was casted golden yellow by the sunrise. To me this scene was so beautiful and I recognized that God created even these things to be admired. From that moment I started seeing everything in beautiful angles, such as archeitecture, flowers, etc. Then as time passed I continued to teach myself how to capture pictures. In 2015 I purchased my first DSLR bridge camera by GE and I began to venture into capturing people. From that point on my business grew into what it is today! I’ve always treated clients like family and offered competitive prices that satisfy their budgets. What RNativePhotos Photography offers is a great bang for your buck which means reasonable prices and great packages! My thought process was to create a pricing system that is both cost effective and inexpensive to my clients which has been working thus far. My packages include weddings, portraits, boudior, newborns, maternity, modeling, and much more!!

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

There was a period of time between 2015 and 2019 where my photography business wasn’t gaining traction/ visibility. It was discouraging and I felt like giving up on capturing people. But! In late 2019, the flood gates opened and I was getting requests to capture weddings, engagements portraits, family photos, babies and just life moments for some. Im grateful that I didn’t give up back then and I knew marketing myself back then would eventually pay off.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Honestly, the most effective method had been word of mouth! Being visible on Google helps as well, but I’ve had more referrals over the years. It’s a blessing to know that my clients often return for more photo sessions and they love their quality materials in return. Often for their loyalty I’ll send Christmas gifts or just add something extra in their package at no costs to them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.RNativePhotos.com
• Instagram: @rnativephotos
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rnativephotosphotography?si=d-TbAJlHNoTNvPOU

Image Credits

RNativePhotos Photography