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

Rachel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

Yes, I have been making a full time living producing creative content for brands through photography and video for 4 years now. When I started this work I hard a full time job managing a boutique for a whole year before I could move to photography full time. Even after starting The Content Agency I had to pivot the business a couple times offering additional services like social media management and website design for the first couple years before I was able to be 100% content creation. I think that’s the key to starting any business, you need to be prepared to do what’s needed to get it off the ground. Not everything is going to be exactly how you want it overnight. When you’re relying on your talents to make a living you have to allow yourself time to find what makes you different then others in you field.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I began my love for photography and film making at a young age, always requesting cameras for birthdays and Christmas. It wasn’t until my freshman year in college where I realized it was something I could see myself doing for a career. I graduated with a bachelors in film production/studies but still couldn’t quite see the path to a full time career so I worked in my family business of horse racing for 6 years before finally pursuing a career in content creation. It really began with my love of creating content for social media which started getting noticed by local businesses who began hiring me to create photo and video content for their social media accounts and it just snowballed from there.

The content creation agency I founded and own is called The Content Agency. We are based in upstate NY and provide services to brands near and far. We create photo and video content for beauty, skincare, haircare, fashion and food brands. We can do anything from basic product photography to large scale editorial projects. At The Content Agency we pride ourselves in being able handling the whole production process for our clients, providing models, stylist, hair and makeup, art direction and anything else that may be needed.

One of my most proud moments was creating content for a client that ended up in ELLE Magazine in the Spring of 2022. My ultimate dream would be to have my work showing up in major magazines and retail stores. So that was an amazing feeling to know that a publication that I’m such a huge fan of thought my work was worthy enough to be featured in their pages.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist for me is the fact that there are no limits that can make it impossible to create. When I first started I had left a very abusive situation in my life, I had no money and no confidence but even then I was still an artist. I began my business with my iPhone camera. The lack of high end equipment or the funds to purchase high end equipment didn’t stand in my way of creating. As far I was concerned as long as I had some form of a camera I was able to create work that was worth something.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I think the most important part of managing a team is respect. Absolutely everyone deserves respect. I learned that when I worked in stables racing horses. When leaders respect their team, no matter how small their role is, the whole operation runs better. No amount of payment makes up for not feeling valued.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thecontentagencyinc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecontentagencyinc/

Image Credits
Professional photos of me are done by Erin Fortin Photography