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

Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I believe success begins first within yourself. In order to be successful one must believe they have the ability to succeed. Confidence in yourself–as an artist, a business owner, etc. is necessary. In that same vein, you have to be willing to put aside your pride and be able to admit when you’ve made a mistake and grow and learn from it. Growth is success.

Sarah, 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 am a wedding and lifestyle photographer based in Pensacola, FL photographing everything from fashion and branding work to weddings and elopements. I started my business back in 2016, booking my first wedding when I was eighteen. Photography was first and foremost a creative outlet for me but quickly became my source of income and the manner by which I paid for myself to attend college.

Although I did not go on to pursue the career I had intended to (I had planned to become a clinical therapist), I consider myself incredibly blessed to have turned photography into my career. That being said, I do not consider my degree and time spent in college as a waste in any way.

I believe my background in psychology and social work has equipped me to serve my clients in a unique way that others in my field may seem as unnecessary. Surface-level connections are not my goal. For me, the most important part of what I do is connection. Without authentic connection with my clients, I would be incapable of telling each of their stories in the way they ought to be told.

How did you build your audience on social media?

The approach I have taken to building my audience and clientele is simple in that I show up as my authentic self always. Whether that’s virtually when I hop on Instagram stories,

messy hair and 3 coffees deep showing my editing queue that is miles long or being transparent with my clients about my approach to capturing their wedding day; if you remain true to who you are and are not afraid to be vulnerable, you will find that you get that in return. People are drawn to authenticity.

At the core of any business is the person behind the brand. I think a mistake too often made by creatives is getting caught up in crafting the perfect image or lifestyle to try and sell to their audience. What they should be more focused on is showing their audience WHO is behind the brand, not simply what the business does.

People connect with people–not brands.

If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?

In 2022 I began to offer secondary services that have served as supplementary income streams: studio rentals and mentorships.

When I moved into my tiny, 800 square foot studio office in April of 2021 I came to realize that my next goal was to move into a space, and to create a space, in which creatives of all kinds could come and make their magic. My new, much larger space I opened in June of 2022 has enabled me to offer studio rentals to other local photographers and artists. It has been incredible to see all of the different people come through my door and each create something unique in a shared space.

In addition to renting out my studio, I now offer mentorships. It took me years, quite literally, to overcome imposter syndrome and truly sit down and ask myself if there really was anything I could offer that would benefit others just starting or looking to grow their photography careers. After seeing a true demand for it from other photographers I took the jump and launched my mentorship program, available both virtually and in-person.
Since opening up mentorships I have seen all of my mentees find a renewed sense of confidence in themselves and their work and not only meet their goals, but exceed them.

My job is simply to call forth and cultivate what my mentees have within themselves already. It has quickly become one of the most rewarding parts of what I do.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sarahcolemanphotography.com
• Instagram: @sarahcolemanphoto

Image Credits
First photo submitted (singular headshot): Blake Jones