We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sophie Hunter. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sophie below.

Alright, Sophie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

My mission is to help empower & encourage small businesses and individuals with personalized visual storytelling. I want every client to leave their session feeling confident, affirmed and inspired. Photos and videos are just a part of what my business has to offer. Working and creating with me is an entire experience from beginning to end. Building a relationship with my clients and getting to know who they are and what their brand stands for, allows me to create with intention for them. I’m a natural hype woman and I truly want to see people win. I want to be there cheering them on like the super loud mama in the stands! Being an entrepreneur can be challenging and I know what it feels like to have a tribe of supporting people having my back. I want to be that support for all my clients. Community over competition is important to me because I believe you can go farther when you help others. When I first started my business, it felt very lonely. It wasn’t until I found community within other entrepreneurs that I found myself moving forward more efficiently and successfully. There is success and opportunity for all of us and working with my clients is impactful not only for them but also for me!

Sophie, 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 a Personal Branding & Portrait photographer. I have been in business for 7 years now and every year my business evolves. Marketing trends and technology are constantly changing and I try to make sure I keep up with those changes while also stay true to my core brand and values. I’ve always had a love for photography and after some nudges from my family and friends, I finally took a leap and created my business. Creating my business to serve my clients has also allowed me to learn a lot about myself in the process. Overcoming my own doubts and insecurities as an entrepreneur and finding ways to constantly work on myself and my business allows me to relate to my clients.

I help entrepreneurs showcase their brand story and personality in their photoshoot by taking the time getting to know them and understand their needs. I love to brainstorm and create intentional plans with them so that the day of their session we can focus on having a good time! Preparing for the session beforehand allows my clients to feel confident and ready for their session. I take pride in the final product I create for my clients but ensuring a fun and positive experience from the beginning to end is the most important to me. I want every client to leave their session feeling like they have tons of content and most importantly a new go-to creative business bestie!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Watching my client’s light up during the brainstorming and strategy process and again when they see the final product. During the brainstorming and strategy process, I go through the entire session from location, outfits, props, shot list and more. Seeing their excitement at the end of that process lets me know they feel confident and prepared for their session. That energy carries on into their session and it really allows us to have a good time creating with one another. I love when I get to witness their businesses growing and thriving and to know I had a little part of their journey gets me in the feels every time.

Sometimes I create for funsies and being able to have total creative control and freedom is also rewarding. There’s no pressure to create for another person; just for myself. There’s also opportunity for me to collaborate with others which is always fun. Being with other creatives boosts my creativity and allows to better serve future clients.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I first started my photography business, I shot EVERYTHING! Newborns, family, weddings, parties, basically anyone who wanted to get in front of my camera. I just wanted to capture it all. Then I had my son in 2019 and then covid came in 2020; both events changed everything for my business. I realized my true passion was for entrepreneurs and graduates. That might sound like 2 completely different niches but to me they’re not. I love celebrating people and watching their passions unfold and take life. That’s exactly what I get to do with entrepreneurs and graduates. I decided to better serve them, I would dive in deep and make sure my focus was on them and not spreading myself thin doing projects that I weren’t a passionate about. Most entrepreneurs can relate that when we first start our business we want to do everything! But in reality, not having a specialized niche doesn’t allow us to become an expert in our craft.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sophiekhunter.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/sophiekhunterphotography/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/sophiekhunterphotography/

Image Credits
Personal image by Atali Samuel All other images by Sophie K Hunter