We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Thomas Gillman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Thomas thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

This is what I do full time. It was a process for sure. It took a lot of hard work and patience. This was a side hustle at first and I worked a normal 9-5 job while trying to get this off the ground. It took about 3 and a half years before it finally got to a point where I had to make a choice to either go for this full time or cut back. Obviously this was my dream and I went for it. I’ve been full time ever since. I’ve now been full time in the wedding photography industry for 11 years. I cant imagine going back to a regular job at this point. I enjoy being my own boss, setting my own schedule and being in charge of what jobs I take and which I pass along too other colleagues because maybe they’re a better fit. Honestly I don’t know that I could have sped up the process. I learned a lot during the time my business was growing and having it as a small side hustle at first allowed me to take the time to really learn the business side of things at my own pace. That’s invaluable.

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

I am a wedding photographer in the Tampa / Clearwater/ St Petersburg area in Florida. I went back to college when I was 27 chasing after a hobby that I wanted to turn into a career. I went to a local arts school here in Tampa and got my degree in photography. During school we were given the opportunity to focus on different areas of photography. Fashion, portraiture, commercial etc. One of my core classes was weddings and events. I fell in love with weddings! The emotions, the romance, the ability to work with people on their most special day. That really intrigued me and I wanted to be the one to capture it for them. What do I provide? I provide a fun experience. Its their day and I take a photo journalistic approach to their day. I shoot it as it happens. Now, I do take the classic family portraits after and of course couples photos but me and my team try to be as unobtrusive as possible during the rest. We want natural reactions and pure moments. We deliver their images in a digital gallery. We also offer albums and prints from our online store.

We are proud to have been serving this area for 16 years now. We pride ourselves on our customer service and the product we deliver. We have a true belief that every couple should be able to have an amazing experience with us from the initial consult to the product we deliver. We are one of the only vendors that has a continuing relationship with a couple after the music fades and the cake has been eaten. We approach each couple and each wedding as its own. They’re all different and all unique and we understand that. We approach each wedding that way. Its all about the couple.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

So a few years ago we went through a period where we saw a lot of our inquiries drop and I was very concerned for my business. As a team we had a meeting and at the time decided we wanted to raise our pricing. Which was a good thing to do. We felt that what we were putting out was on par with higher paid companies and we were definitely on that level. So we raised our prices. What we didn’t take into account was the amount we jumped. We literally out priced our market, and we also jumped so high the people that were being referred from past couples couldn’t afford us. So we watched our inquiries disappear and we watched our calendar become less and less full. We made a conscious decision at that point to pull our pricing back down and actually under the area average to get the ball rolling again. Once we re established our client base we have been increasing in smaller amounts each quarter to get ourselves where we want to be. Smaller jumps are easier to handle for couples rather than one large increase.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

You cant listen to other people, and you have to stop comparing yourself to others. There are a handful of other photographers in my area I really look up to and I love their work. I got into this rut of constantly getting myself upset and even got to an almost depressed state because my work wasn’t as good as theirs.. so I thought.. They had also been doing this longer than I had so of course..in all honesty theirs was but.. you cant do that. You have to use what you see others do as motivation, Take elements of what you like from their work and incorporate and put your own stamp on it. The best thing I can say is.. be your own artist. Find your niche and don’t compare yourself to others and do not listen to what others say. They don’t run your business.. you do. You know what your clients need and want. They don’t. You know what your family needs.. they don’t. This is your journey. Walk it your way :)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.abundantgracephoto.com Also. www.agfamilyphotography.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ThomasGillman
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AbundantGracePhoto
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-gillman-8a545850
• Twitter: @AbGracePhoto

Image Credits
Abundant Grace Photography