Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Taylor Bonnell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Taylor, appreciate you joining us today. Alright, let’s jump into one of the most exciting parts of starting a new venture – how did you get your first client who was not a friend or family?
As is the case with almost all brand new photographers starting out, I held a lot of free sessions for family and close friends to build my portfolio. My first real dollar made was from a friend of a friend looking for family photos. I was offering extremely reduced priced session since I was still learning to use my camera and toying with my editing style and I didn’t feel confident charging what others would simply because I didn’t have the skillset yet.
It was an adorable family of four and I took their photos one early spring morning at the NC Arboretum. First lesson I learned: lighting is just as desirable first thing in the morning as it is during Golden Hour in the evening! With the sun in our favor, I played with positioning and my angles and used this opportunity as a paid practice session. Another lesson I learned, despite being a former teacher and having children myself, other families’ children have varying thresholds of patience when it comes to having their picture taken. I was challenged with not only figuring out ways to keep them engaged, but fun as well!
The session ended with the mom asking me to do a private portrait session for her because her main hobby was fire dancing. It is still in my top 5 of coolest sessions I’ve been hired to do.
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 Taylor, and I am a family/couple photographer in the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. I graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Elementary Education, and worked as a 2nd and 3rd grade teacher for 5 years. By my 4th year, I gave birth to my daughter just before the pandemic lockdown, and my priorities shifted. I loved teaching and my children, but I felt my calling was to be home with my daughter and future children. By March 2021, I officially resigned from teaching and by that May, I launched Taylor Bonnell Photography.
My husband gifted me a Canon 7D for our first married Christmas back in 2016. He found it on eBay in pristine condition, and I had a new hobby of dragging that camera everywhere we went, documenting our travels and experiences together. While no one had ever paid me to take photos for them, I usually asked for gift cards as compensation. By the time my daughter was born, I was actively looking for ways to make some money aside from teaching. I took my passion for my little ol’ camera and began taking online photography classes to learn photography basics as well as Lightroom and Photoshop. My husband gifted me photography books and a subscription to a site called SkillShare to learn from real craft educators. These ultimately gave me the confidence to begin my own business, starting out small and learning along the way.
Something I am proud of is how much my photography skills have changed in the past almost two years since launching. I have a much clearer understanding of editing and lighting now. I am also proud of delivering photos to clients who hired me knowing I was brand new and still trusting me. That’s something that makes a world of difference to brand new photographers.
If there’s anything I can pass along, please be models for photographers starting out. It means more to them than you’ll ever understand, and you’re helping them learn their trade better. The feeling of trust from clients who begin as strangers but leave as friends after the session is over is truly one of the best feelings you can have starting out.
Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.
This is a side hustle that remains a side hustle. I am first and foremost a mom. Photography is something I offer when I have the availability and mental space to do it. I feel blessed to be in a position where this is a hobby and something I enjoy and get paid to do while still caring for my children. I began with 2 sessions a month while my daughter was small and increased to 4-6 sessions a month as she grew older. In 2022, I had the pleasure of photographing 30 clients, a handful of those being repeat clients from 2021! That was a surreal feeling.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I joined a local photography community. We all became fast friends from varying levels of experience. Most of them didn’t start out as photographers either but gained a large following and interest for their talents. It’s routine for all of us to offer the other people as options for an inquiring client if they aren’t able to take them on. That’s where I began receiving email after email saying, “Hey, ____ recommended you for a family session!” It really felt like I made it in our little part of the state, and I was able to regulate how much I was taking on thanks to being my own boss. And I, of course, did my part and suggested some of them from the group when I wasn’t able to take on a client. It’s a really fluid system we have going on!
So, without these friends and that community, I’d be on my own for a lot of this business development. I’ve encountered some photographers who would gatekeep and not share their experiences or tips. I am glad to have been invited and part of a community who is happy to help newcomers and share. That’s how you learn: through your own experiences and through others’.
Contact Info:
- Website: taylorbonnellphotography.com
- Instagram: @taylorbonnellphotography
- Facebook: @taylorbonnellphotography