We recently connected with Tanya Triber and have shared our conversation below.
Tanya, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your professional career?
In my first job out of graduate school, I worked for a small B2B marketing agency called Brand Theory. The owner was a stickler for processes. Everything we did was outlined in project management software, every client document was templated to allow for client approvals, literally every ‘i’ was dotted and every ‘t’ was crossed. It seemed like overkill sometimes, but I grew to really appreciate the efficiency it created once we became busy juggling several clients and creating tremendous amounts of content for each.
The big lift to create all of those systems ensured that nothing fell through the cracks, everyone was accountable for their portion of the project, and things stayed on track. It allowed us to be both effective and highly productive.
However, I didn’t fully appreciate it until I moved on to another agency that didn’t have such finely-tuned processes in place. My onboarding process was clunky, training was minimal, and expectations were often unclear. There was no standard process for client approvals; there were too many ways to communicate both internally and externally, so notes and important details were constantly getting lost, and both clients and colleagues were continually frustrated. Needless to say, I didn’t last at that agency very long.
Now, as a full-time independent contractor providing marketing and photography services to clients, I have found myself replicating many of the Brand Theory systems in my own business. Even though I’m a team of one, I track all my projects and client work in Asana, I have implemented platforms and software that allows for easy, efficient, and clear client approvals on marketing and creative content, and I have systems in place to help me maximize my output for clients while streamlining the administrative tasks that keep me organized behind the scenes. While I don’t plan to grow my team anytime soon, these systems would also enable me to expand and take on new clients or employees without adding too much extra administrative work.
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.
With a background spanning creative writing, entrepreneurship, interior design, and digital marketing, I’m one of those professionals in my 40s whose career path is anything but linear—and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Each chapter has informed the next, creating a unique blend of skills that sets my work apart today.
After nearly two decades in customer-facing roles—as a restaurant owner and then as a designer and sales associate at a local home furnishings store—I found myself at a crossroads. While I loved the creativity and problem-solving aspects of design, the constant demands of customer service were leading to burnout. I craved more flexibility, intellectual growth, and the opportunity to work with my hands and mind in new ways. Three years ago, I pursued and completed a Master’s in Digital Marketing from Rutgers Business School, graduating magna cum laude.
Marketing was always the task that fell to me throughout my career because I could write and take photographs. What started as a necessity became a passion, and I realized I could build something meaningful at the intersection of visual storytelling, content strategy, and social media marketing.
Photography has been woven through my life since high school, when I served as yearbook photographer. For years, I treated it as a creative outlet—a hobby that kept me sane. As an avid hiker and outdoor enthusiast based in Western North Carolina, I found myself drawn to landscape photography, captivated by the raw beauty of the natural world and the delicate details that often go unnoticed. But over time, my lens expanded beyond mountain vistas to encompass the full spectrum of visual storytelling: stunning cocktails, jaw-dropping sunsets, stylish hotel lobbies, mouthwatering culinary delights, and brand narratives that deserve to be seen.
What I Do Today:
I work as a strategic brand partner, offering a comprehensive approach to digital marketing and visual content that helps businesses not just look good, but perform better. My services bridge two critical needs: the strategic planning and execution of social media marketing and content marketing, paired with professional brand photography that brings those strategies to life.
On the marketing side, I provide social media management and strategy, content calendar development, copywriting, audience engagement, and analytics-driven optimization. I help businesses understand their target audiences, craft compelling narratives, and build consistent brand voices across platforms.
On the photography side, I create brand and commercial imagery for hospitality, food and beverage, travel, and lifestyle brands—but with a crucial difference. Every image I capture is informed by marketing strategy. I don’t just show up and shoot pretty pictures; I understand the customer journey, brand positioning, content pillars, and how visual assets need to perform across different platforms and touchpoints.
What Sets Me Apart:
My dual expertise creates a powerful synergy that most businesses have to cobble together from multiple vendors. When you work with me, you get someone who can both develop your content strategy AND create the photography to execute it. I understand that an image for Instagram Stories needs to be composed differently than one for your website hero section. I know how to create cohesive visual narratives that align with your marketing goals and resonate with your target audience.
My diverse professional background gives me additional advantages. Having owned a restaurant and worked in interior design, I understand the hospitality and lifestyle industries from the inside out. I know what it takes to create an experience, build a brand, and connect with customers on an emotional level. I’ve walked in my clients’ shoes.
Additionally, my fine art practice as a landscape photographer—which has earned recognition as a finalist in multiple regional cover contests (Best of WNC Magazine and Blue Ridge Outdoors) and a feature in Loblolly Press’s “Overstory” publication—brings an artistic sensibility to commercial work. This fine art background means I create images with depth, atmosphere, and intention, not just documentation.
The Problems I Solve:
Many businesses struggle with inconsistent social media presence, lackluster visual content, or the challenge of managing multiple vendors for strategy, content creation, and photography. They know they need to show up online, but they’re overwhelmed by the demands of content creation and don’t know how to make their visual assets work strategically.
I solve this by being both the strategist and the creator. I can audit your current social media presence, identify gaps and opportunities, develop a comprehensive content strategy, and then personally create the photography and written content needed to bring that strategy to life. This integrated approach ensures brand consistency, strategic alignment, and efficiency—no more playing telephone between your marketing consultant and your photographer.
What I’m Most Proud Of:
I’m proud of my ability to bridge worlds—art and commerce, strategy and creativity, local and global perspectives. My current project, “Vanishing Winters” exemplifies this. It’s a climate change documentation project combining Arctic winter imagery from travels to Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and an upcoming expedition to Northern Norway with winter landscapes from Western North Carolina. The resulting solo exhibition at Pink Dog Creative in December 2026 will serve as both an artistic statement and an educational platform about environmental stewardship. This project demonstrates my commitment to using both photography and storytelling to create meaningful impact.
I’m also proud of pivoting careers in my 40s and building something that honors all the versions of myself I’ve been—the writer, the entrepreneur, the designer, the marketer, the artist. That non-linear path means I bring more to the table than someone who’s only done one thing.
What I Want You to Know:
Whether you need comprehensive social media management, a content marketing strategy that actually gets implemented, or brand photography that serves your business goals, I bring both technical excellence and strategic thinking to every project. I’m equally comfortable developing your three-month content calendar and shooting the imagery to fill it, or analyzing your social media analytics and adjusting strategy accordingly.
My approach is holistic: beautiful imagery grounded in marketing strategy, content that tells authentic stories while driving business results, and social media presence that builds genuine connections with your audience. I understand that every image, every caption, every post should serve your business goals while maintaining artistic integrity.
I believe in creating work that matters—whether that’s helping a local business thrive through compelling content or using photography to spark conversations about our changing planet. I’m deeply invested in my community and passionate about supporting fellow creatives and entrepreneurs.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I believe that my reputation has been built by consistently acting with integrity and empathy throughout my professional life. As someone who held public-facing roles for over 10 years in Asheville, I interacted with countless other business professionals and local entrepreneurs. Although my “job” has changed, people in this community know me as a reliable, hard-working and detail-oriented professional. Honestly, the majority of my current clients are either friends, former colleagues or connections made through friends or former colleagues. To me, this reflects the importance of treating people well, communicating clearly, taking responsibility when it’s yours to take, and doing excellent work.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
Sean Tucker’s “The Meaning In The Making” is a thought-provoking reflection on what it means to be a creative and how to ensure that whatever we make holds meaning, is free from ego, and brings value or inspiration to our audiences. Sean is an accomplished photographer and YouTuber, but the book holds wisdom for anyone in a creative pursuit.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.momentomoriphotography.com (landscape and travel)
- Instagram: @momento.mori.photography
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanyamtriber
- Other: https://tanyamtriber.myportfolio.com/ (comprehensive photography and marketing portfolio)
Image Credits
The photo of me on a snowy mountain should be credited to Leah Swann. All other images are mine (Tanya Triber)