We were lucky to catch up with Sophia Yates recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sophia, thanks for joining us today. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?

My hero is my Dad. Growing up, there was never a day I doubted how much he believed in me. From sports I was involved with, to the art I made, to the projects I worked on for school, I always knew that if I didn’t believe in myself there would always be someone who did. I think that is a lot of the reason why I chose to pursue a more unconventional career by starting my own business right out of college. With both my successes and failures, my Dad is always the first person I want to tell.

When I was in 7th grade, I mentioned how much I would love to start taking photographs. At the time, my family and I lived in Japan and did a lot of travelling. Without much thought, my Dad did research for me into what camera I could start out on. He believed in my dreams even more than I did at the time, and I am so grateful for that. My first camera sparked my love for photography, and I believe my love for photography while we travelled is a huge reason why I’m still pursuing it today.

In the past year, I’ve learned how difficult it can be learning the business side of things in my wedding photography business. My Dad has listened to all the things I’ve learned and is always interested to hear about my business. I’ve always felt so supported by him, and never like a nuisance when talking about mundane things like finances and taxes and marketing (lol!). He’s just simply the best. There is no one else like him.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Sophia (most people call me Soph!) and I am a wedding + portrait photographer based out of Columbus, Ohio. I have been doing photography since middle school, and my love for it was first sparked when my family and I would travel while we lived in Japan. I would bring my camera EVERYWHERE. I would bump into strangers on the street because I was looking through my viewfinder and was so entranced. The photos I took back then are still some of the ones I’m most proud of.

Throughout high school and college, I started to get more requests for paid shoots, mostly just seniors and family portraits. I never would have imagined that I would start getting to do weddings and making a living out of it. I graduated college in May of 2023, started an LLC, and am now in the early stages of trying to build my business. I’m learning so much about the financial side of things, how to market myself, and how to create an incredible client experience. There’s always more to learn and improve on, and I love that.

As a journalism grad, my main goal in my work is to be a storyteller. In addition to posed, aesthetic shots, I love paying attention to the smaller, behind-the-scenes moments. Those are my favorite photos to capture when I can just be a fly on the wall and tell a story of the day.

Have you ever had to pivot?

As a photography business owner, I feel like I am constantly changing my process and client experience in an effort to improve it and make it more simple. There’s always more to learn when it comes to how to book clients and give them the best experience possible from inquiry to delivery of the images. I love meeting and working with other photographers so that we can help each other to grow.

How did you build your audience on social media?

This is something I am definitely still working on, but the biggest tip that I’ve learned and tried to implement is to show up as your true and authentic self. Especially for photography, people aren’t just booking you for the photos, they’re also booking you for the person you are. I love showing my personality on social media and more about what it’s like to work with me – this is how I’ve gotten the most engagement.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sophiayatesphoto.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sophiayatesphoto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076225376943

Image Credits
Sophia Yates Photography, LLC