We recently connected with Sonya Bertolino and have shared our conversation below.

Sonya, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later?

I am a firm believer that timing is everything. Had I tried to start my business right out of college, I do not think it would have been the success that it is today despite knowing that I’ve always wanted to be a photographer. Starting a business is not for the faint of heart and while I believe it is possible that anyone can do it, especially if you are passionate and persistent, it is a lot easier if you wait until you have mastered your craft and have built the right connections. I majored in photography and upon graduating I worked at a local camera store and did some photo gigs here and there on the weekends to make ends meet. I wasn’t making much and didn’t really have a niche yet. I also had a few internships and a short term job at a few prominent galleries where I learned that the gallery world wasn’t for me. I was discouraged and eventually felt like it was time for me to get a “real” 9 to 5 office job and was intrigued with real estate after my apartment complex evicted all of their tenants, including me. I was admittedly lucky to have a personal connection to the owner of what was one of Houston’s most prestigious brokers at the time. This landed me an interview with their marketing department and the marketing director at the time thankfully decided to take a chance on me despite there not really being a strong need for someone else in their department and my foot was officially in the door. While I was there for three years I learned the ins and outs of marketing for real estate, which gave me the tools to eventually blend it with my passion for photography. During that time I also met my husband who is a very established real estate photographer. With his mentorship and encouragement, I took the next step and left the brokerage to work for a local real estate photography company as a photo editor where I would learn how to edit specifically for real estate, which is an entirely different process than most other niches of photography. During that time I was working from home doing what I loved and making more money on top of that – I thought I was where I finally wanted to be! However, it was short lived – after hiring a number of people at that company the owner decided to let us all go without any notice. At the time I wouldn’t know it, but he did me the biggest favor possible and lit a fire in me.  The first year I collected unemployment and hustled by walking dogs and spent countless time trying to perfect my process. After that first year I was officially making it full time through the business alone and it wasn’t long after the business snowballed into the thriving and profitable business it is today. As of today I have photographed some of Houston’s most exclusive listings and have purchased my own dream home. Without all the setbacks from struggling to find my direction out of college, the eviction notice, and being let go from my job… I would not be where I am today. Sometimes the setbacks are what propel you forward. So, to answer the overall question – no, I think it was the perfect timing and am being rewarded for that now.

Sonya, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an architectural photographer. I provide services to a wide array of clients from realtors, airbnb hosts, interior designers, and builders etc. I primarily offer professional photography for these clients, but over the years I have added additional services that range from video to aerial photography. The biggest thing that sets me apart from others is the quality of my work, which is typically more high end than your run of the mill real estate photography – I am a perfectionist when it comes to the craft. I like to provide my clients this service not only to help sell their listings, but primarily to help with their overall branding that will in turn bring them more listings. I like to think of my relationships with my clients as a mutually beneficial relationship where we both cheer each other on and bring us more business – we are a team. I think that type of loyalty goes a long way.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I was born deaf, so I have always been a predominantly visual person whether I wanted to be or not. I’ll never forget the first time I picked up a camera – something clicked and I have been hooked ever since. I used to think I was lucky that I always knew what I wanted to do when my friends at the time had no idea what they wanted to do. Later in my early adulthood, I felt like the roles had been reversed when I was struggling to make ends meet while they had successful office jobs. Thankfully over time I finally figured it out – I had a college professor tell me that the road to success is not a straight line, and he was absolutely right. So, the most rewarding aspect of being a creative for me is really just being able to tap in what I’m naturally good at on a daily basis and having that be a service for other people is just the cherry on top. While I work way harder at my business than I ever worked at any other job, it doesn’t feel like work, because I’m doing what I love.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I am very lucky that I haven’t had to spend a penny on marketing – almost all of my new clients come from word of mouth. I have learned that anytime I try to sell myself or my services to gain another client it is almost never successful. I have learned to just keep my head down and focus on doing the best job possible in order to keep my current clients happy… the rest falls in place. Unless you are a natural salesperson (which I am most certainly not), I think people can pick up on energy and there’s something repellant about ulterior motives, so keeping things as honest and organic as possible is my best advice. That being said, I do think it’s important to be discoverable and keep up with a website and/or social media presence for people to browse and get an overall feel for who you are and what you have to offer, especially after they hear about you and are trying to decide whether or not to hire you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.aviantx.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sonyabertolino/?hl=en

Image Credits
Sonya Bertolino