We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Samantha Shannon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Samantha, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today.

If I were starting over today, I’d invest back into my business differently. I think we’re often told to put profits back into our business early on, but never actually how to do that effectively. I spent a lot of time in the early years investing into professional organizations, equipment, and networking events. But when I invested into two specific things, my business grew more than it ever had: outsourcing and education.

Outsourcing some of my behind-the-scenes tasks helped me focus on growing my business, rather than running the day to day operations. The way handing off tasks frees up my time to focus on growth is incredible. For photographers, that can look like hiring someone to cull or edit a photo session based on your sample edits of a few photos from that gallery. When I had that extra time that would normally be taken up by editing, I was able to work on things like education, networking, and website optimization.

Education has been another game-changer that I wish I’d invested more into early on. Finding someone who is doing the thing you want to do, in the way you want to do it, and learning from them can make your business grow by leap and bounds. I started out thinking that photography & business education was all equal, and it really isn’t! Each course or opportunity is really built for a specific type of person or need–so finding one that fits before spending the money is so important. I keep that in mind now with the education I’ve created for other photographers. It’s geared specifically to photographers looking to create a light and airy style in their photography.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m Samantha, a family photographer based in Portland, Oregon. Since 2011, I’ve been helping families leave a legacy with their family photos. I document families together in the beautiful natural settings of the Pacific Northwest, focusing on sweet, soulful details and using soft, glowing light.

As a mom myself, I know how fiercely my clients want to remember the little things about their every day lives with their children. The way it feels to hold their hand, the way their baby hair curls at the nape of their neck, or the way they cuddle in for a hug. My photos document these feelings so my clients can look back at them for years to come. More than that, I know that parents are usually the ones behind the camera, and so often aren’t actually in their everyday photos. A family photo session with me celebrates the whole family: so that when, years from now, my client’s grandchildren look at these photos, they can see the love that existed.

The thought of future generations looking back at the photos we take today? It’s why I created a full-service family portrait experience. An experience custom-made for parents who want to have tangible memories of their family’s genuine connection and joy. Who want more than a portrait session, but a memory just waiting to be made and handed down to generations ahead. I offer my clients heirloom albums made to page through together with their families, and museum-quality archival framed prints ready to hang above the fireplace. I firmly believe that family photos shouldn’t just live on your computer or social media. They’re meant to be lived with, in your home, for decades.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Consistency throughout my business has absolutely helped build my reputation among my clients. To get there, I niched down with a very specific service and style: people come to me for family photos where they look relaxed and connected to their families. The photos are full of light with soft tones because of my consistency in the type of light and locations I use, as well as my editing process. When people look at my website, they know exactly what they’ll be getting when they book, which I think builds trust and reputation quickly.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

A book I read early on in my career stuck with me and influenced how I approach my business: Love Is The Killer App by Tim Sanders. It encouraged me to network often, but with the goal of sharing freely out of love rather than always focusing on just getting the next sale.

Over the years, it’s meant I’ve led personally, with love, in my business. I enjoy organizing events for other photographers and growing relationships with a network of like-minded people. Doing that from a space of love has brought me more well-suited opportunities and creative growth that I can’t imagine I’d have if I’d just gone into networking events throwing business cards around and looking only for my next client.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.samanthashannonphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthashannonphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samanthashannonphotography/

Image Credits

Samantha Shannon Photography