We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erishyll Isidro a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Erishyll, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
I believe my optimism comes from the joy of others. I have always been a positive person, even in no-so-positive situations. I believe that there is always something good in every situation and if there isn’t then the work is not done. When I photograph my clients, I am always hyping them up and boosting their confidence because it helps them feel comfortable around me and the photos turn out even better than they had imagined. Seeing my clients and everyone around me be happy and grateful that I can provide them with such memories keeps fueling my optimism. Everyone is this world is going through something and a little positivity has a bigger impact than people think. I tell myself to keep being optimistic because whatever happens, everything manages to be okay. My ability to constantly stay positive and optimistic helps me to better serve my clients.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am wedding and portrait photographer. I have been photographing for 7 years and professionally for 6. Photography has always been something I was interested in, but never thought to make it into a career. Now that I have made something out of it, I feel like nothing is impossible. I am excited that this career has brought me with so many opportunities to expand the type of photography I can do, network with others who are also in the industry, and continue to learn new skills. The photography world is so large that there are countless amount of resources to better yourself and your business. I’m very grateful and excited that I am able to provide forever memories for clients to experience after the event, wedding, etc has passed. It is a very fulfilling feeling knowing that you can gift somebody the memories of their most loved moments. I feel very fortunate to have built a business and continue to build a better business.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Thinking back on how I got to where I am today, I believe that resilience, confidence, and positivity had the most impact in my journey. The very first time I picked up a camera, I did not think it would have become what is it today. Throughout learning and teaching myself, there were many times that I did not think I would ever get better and I would get frustrated when something was not working right. I kept telling myself, if others can do you, you can too. I worked day and night researching and asked a lot of my friends to model for me so I could practice. I asked for advice from anyone who would give it to me and put in the work. Throughout my entire journey, I continued to keep myself positive and celebrate the little things, even if it didn’t seem that big to others. My advice to anyone who is trying to achieve their dreams, is to keep moving whether its good or bad because it all comes down to how much its worth it for you. Be resilient, be confident in what you’re doing, and keep being positive. It will happen!
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When I get overwhelmed, I stop to take a deep breath and make a list of the 3 most important things I need to do. Owning your own business, along with having a personal life can be very hard. Sometimes I loose sight of my personal life and forget to actually enjoy other things I love. It’s hard to stop working when you keeping going at 100% all the time, but then you get worn out. It is very important to take time for yourself, whether it’s just sitting and reading a book or going to the gym, these things that you do for yourself will help you physically and mentally in the long run. Don’t feel bad for taking time for yourself. It is easier to get overwhelmed with everything going on around you, but harder to take a step back and breath. Self-care is key!
Image Credits
Headshot taken by Niah Rose Photo All other images taken by Erishyll Mae Photography
