Meet Tania Sosa

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tania Sosa. 

Hi Tania, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
If I go back as far as when I first started learning the art of photography, I’d start way back when I was 14 years old. I was part of the Multimedia crew at my church where my interest in photography started. In those three years, I was part of the team, I learned so much, but never worked on my craft outside of my church. Fast forward about 6 years, my husband, who was my fiancé at the time, bought me my very first DSLR kit in the beginning of 2017. It was a “starter camera” but I was so excited to dive back into photography. I began by taking pictures of family and friends just for fun. My friends and family loved the pictures I took of them so they started to post them on their social media pages. They began to recommend me to others and soon enough, I had random strangers asking me if I could take pictures for them. I began charging the bare minimum, like enough for gas, minimum. I dove right into the business almost immediately but my biggest drive was my passion and enjoyment for what I was doing. At that time, I was still a full-time student with two part-time jobs aside from photography. After really late evenings and long weekends, what was supposed to be just a hobby became full-time job. When I found out I was pregnant in 2018, I realized working three jobs was going to be too hectic for me to handle. So, with the encouragement of my husband, I took the scariest leap of faith in myself and quit my jobs to focus fully on my photography. Thankfully my business has been growing and growing since, one session and one client at a time. I am so thankful reflecting on how far I’ve come and it excites to think about what the fate holds for me and my business. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t been an easy road to come to where I am now. For example, one of my earliest obstacles was building up my confidence in my own work. I remember being so intimidated when I compared my photography, my gear, and setups to other far more experienced professionals in the industry. Social media was a great way to see what local photographers were up to but it was also one of the reasons why I felt so much self-doubt in myself. There were always nicer photos than mine. Then I had to remind myself that I was on the road to becoming a better version of myself for my clients and for myself. Overcoming that negative feeling of self-doubt in myself has been tough. I started taking classes from other photographers and learning lots on YouTube. My dedication to self-growth is what has gotten me this far and I can proudly say I built my business from the ground up. My work is nowhere near perfect now but I wake up every day with the intention to grow, better my craft but most importantly, I am proud and stand by all the work I do. Another one of the biggest obstacles for me was COVID. The pandemic has affected millions of small business owners, including photographers like myself. On top of other fears that COVID brought along, one of them was the thought of shutting down my business completely. I wasn’t considered an “essential worker” for a good portion of the year so I couldn’t make a living from my craft. After reflection and lots of talking with other photographers, I realized that was only going to be a break. I took the time off to learn even more from YouTube and play around with my editing style. Thankfully, after regulations in place, I got back to work. Surprisingly, photoshoots were in high demand. All types of photoshoots. I like to believe that since everything was shut down and closed, the next best and fun option was getting family pictures taken. 2020 was one of my busiest years yet. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My business is a photography business. Currently, I mostly capture portraits, children’s portraits, family portraits, and maternity portraits. I also capture a couple of events a year. Out of all the types of photoshoots I do, my favorite (and what I am mostly known for) are Cake Smashes. A Cake Smash photoshoot is usually a session done with a baby who just turned one and to celebrate their birthday, they smash a small cake and I photograph the entire thing. I enjoy the entire process of creating unique and beautiful setups for my clients. Something that set me aside from others is endless amount of themes I offer. If there isn’t a theme I’ve done and someone asks me to do it, I can probably do it. Not only the variety but also the quality. I draw my inspiration from all sorts of photographs and setups I find online but I always make it unique. The setup I do for my clients will always be authentic and one of a kind. After seeing all the ideas from my head, come together on set, that’s when I feel most proud of myself. The moms especially love working with me because of the way I work with all the kids. My patience and determination to get amazing photographs is what keeps the parents coming back. I love it when they tell me how amazed they are I got that many good photos during what they’d consider a chaotic session. It is definitely a rewarding feeling. 

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lesson learned has been to never stop trying to improve myself. That goes for improving within every role I partake in my business. Meaning, if I am working to improve my photography skills, I should be working on improving my customer service. I am every part of my business, from the CEO to the janitor at my studio so every role has room for improvement for the sake of excellent client experience & growing my business. Improving in all areas has been so important to me because at the end of the day, my work and the customers’ experience will speak for itself. If the client enjoyed every step of the process from booking their session with me all the way to getting the final images in their email, they will recommend me to others. It is the biggest compliment talking with a new client a previous client sent over to me. 

Pricing:

• All sessions start at $300 but I offer a variety of packages for each type of session.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: taniasosaphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taniasosaphoto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taniasosaphoto

Image Credits
Sarai Vega
Heride Garcia
Adelaida Aguilar
Danny
Perla
Rodolfo
Maximiliano
Mila
Eliel
Marz
Tania Sosa
Shaneri Garcia-Jimenez