We were lucky to catch up with Wendy Soto recently and have shared our conversation below.

Wendy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share a customer success story with us?

Recently I was asked to be part of a very unique type of photoshoot. My specialty falls under weddings & events but I can pretty much photograph almost everything. You name it, I got it. After conducting a phone consult with a client, I was informed that the client’s husband has never taken any pictures of himself with his mother. His mother had travelled from South East Asia and would only have less than a week left in the US visiting family. The next thing my client informed me of was that her husbands mother was blind, didn’t speak English, and was handicapped. My goal with anyone is to provide images that can tell a story or speak volumes but most importantly provide an experience during the session. I had never photographed a blind person but I was determined to meet my clients needs no matter the circumstances. With covid and difficult traveling obstacles, the mother and son had not seen each other in over 15 years. During the session it came to attention how special but also important this shoot would be. Immediately I noticed how peaceful and serene his mother looked. I tried to be as comforting, supporting and swift as possible for his mothers sake. One particular shot moved me to the point I nearly broke down crying. The client’s husband happen to feel a bit awkward since he’s not big on taking pictures or showing signs of affection. This pose required them to stand next to each other and begin and embrace. As the embrace moved on and the mother placed her hand on her sons face, I noticed a huge soul warming smile take over the his mother. It didn’t occur to me until moments after that this mother hadn’t seen her son in 15 years and most likely has a very rough memory of her sons face. I didn’t realize how touching and affected I would be to witness this moment. I felt too lucky to be providing them with images from my eyes in a way that reflected what a mother and son feel like after 15 years in distance. The shoot came to an end shortly afterwards and the client reached out to me about how moving the images were. It only solidified why I do what I do.

Wendy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started off as a photographer in the summer of 2012 at age 19 as a green screen photo technician at the USS Midway Museum. I’ve later worked with a local harbor tour company where I became a wedding photographer. I’ve also partnered with another weddings & events business where it allowed me to exercise my artistically side the most in. Becoming a professional photographer was never in my path when I saw my future but I happen to be very good at it and I also enjoyed seeing how moving my work could be. As a child and growing up I was told that I am a story teller. That happens to be one of my strengths in photography. I believe that is why many of my clients form this huge bond with me because they get more than what they asked. I strive to surprise people with a little extra because that is what I consider the cherry on the top as a service professional.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Each and every new shoot is an opportunity for me to grow and learn from. Whether it’s positive or negative thing. If you follow my journey in this field, you can see the growth and the effort that is put in. My clients often tell me how they want to be portrayed due to certain insecurities or stated flaws. My goal is to capture moments or looks that shows the persons best views and a look that they were never ever expecting. Sometimes you gotta try something so different to get great results and my clients often voice their appreciation on this.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I find the best strategy that works for me is word of mouth. I cannot stress how important friends & family support is in a field like this. In a growing world full of media and self documentation, give your friends a shot. You don’t know how much this means to us. We always want to deliver 300% more and usually always do. You help us we give more and more!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.wendysotophotography.com
• Instagram: @wendysotophotography
• Facebook: @wendysotophotography

Image Credits
Wendy Soto Photography