We recently connected with Trent Tidmore and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Trent, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the decision of whether to donate a percentage of sales to an organization or cause – we’d love to hear the backstory of how you thought through this.
I am a portrait photographer and one of my favorites genres is maternity portraits. Whenever I have a maternity client, I donate a portion of the session fee to SafeHaven of Tarrant County.
A few years ago I volunteered at the shelter to help repaint the dorm rooms. While on break I got to meet some of the clients. One little boy looked up at me and asked if I wanted to play with his toys. He was so sweet and I got pretty choked up thinking of what experiences he must have endured to end up in a shelter. This prompted me to support the mission at SafeHaven of Tarrant County by using my business to generate funds to donate.
Their goal is to pave the way for survivors to seek resources, and pursue justice and freedom in the safest way possible.
Trent, 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?
Growing up, my father was in the military, before becoming a salesman—needless to say, we moved around a lot. From Arizona to Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, I quickly learned how to be resourceful, connect with people and familiarize myself with new surroundings.
I believe these traits—along with my dad’s great sense of humor, and my mother’s love of learning—made me the photographer I am today. And our life experiences together taught me the importance of being present in every moment, big or small. To capture the candid and turn the fleeting into a photograph that will last forever.
I remember the first portrait I ever photographed was for the family of a developmentally challenged child. For years, the child’s mother devoted all her focus toward her daughter that she didn’t have time to also take photographs of them together. She and I collaborated to create the perfect piece, and when I delivered the portrait, the mother burst into tears, overjoyed to have captured a beautiful memory of her beautiful child. That moment, alone, convinced me I was on the right path.
When creating your piece, I take a very collaborative approach. First, we’ll have a consultation to discuss what type of artwork you want me to create for you; how and where it will be displayed in your home; what style, colors, clothing, backgrounds, props—every detail that goes into getting it just right. Then, we have a portrait session to create the photograph, taking your vision and making it real. Once you choose the poses and photographs you want, I will personally deliver and install your wall portraits for your family to enjoy for years to come.
At Tidmore Portraits, I work with families to create treasured heirlooms their kids will hand down to their own grandchildren someday.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
For almost 30 years I worked for a large automotive finance company. It was not the type of work where I could be very creative, and on the side I started my photography business. It was challenging, as the only time I had to work on my business was the weekends. I finally made the transition to full time and made the right choice to only open on weekdays.
My Mondays are my office days where I focus on financials, marketing, etc. Tuesday through Friday are my studio days. The weekends are booked with my lovely wife of 33 years.
People ask me if it was scary going full time. I felt like maybe it should have been, but it really wasn’t. I know I am a hard worker and not afraid of putting in the effort. My photography is pretty good and I offer only the finest quality prints, albums and wall art. My clients are always satisfied, so with all of those positives I think it gave me the confidence not to doubt myself.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
When I first started creating and selling portraits I would take on anyone as a client. The thing is, not everyone is your client. I had one client who was very demanding to the point of being ridiculous. She insisted on coming over to my house and sitting next to me while I retouched her portraits, wanted several items for free, and wanted me to retouch a couple of her portraits to the point it didn’t even look like her for a dating site she was on.
The lesson for me was that it is not only important but critical to set clear expectations and enforce healthy boundaries. It is also good to learn from those kinds of situations to identify the right clients.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tidmoreportraits.com/
- Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/tidmoreportraits
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tidmoreportraits
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tidmoreportraits
- Twitter: @tidmoreportrait