Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Taylor Radashaw. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Taylor, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about one of the craziest things you’ve experienced in your journey so far.

This whole journey as a photographer has been crazy. When my husband and I were searching for a photographer to capture our special day, I had came to the realization that I could do this. I had been behind the lens for a few years as a hobby, and felt I had the necessary skills to truly conquer this idea. I started advertising services as a way to make some side money to help pay for my wedding. I wasn’t expecting to build a whole business from this! To top it all off, not even 6 months after I started advertising and booking services one of the coolest things happened to me! I was recognized and had one of my images featured on Jared the Galleria of Jewelry’s Instagram page! I have also been published in 5 magazines now!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started this endeavor when I was planning my own wedding and now I have a full fledged business on my hands. Originally using my own name as Taylor Marie Photography, I eventually rebranded to Boho Boots Photography. I like to capture everything. All the laughs, hugs, and happy tears! Whether it’s a special day or a session to remember the milestones in life. And even though I am hired to capture my client’s big day or everyday session, I really hope to become friends too! From my point of view there’s nothing better then being surrounded by awesome people on your big day! If it’s just an everyday session it’s always nice to have fun and chat with friends! My goal is to deliver quality photos that will be treasured forever. Time passes, and all my client’s are left with is the memories and the photos. The photos I capture will be something for my clients to show to their children, and grandchildren. I want to make them worth remembering.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

This is a crucial part to starting a business. Since I didn’t initially start out with the intention of making this my full time and reliable income, it started small and was a building project. I started out with a Canon Rebel T6 that I had been using for personal purposes. I advertised sessions for little to no cost since I knew that I did not have professional level equipment. As I booked sessions, I made sure to set a little money aside. I was also still Active Duty in the United States Army at the time which also helped. As I began building and booking more and more sessions and filling my calendar I decided to slowly upgrade my gear. Even to this day, except for one camera body my photography gear is used. I found great deals on lenses, and bodies. Then eventually I invested in used speedlites. After truly falling in love with being a photographer and enhancing my skills to the professional level, I finally bought that brand new camera. A little secret to for my fellow photographers, check out Best Buy. They offer 0% interest financing for 12 months on many cameras and gear. I used this for my camera and a new laptop to edit. It’s been such a game changer for my finances and making it affordable to upgrade my gear. Another great perk, since it’s technically a credit card, I can also use it for cash back on everyday purchases. It has become my new business credit card due to the perks it provides that is also useful for my business.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Through my journey as a photographer, I have encountered many misconceptions and I enjoy every opportunity to debunk them!

The first misconception that has come to mind is that ” A photographers job is not hard at all. All you do is push a button!” The camera itself is honestly a small portion of a gallery from start to finish. Photographers spend so many hours researching and studying poses. These poses also have to be executed properly to be captured in it’s desired manifestation. During the session we are constantly changing settings. We do not want the photos to be too bright or too dark. If using flash, we also have to adjust those settings accordingly. Once all of that is done, we spend so much time sorting the good and bad images. After that, we start to edit. This part definitely varies between photographers. In my case, I like to capture the scene as naturally as possible. Therefore, I only edit colors, brightness pimples and occasional fly aways. All in all, the industry standard is for each hour of active shooting, there is 9 hours behind the scenes. For instance, an 8 hour wedding has 72 hours of behind the scenes work! That’s a total of 80 hours! When your photographer is quoting you multiple thousands of dollars, keep that in mind!

The second misconception is “My cell phone takes just as good of photos! Why do I need to invest in a photographer?” I agree that cell phone cameras truly have gotten spectacular! The difference is the photographer and the quality. Although those phone photos look great on your cell phone screen, they can look pixelated and grainy if you want to blow them up and onto a canvas. Professional photographer camera images can be blown up to billboard size and still look great! The other spot where phones still lack is in dark settings. Since I primarily capture weddings this is a common site. Many phones will take a second to focus resulting in blurry images. These setting also produce grainy images which lowers the quality. The photographer also makes a world of difference. You want to look flattering in your photos, have some direction and feel comfortable. Having a professional that can provide guidance truly makes a difference.

The third misconception is that because your photographer is “cheap” you’re going to get bad photos. This also goes along with the idea that because your photographer is “expensive” you’re guaranteed great photos! The first point that I have to this is that there is no standard, or regulation to what a photographer charges. We each price ourselves on different things such as equipment, number of sessions or weddings we book, experience, and if we have other sources of income. The best most expensive photographer in the world can still have an off day too. We can price ourselves however we want for whatever reason. It doesn’t mean we are or are not legitimate. My advice to clients reading this: vet your potential photographers. Ask for full galleries and do not choose them just for their price point. Think about if this was the gallery that they delivered to you, would you be happy with it? Would it be worth the amount that they are asking? Read their reviews, utilize Facebook groups for reviews.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Bohobootsphotography.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/Bohobootsphotography
• Facebook: Facebook.com/Bohobootsphotography

Image Credits
Photographer: Boho Boots Photography Models: Gigi and Lance Pereira Kirsten and RJ Fulton Marissa Rae and Kevin Owens Tara Eich and DelRae Photography