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

Timothy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

It started a long time ago in High School where I was taking a photo with a manual SLR camera. The sun had long set and the full moon was rising up over the Wisconsin Cabin Lake. My Engineering mentor was at the edge of the dock and I asked him what setting on the camera to capture the image. He mentioned to open up the aperture and slow down the shutter. I received the pictures back from the development company and was surprised at how the photos turned out – the sky was bright blue, trees were green and the moon looked as if it were the sun! From that point on, I realized photography could be used to create all sorts of results while capturing ‘the moment’.

Timothy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am an engineer which is a very technical field. Having a ‘artful mind as well, I find it creative to use both my engineering technical along with my artistic feeling to create cool photos! I pride myself that I can enter a clients site and take in their requests and turn the results into fulfilling photos that are better than even the client imagined. I like to listen carefully to what the client is requesting and then add ideas as to what I can do to enhance what they want in a finished photo. I rely on the ambient lighting and try to have the least amount of disruption to the surroundings when capturing images. Clients feel that they trust my capabilities and able to navigate without any direction beyond what they had originally requested.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

I self-funded my business with savings from my engineering job. I was able to purchase a high-end dSLR camera, lenses, computer, monitors, and all additional necessary equipment to run my business. I also created my TMOR Photography Brand with setting up a LLC business along with a office box which my company resides ‘home’. All of which was self funded and knowing I needed to recoup the losses and have ROI or Return on Investment. So far, I have been able to complete my ROI and then some! Fun Business!

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I find ‘word of mouth’ has been the most effective method for growing my business along with clientele. Clients have been very happy with my work and refer me to many new clients! I also use social media with Instagram, Facebook and a website to spread the brand of my company.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tmorphotography.com
• Instagram: TMORPhotography
• Facebook: TMOR Photography
• Linkedin: Timothy Olson – TMOR Photography

Image Credits
All photos taken by me (Timothy Olson) at TMOR Photography