We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Amanda Evans. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Amanda below.
Hi Amanda, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
No doubt resilience comes from multiple sources and takes on a variety of faces. However, for me I think it has come by way of innate personality mixed with some unique life experiences.
I have always had a bit of a competitive spirit. My family loves to tease me about this – I hate losing – be it family game night, athletic competitions, or a friendly wager. And when I run into an obstacle, or fail at something, that’s enough to get me a little grumpy and determined to figure out how to do it right. The whole reason I became interested in photography in the first place is because I took a set of really bad photos at my daughter’s first birthday party and felt determined to get it right next time!
Additionally, my family and I have moved every few years and I’ve had to re-build both my business and local social network a handful times. I am not a natural extrovert, and it is such hard work to be new and starting again. (Luckily, we are committed to staying in Colorado for at least the next decade!) The most significant of these moves was just prior to our landing in Denver. We spent three years abroad in Munich, Germany and those years were really the best of times and the worst of times in many ways. We moved abroad with zero German language skills, four little kids, and a lot of heart. It was a ton of work to feel at home in a foreign country, but by the end it was the most difficult place we’ve ever had to leave.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Like I mentioned, my interest in photography was sparked by a set of mediocre photos taken at my daughter’s first birthday. This was disappointing because I’d spent so much time preparing for the party and was left with no way to capture it well. Both in terms of knowledge and gear.
My husband was in graduate school at the time and our money was really tight, but he used the rest of the money earned from a summer internship to buy me an entry-level DSLR camera the following Fall. To date, this is probably the best gift I’ve ever been given. Although at the time I was a little mad, because I thought he was being financially irresponsible!
Things slowly snowballed, and about three years later friends starting asking if I would take pictures of them and their kids. I started by photographing families and kids, then added senior portraits and newborns about a year later. Between then and now there has been some re-building as we’ve moved, and a pause while we were abroad. But I’ve always been grateful to have been able to capture our family life without interruption!
Next year, all four of my kids will be in full-time school, and I’m excited to grow my business from part-time to full-time. I’ve begun working with small business owners to offer branding and product sessions, which allow me to do shooting during more typical work hours and I’m loving this addition to my work! The plan is to launch a second, commercial-focused, business in early 2024.
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?
In addition to creative skills, developing business skills, and being persistent, and finding my own style have been important to breaking through. Especially in a crowded space like photography, it’s so easy to feel overwhelmed by all the other high-quality content out there. Being willing to stick with it is tough, especially when faced with a barrage of Instagram highlights. As I’ve built confidence in my own style, it has become easier. And finding your own style isn’t just about composition of the final images, it’s also about giving your clients a great experience.
As much as I’d like to spend my working hours exclusively on shooting and editing, I’m learning that spending time on business tasks, like tracking my finances, keeping my website up-to-date, and making a marketing plan, is just as important as putting out beautiful images, in order to achieve my business goals. I imagine that for a lot of creatives this is a common challenge. There’s this fantasy that if you can create a beautiful product, people will find you, but it takes a bit more than that in order to expand outside your own personal sphere and transition from hobby to business.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Right now, as I get ready to launch into a commercially-focused sphere, I’m really looking to collaborate with other businesses – whether they offer a service or a product. So far I’ve worked with other female entrepreneurs ranging from home organizers to candle makers to nutrition experts and it has been a blast! I’ve loved learning their stories and seeing my images freshen up their websites and social media feeds. Working as a sole employee can feel lonely, but partnering with these talented women has begun to create a rewarding professional community for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.amandaevansphoto.com
- Instagram: @amandaevansphoto
- Facebook: @amandaevansphoto
Image Credits
All images are credited to Amanda Evans Photo.
