We recently connected with Shileshia Milligan and have shared our conversation below.
Shileshia, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I get my work ethic from my parents. They were both hard workers and came from poor families. My mom was the 5th child out of 9 and my father was the 9th out of 14. They grew up having to work fields and having to help with their siblings. Both of them went into the military when they were old enough. They have always instilled in me the notion that hard work was important and could take you more places than just pure talent. Talent is no good if it doesn’t work. I always feel better when I reach a goal when I have worked hard for it. I know that I truly earned it and didn’t have to depend on anyone else to achieve it.
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 have always loved photography and loved putting different compositions together when it comes to visual art. I got my first “fancy” camera for Christmas 2018. It was a Nikon D3500 kit. After the new year in 2019, I started seeking out other photographers to learn from them and get better at using my equipment. I launched Milligan Manor Photography in 2019, even though I wasn’t fully confident yet in what I was doing or what my niche would be. I eventually narrowed it down to Lifestyle and Wedding photography. I think that there are so many things special about photography, but the most special is just capturing memories for people. When the people you love are gone, all you are going to have is the memories and the pictures. Taking those snapshots of moments in time is really important, especially on a day like a wedding day when there is so much is going on and it’s all a blur. When you are in the middle of it, you can miss certain things, but having the photographs to look back at brings all those little details to the forefront. I recently rebranded and would love everyone to check out my site, I plan to do some Valentine’s and Spring Minis this year, so look out for the advertising, but feel free to reach out and book if you like!
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?
Being open minded and adaptable is important. When you are doing a shoot, especially outside, you can’t control how things are going to go, but that doesn’t mean that you still can’t capture beautiful photos. Being able to make your clients comfortable is important, if you’re uncomfortable they will pick up on that. Just relax and have fun! Make photographer friends, I have plenty that are super friendly and willing to help you learn and give you tips and tricks.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
Right now I am trying to scale up my business and get more clients. So I am currently building my portfolio and have been collaborating with other photographers on weddings and content days. I just finished my rebrand on my website and hoping that will bring in more clients as well. I am working on Valentine’s Day and Spring Minis. I will also be doing some model calls soon to build up my portfolio.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.milliganmanorphoto.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milliganmanorphoto
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/milliganmanorphoto
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