Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Clair.
Hi Rebecca, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started my photography business the way I think a lot of photographers start these days: I bought myself a “nice” DSLR camera and started taking photos of friends. After years of carrying my little point-and-shoot camera everywhere with me, I had already developed an eye for light and composition and my new camera suddenly gave me so much more control over my images. The more photos I shared on social media, the easier it became to find friends who were willing to pose for me so I could practice.
I remember one moment, after several months of doing practice photo sessions with friends, I had just delivered a gallery of photos to some friends. After I sent it, I realized that I didn’t have any upcoming sessions scheduled at that point and that thought made me feel a little sad. There was something about photographing people that satisfied me in a way that nature photography never did. I remember thinking that I should probably pay attention to that feeling and start to pursue portrait photography for real. That became the final push I needed to shift from a hobbyist to a professional.
So I made myself a Facebook page, followed shortly by a website, and dove into learning everything I could about photography – about lighting, composition, editing, and (especially later) about posing and directing and how to encourage connection and emotion in a session. Over the years, I’ve taken some online courses and attended a photography conference in Dallas, TX, but to be honest, I think I have learned the most from Facebook groups where I have been able to interact with other, more experienced photographers, both locally and worldwide. By observing their work and asking questions, as well as reading the questions that other photographers asked, I have learned so much about both the technical side of photography and how to run a successful photography business. Interacting with so many other photographers also helped me begin to hone my own personal style, as I started to notice what types of images and sessions I was drawn towards and began to learn how to produce those types of images myself.
At the same time, I have also had to learn how to run a business and market myself (a task that comes much less naturally to me than the artistic side of things). From the start, I wanted to do things correctly and legally, so those early months were sort of a crash course in learning all the licenses and paperwork I needed to be a legal business. In those early years, I also read a lot of blogs and attended a lot of webinars and five-day challenges on things like marketing, SEO, and defining your brand. That side of running a photography business has always been more challenging for me (and someday I hope to outsource some of it!) but I also found a certain satisfaction in pushing myself to learn these new skills.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has definitely not always been smooth! I have experienced a lot of growing pains along the way as I discovered some of the realities of marketing myself as an artist and had to learn how to value my time as a professional.
I think one of my biggest struggles was learning how to value myself and my time enough to charge sustainable prices. When I first started, I wanted my photography to be accessible to everyone. I truly enjoyed photography and felt like any income I earned from it was just a bonus. More seasoned photographers advised me to calculate my cost of doing business and base my rates on that, but I sort of scoffed at that idea and priced myself according to what I felt my work was “worth” in comparison to other photographers around me. Ultimately, though, that led to me working long hours for what amounted to less than minimum wage. It was disheartening to look at the numbers at the end of my first year, when I calculated how much time I spent emailing, driving, and editing, outside of the time spent at the actual session.
Still, it’s hard to break out of that imposter syndrome and it took me several years and several rounds of burnout before I finally raised my prices to a more sustainable place. I think that continues to be a challenge in portrait photography in general, where the market is saturated with low-cost photographers. It can be hard to compete while still charging sustainable rates, but I have learned to focus on what makes my work unique and on connecting with clients who truly love the work that I do. And charging more sustainable prices has given me the freedom to volunteer my photography to individuals and causes that I care about.
The other big challenge I have faced as a business owner has been finding the balance between my business and my family life. Although I am a professional photographer, it has always been just one of my roles. I am also an early childhood teacher and the mother to two amazing (and energetic!) kiddos – a six-year-old and a nine-month-old. I began my business before I had children, so it felt easier than to spend my nights and weekends shooting and editing, emailing, and blogging. But the birth of my son caused me to value my time more dearly as I realized that any time spent on my business came at the cost of time away from my family. As a Type A doer, I found it easy to immerse myself in my to-do lists and plow through my business goals without taking time to really appreciate or enjoy this season with my own children. As I worked on clarifying my mission as a photographer and communicating with my clients about the value of slowing down and celebrating the beauty of each unique season as a couple or family, I realized that I was actually really terrible at doing that myself!
So as my business has grown, I have actually slowed down and taken fewer sessions each season. I’ve learned to set firmer boundaries for how many sessions I take on each month and how quickly I respond to emails. I post far less on social media than I used to and only blog occasionally. After immersing myself in all that marketing work early on, where the “hustle” is really glorified, I struggled for a long time to give myself permission to let go of that mindset and to judge the growth of my business more on the quality of my work and interactions rather than on sheer numbers. But I think it has ultimately allowed me to be more authentic in my work and encouraged me to put my focus more on my interactions with my clients and the work I create for them.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I consider myself a lifestyle photographer, which means I focus less on orchestrating the perfect poses with everyone looking at the camera and more on facilitating authentic interactions and a sense of connection. I do help walk my clients through choosing outfits and locations that both fit their personalities and will photograph well, so I am definitely not purely documentary, but I value authenticity in my sessions. I try to choose locations with good light and lots of depth and it’s not uncommon for me to shoot from inside a bush or behind a curtain because I love the sense of intimacy I can create by framing the scene with found objects.
I also love to come in close and catch some of those beautiful details that define the moment, like a ringlet of baby hair or a hand resting on a shoulder. I occasionally work with small businesses on lifestyle headshots and branding images, but my main focus is on families, including maternity and lifestyle newborn sessions. I include a custom photo book with all of my full-length sessions because I feel like photo books fit the storytelling aspect of my work and I am passionate about getting tangible prints to my clients in this digital age.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
That owning your own business means that you get to define your own values for that business. It can take time to clarify what you value in your business and it’s something you constantly have to revisit, but knowing your values makes it a lot easier to make decisions for your business and sift through what to prioritize and really push into and what to set aside.
Pricing:
- Portrait sessions (including couples, families, maternity, and lifestyle newborn sessions) start at $700
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.rebeccaclair.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccaclairphotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebeccaclairphotography
Image Credits
Danielle Hines Photography, and Rebecca Clair Photography.
