Allie Siarto, Author at Photo Field Notes Podcast: Career Advice for Photographers

Episode 29: Allie Siarto on Entrepreneurship and a Fulfilling Career

July 1, 2015

After my interview with my friend and fellow photographer, Mikkel from Mikkel Paige Photography, she came back and told me that she wanted to interview me for the podcast so that I could tell my own story. It was fun to be on the “other side” of the interview for this one and share how I went from running a multiple six figure marketing company with my husband to essentially quitting it all to focus on photography full time.

Sadly, the Get it Together Kit that I mentioned in the interview is no longer available. I’ll have to get Millie on the podcast soon to find out what she’s up to next.

A few topics from today’s show:

How the Chicago Photography Center got me interested in photography
Apprenticeships and mentorship
Why and when I decided to focus on photography full time

And in the spirit of the podcast, here’s a grab of some of my favorite photos.

Episode 28: Heather Woodward on Home Studios & Keeping a Unique Perspective

June 10, 2015

Heather Woodward of Artful Heart Photography started getting into photography when her first child was born. She obsessed over learning the skills for herself and her personal photos, but soon began getting requests to take photos for others, which led her to start and grow her business.

A few topics from this show:

How Heather gravitated toward newborns and babies
Why Heather has never taken a newborn workshop
Setting up a home studio
Collecting props
Referral programs
Video marketing
The most important thing photographers can do for themselves

Check out Heather’s beautiful photos below, and be sure to Artful Heart Photography for more.

Episode 27: David Bean on Breaking into Commercial and Celebrity Photography

June 3, 2015

David Bean is the founder of Visual Reserve out of Nashville. David grew up on what he calls “hippy communes,” barely graduating high school and never going to college. Now he’s built a successful business photographing celebrities from Nikki Taylor to Taylor Swift. In this interview, David tells the story of how he created his own business out of nothing.

Check out David’s work below, and be sure to visit his Visual Reserve and David Bean on Instagram to see more.

Episode 26: Ellie Pritts on Breaking into Music Photography

May 20, 2015

Ellie Pritts actively resisted trying to turn photography into a business, but she eventually ended up leaving school to pursue it full time. She’s now a music photographer based out of Austin, Texas.

A few topics from this show:

Breaking into music photography
The anatomy of an Instagram takeover
Moving to a new location
The challenges of photographing live concerts and festivals

Check out a few of Ellie’s photos below, and be sure to look at her website and Instagram account: Ellie Pritts to see more.

Episode 25: How Michael Courier Broke into Performance + Event Photography

May 13, 2015

A few topics from this show:

How Michael quit his full time job to pursue photographing performances and events
How Craigslist has helped his business
Michael’s advice for getting started as a performance + event photographer

Notable quotes:

“Even in the moments where I wake up and I’m still kind of struggling to either find the client or feel happy with some of my work that I’m doing, I would not trade it in for anything…I get to do what I love, so I know that the moments of struggle are still better than any other job I’ve ever had.”

“You will get it as long as you stick with it. It’s so easy for people to look at their work and look at other people’s work and be like, ‘I’m never going to get there. I’m just going to quit.’ I never really took that approach. I see other people’s work and I’m like, ‘I can be that one day if I keep with it.'”

“Don’t get frustrated with what other people are doing. Just keep doing it because you love it, and eventually you’ll get there.”

Check out some of Michael’s work below, and be sure to check out his website to see more.

Episode 24: Mikkel Mihlrad on Leaps of Faith and Re-establishing in a New Location

May 13, 2015

I’ve known Mikkel since we met on a photography forum and ended up sharing a hotel room at WPPI back in 2011. The same outlook that led her to share a room with a complete stranger at a conference has driven her to take other leaps of faith in her photography career—including starting over after two huge moves. In this interview, Mikkel shares the story of how she got started as a photographer, what drove her to take the leaps she’s taken, how it all worked out and the lessons she’s learned along the way.

Check out Mikkel’s awesome work below, and be sure to check out her website and Instagram account for more.

Episode 23: LeAnna Gerety on Client Experience and Word of Mouth Recommendations

April 30, 2015

LeAnna Gerety had degrees in business and marketing and a great job with a wonderful company, but she was tired of getting up every single day to go work for someone else. In this interview, hear how how LeAnna built LeAnna Theresa Photography into a full time career through hard work, great client experiences and word of mouth recommendations.

A few topics from this show:

The unique way that LeAnna prepared herself to take on weddings of her own.
How LeAnna has shifted her business mindset to adjust to changes in the photography business today.
How LeAnna connects with clients in a way that has them referring her to friends.
How LeAnna uses her photography to give back to her community.
How LeAnna balances clients by scheduling shoots during the week (and getting clients to take time off of work to come to her).

Resources

Schedule Once (Set meeting times to let clients book automatically)
CreativeLive
#GIRLBOSS (a book by Sophia Amoruso of Nasty Gal)
642 Things to Write Journal

Check out some of LeAnna’s work below, and be sure to follow her on Instagram and check out her blog for more.

Episode 22: How Sara Wolfram Grew onelove photography to a Team of 40 People

April 22, 2015

Sara Wolfram started her career as a sports photographer, but after shooting her first wedding, she was hooked. Now, Sara has a team of 40 people shooting and assisting for her company, onelove photography, where she does all of the editing.

A few topics from this show:

How Sara transitioned from a single photographer to a team, and how she grew into multiple cities.
Building a team with likeminded photographers while protecting a specific vision and style.
How Sara balances training and managing her team, selling new business across multiple cities, shooting ten weddings a year and editing every wedding that goes through her company.
How Sara learned to do sales.
What the client experience looks like with a team setting.
How Sara feels about studio space—does it matter for selling?
What is the mistake that many young photographers make that Sara has overcome?
Setting clear expectations with clients

View some of Sara’s work below, and be sure to check out more work on her website, on Instagram and on Facebook.

Episode 21: How Nick Ulivieri Found a Unique Perspective in Commercial Photography

April 22, 2015

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Not many photographers can call a helicopter a part of their regular photo equipment, but Nick Ulivieri regularly flies high above Chicago as a part of his professional photographic work.

A few topics from today’s show:

How Nick made the leap from a full time job to full time self employed photographer.
How Nick figured out what to charge for his work.
How Nick learned the technical aspects of photography.
How Nick finds new clients (including Instagram).
How Nick got into ariel photography (and got clients to pay him to fly in helicopters).
What does a week in the life look like for Nick?

Check out some of Nick’s amazing photos below. Check out his website and follow him on Instagram to see more.

Episode 20: Maria Bayer: How to Sell as a Creative Entrepreneur

April 22, 2015

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As creative professionals, we photographers are often drawn in by the artistry of creating beautiful images, and many of us struggle with the necessary business mindset that it takes to turn photography into a viable full time business. Maria Bayer is on a mission to change that mindset for photographers and other wedding professionals—she’s a sale coach who specifically works with wedding professionals to help them win clients and charge what they’re worth.

A few topics from today’s show:

Listen to Maria talk about the selling mindset that you must have to win clients and charge what you’re worth
Learn how to build value with your clients (hint: it’s harder to do through e-mail)
Learn a few quick tips that you can implement now to start vetting potential clients and leading them to book larger packages
Hear Maria talk about the two different ways her clients go about selling products

Learn more about Maria’s training at mariabayer.com and on Facebook.

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