We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tonia Johnston. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tonia below.

Alright, Tonia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

This is such a great question.

I am the youngest of 5 kids. I come from a family that I love and respect more than I could ever say. I feel like the people in my family are powerful, talented and intelligent. There is not one of them, from parents to siblings who has not been impactful and influential in this world. I have a strong desire and a strong pull to be the same. To live up to the family name. My everyday is spent trying to catch up to them. I hope that one day, I am also viewed the same way I see them and they are as proud of me as I am of them.

In my home life, I hope the legacy I leave is love. I hope that I played some part in giving them the tools they needed to succeed in their lives, however they view success. I hope I gave them a soft place to fall when they needed it. I hope they saw that I did my best to give honesty without the hurt and that what they may have seen as pushing was me seeing their potential and being in their corner. I hope they know and feel that I loved them through everything with every fiber of my being.

In my work life, I hope my legacy is being the photographer that truly cared. I hope that I showed my seniors that I was engaged and that I saw them as people, not as a number. I hope I gave them all a space to be themselves and shine. That they felt uplifted, heard and confident and that I gave them images that continue to reflect all of that every time they see them.

Tonia, 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 Arizona native who fully embraces our wonderful heat and wears flip flops in winter. I am a reader and a learner. I am honest to a fault, empathetic & creative. Watching my kids grow has taught me to love hard and that it’s hard to let go. I believe that what we put out into the world is what we will get in return. Hard work, giving back, standing up for the underdog and being true to yourself will get you everywhere.

I currently specialize in high school & college senior photography. I also do small business branding, product and football photography. I also have a line of wall art for home and office.

I started this business in 2011 shooting football. Football photography is and will always be my first love. It’s magical to watch the sport I love with a soundtrack playing in my earbuds. It’s like watching a manly ballet.

I tried photographing a few other things between then and now. But nothing made me feel like football made me feel. Until I starting photographing High School Seniors.

I can’t tell you how much I love what I do. It fuels me. It gives me breath. It isn’t just the taking pictures part, it’s meeting these mini-adults, listening to their dreams, learning about them. It’s about giving them a space to be who THEY think they are as opposed to what parents, teachers the world has told them. It’s getting them in front of my camera and seeing them, not as a kid but as someone who has the full potential to go out into this crazy world and make a difference, leave their mark. It’s being able to have a real conversation with them where they just get to be who they are, say what they need to say. It’s watching my shy or introverted seniors shed their self-doubt before my eyes. It’s watching them gravitate to the images that reflect who they are back to them. I am able to give them more than a photo shoot. I am able to give them a tangible reminder of who they are before they go out and conquer the world.

I believe in lifting people up, supporting people with no strings attached for the simple reason that we all need support from time to time. I focus on people’s truths so I listen intensely and ask questions. I see you.

My clients have my full attention. If they need help styling their outfits, I’ll come help pick them out. If they need help shopping for their session, they know I am available in person (with notice) or through text to help. Our goal is to look good, feel good and I am willing to do just about anything to get my clients there.

I offer a full line of products for my clients. I feel like we just put the work in before and during the session and we need to complete things. I don’t want to just send my clients out there with a, “good luck! I hope the printer you choose is good to ya!” I guide my clients through THEIR wants and their needs, not mine. I choose printing companies that deliver images the way they see them at their reveal. Everything gets packages up beautifully and it’s like Christmas opening the order.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Word of mouth. My life outside of my business is crazy hectic. I help my husband with his business. I have kids and a husband who need me. My Mom has Alzheimer’s, she needs me.

I don’t always have time to advertise. I don’t post everyday on social media because I want to be honest and intentional but because I am introverted, I do not always have something to say. And because life happens with all of the above, I do not always have time to sit and make posts.

However, because I take care of my clients, take time for my clients, love on my clients they will tell their friends and I am forever grateful to them for thinking enough of me to say my name to others.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Exposure sells.

Except for when it doesn’t.

I really thought when I started my business that I HAD to do sessions for free or heavily discounted in order to initially get clients. I felt like when working with friends, I HAD to give them a discount in order to avoid any weirdness.

Absolutely none of that is true.

What I learned was that there were some people who would take advantage of the “free.” You can spell the rules out any way you want to, but there are some people who don’t respect boundaries out there. And when you are first starting a business you sometimes feel like those boundaries need to be moved in order to keep someone happy. So that the word of mouth is happy.

So without dropping names because I’m a classy gal, I’ll give an example.

I used to shoot for a couple of local publications. It started with just one. In exchange for my time shooting and editing, I used to get a full page ad. I got zero return for that exposure. But it was fun in the beginning. They did all the set up. All I had to do was show up and shoot, edit the images and send them over. After a while, I went from one publication to three (same organization, just different cities). My ad space was cut from a full page ad to a quarter page ad. It went from them setting things up with the clients to me setting things up. And although I would ask for a weeks notice (because I have kids, a husband who travels, a business), the notices were coming last minute. I was still getting zero return.

I got to the point where I felt more than taken advantage of, I felt small. I may be introverted but I am not small in personality or character. Working for exposure got me nothing but tired and burnt out. And I felt like in order to be taken more seriously something needed to change.

I needed to take myself seriously. I needed to value my own time.

So now I only do free shoots under certain requirements. It has to be a cause I strongly believe in, something I can give back to or I have to see a need. I had to learn to say my prices with confidence and not flinch. I had to learn to value my time before I could have other people respect it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.toniajohnstonphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toniajphotography

Image Credits
Tonia Johnston Photography