Meet Heather Bush

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Heather Bush. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Heather , we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
As most, I struggled with finding my confidence and self-esteem for a while. I was working a full time job and learning the photography industry at the same time. I would love to say that just the hard work that I put into my job was the only way, but I also had to struggle with people wanting me to fail. When someone goes after you just so that you don’t succeed like they did, it’s a difficult road to manage. I would run into them out on photography sessions and come home to post on social media trying to tear me down. I learned from my grandmother, it was not my job to tear down others yet in any way. No matter what they did to me. So instead of responding to the negativity, I put the hard work into perfecting my craft and building a successful business for my family and myself. Knowing that building my business and learning to improve at all times has given me the confidence and self-esteem to do the right thing and focus on the positives.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a maternity, newborn and family photographer in the DFW area. The most exciting part of my job is that I get to spend time with some amazing families and document them together. When your children grow, the memories are what you have to hold to and to freeze those in time is exciting. Chunky Monkey Photography has been growing for 16 years and continues to do so. Focusing on capturing your pregnancy in a beautiful setting, to welcoming your new little one in my studio to create some magic and then having a blast during milestone and family shoots are my priorities within my business. My maternity client closet is expanding and I love that I will be able to provide beautiful dresses for my mothers to be to pick from to make them feel extra special during their session. I am also always growing my newborn closet with hats/headbands, and little outfits for them to wear during their newborn session.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
One of the first qualities I hold that is impactful in my journey within Chunky Monkey Photography, is patience. Working with children, new or old, patience is an important part of it. They are learning something new, being around new people or just trying to figure out life. There is no reason to rush, stress or make anyone feel uncomfortable during their photoshoot.

Another quality I posses is understanding. When it comes to newborns, I understand some of their needs take time. Making sure they are comfortable and taken care of is upmost important during my sessions at any time. When it comes to children, taking the time to have fun, giggle and laugh really gives you the best experience during your photoshoot.

The last quality that I think is important is the love of what I do. I always tell people, I don’t want to get out of bed in the mornings but it’s not because I don’t want to go to work. I love my job. I love meeting every family, holding every newborn and just creating magic with my camera anywhere I go.

My advice for anyone starting out in any journey is to not to it because you think it will be easy because it won’t be. It’s going to be hard work. Do it because you love it. Do it because you have a passion about it. Do it because you want to make a difference in what you do for others.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
Owning your own business comes with alot of intense moments. There is not a paycheck on that Friday unless you work hard. The past 3 years have been quite different when it comes to photography thanks to Covid. There have been times that I have been overwhelmed and questioning how to make things different and easier. I do three things. First is pray. I pray for the patience to know that everything will work out the way its supposed to. Then I get a piece of cheesecake. Yep, I drown my sorrows. Then I get up, and work. Work hard to succeed.

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