We were lucky to catch up with Rachel Adshead recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachel, thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us a story about a time you failed?

Failure is a huge part of running a photography business. In my experience of over 5 years of running a business solo, I’d say the majority of it is failing. The last two summer season I’ve gone through an absolute hell that most of my friends and family knew nothing about. I had someone sabotaging my business and I was receiving zero bookings for my photoshoots. I was having panic attacks due to financial stress, dealing with being watched and sabotaged, and all around struggling. Anyone else would have thrown in the towel, given up, picked a different career path. I kept going despite it all, kept showing up to the gym, kept showing up to the steadfast and amazing repeat clients I do have, and kept trying to keep a good spirit and outlook on like despite what was happening.

All of this to say—failure is a not a one time thing that you’re going to experience, especially in the creative industry. You can’t cave and give up when your first obstacle hits. You have to power through, find the strength, cultivate healthy outlets, and keep going.

It can be hard to have a good support system when you’re struggling in life and business, but having good friends and family around you during hard times is key. I also implement the “power list” that was created by Andy Frisella, a well known entrepreneur and successful business owner. The power list allows me to write down my five critical tasks for the day, cross them off, and win the day. It’s been one of my favorite tools for running my business.

At the end of the day, running a creative business isn’t for the faint of heart. If you put the work in, show up, discipline yourself, BE YOURSELF, and continue learning, you will be successful and you will make it work.

Rachel, 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 started in the art and photography world at a very young age. I’m entirely self taught. I picked up a camera as a teenager and never looked back. My first “real camera” was a 1960s Pentax film camera I bought off of Ebay for $1.50. I learned on film and have translated my love of film into my digital work.

I mainly provide vintage inspired creative portraits and creative food & beverage photography. I think the photography world is flooded with the same images, the same moods, and the same styles, so I try to be myself and photograph and edit the way my eye sees the world. I’ve struggled to fit in most of my life and it translates into my work by being different, moody, and embracing nostalgia and eras from the past. I don’t want my work to look like everyone else’s, and that can be both a good and bad thing in the photography industry. I’m mostly inspired by old film noir movies, and the technique of chiaroscuro in old paintings. I love light and shadows and I love manipulating light to create beautiful imagery.

When I photograph a potential client, I want them to feel warm, welcome, beautiful, and unique. My work isn’t strictly about myself, it’s about the person or subject I’m photographing. Everyone has a beautiful uniqueness surrounding them that they often hide. My goal is to extract that from people and let them just be who they truly are in front of my lens.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Yes! My goal and mission is to creative beautiful works of art and to highlight people’s character in a way that evokes emotion. I don’t want another pretty face. I want my art to be felt on a different level, and my goal is to have my audience feel some kind of emotion when viewing my photography.

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

Pivoting in business will always happen. I’ve had months where I’ve received zero bookings, no income, zilch. My biggest pivot was to supplement with a part-time job and swallow my pride. I think this is something important for most artists to realize. Pivoting, working more, or finding another job while still running your business is nothing to be ashamed of. Everything is a stepping stone to your goals, even if it doesn’t feel like it is.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.obscurastudios.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/obscurastudios_co/

Image Credits

All images are taken and edited by me: Obscura Studios/Rachel Adshead
The photo of myself is taken by: Brian Colón