We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cherie Miracle. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cherie below.
Cherie, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
My journey in photography has taken 11 years to develop my confidence and self-esteem. Having been completely self-taught, imposter syndrome has always been a challenge for me. I strive to have the best connections with my clients. to produce the best photographs that they will be proud to display and that will bring tears to their eyes in the years to come. Knowing that I do my best and that I have repeat clients that come to me year after year, milestone after milestone, has developed my confidence and self-esteem more than any self-help book could. There have been lots of trial-and-error moments in the past years, but I look at them as times that have helped make me who I am. As a businesswoman, as a photographer, and as a friend – I have made so many amazing friendships over the years through my business.
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 stumbled into photography almost by accident. I remember when I was 20 years old, I was on a mission trip to Costa Rica and I had a terrible camera with me. This is long before digital photography or even smart phones. I used a little Kodak disk camera and took every opportunity to take shots to remember this time in my life. Even at 20 years old, I knew that these memories would be something that I wanted to look back on. Fast forward some 10+ years. I married my amazing husband, Adam, and had two beautiful babies. Adam joined the Army and I started the 20 year long trek as an Army wife. This career for my husband led to moving around the US and while we were stationed in Fairbanks, Alaska, I bought my first Canon Rebel camera. I had no idea what I was doing but was determined to hone what little skill I had. I had a natural eye for landscape and wildlife photography so that’s where my real journey with photography started.
After 3 years of taking photos of moose, caribou, dog sled races, northern lights, and Alaska landscapes, the Army sent us to Colorado. As we were getting settled there, a friend from Alaska ended up moving to CO as well and inquired about me taking photos to commemorate her daughter’s fifth birthday. Up until this point, I only took photos of my own kids so I jumped at the chance to stretch my abilities. This session was challenging, having to remember poses to put her into and to keep her smiling and laughing. By the time the session was over 90 mins later, I was exhausted! I had only charged $25 since she was my first paying customer and she ended up writing me a check for $50! I just doubled my money!
I realized that editing the photos took time and talent that I hadn’t yet acquired. That took patience on my part. I spent my free time using my daughter as my model, in order to trouble shoot settings issues and find the best poses for this age and gender. This was before the big surge of YouTube that so many new photographers are blessed to use and learn through nowadays.
The army moved us to southern Arizona in 2016 and I thought that my small business would crumble because the base that we’re stationed at is very transient in nature. I had 3 years’ worth of photography under my belt now and was always willing to find ways to grow in my chosen career. After 3 months of no inquiries in this new town, I had a couple people use me for newborn sessions and that’s when great things started happening. Instead of crumbling in this new transient town, the word of mouth began to spread, and my inquiries started pouring in!
We have lived here for over 8 years now – unheard of in the military – and I have won The Best of Sierra Vista Photographer three years in a row (the first year that I was nominated, I placed third. I’m now waiting to see where I place for 2024!). It may not seem like a lot, but to this small-town girl, being recognized like that is so rewarding! There are so many wonderful photographers here and I am so blessed to know a few and be friends with them. I look forward to continuing my pursuit to excellence!
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?
Don’t be afraid to fail. Failure leads to creativity, learning how to do something better. If you let failure cripple you, you will never know the triumph of overcoming something that you thought was insurmountable.
Seek out like-minded people. People that you can trust, that you know won’t sugarcoat the truth, even if it’s hard to hear. Building trust between those that have the same passions gives you a safe place to fail and to be built back up.
Don’t forget to make time for yourself and your family. September through December are my busiest times of the year, with everyone wanting fall and Christmas pictures taken. My husband made me promise two years ago to keep one Saturday open for family time. It’s been hard, not gonna lie. But keeping my relationships intact is more important than a paycheck. Don’t forget to protect yourself against burnout. Taking a long weekend away, with no work to do during that time, might be all it takes to revive the passion for your career that you need.
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
My number one challenge right now is using my time wisely. I am a Christian and have been the worship leader for a large church in our town for the past year. I looooove leading worship. I know I was created to sing God praises! Along with the blessing of this season of my life at church, I also have the challenge of making sure that I’m still giving my husband quality time (both of our kids are grown and out of the house). being present while at home, and still having the time to do my photoshoots and edit them in a timely manner. I will be the first to admit that time management has never been my strong suit. I procrastinate way too much and it’s likely something I’ll always have to overcome.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cmiraclephotography.mypixieset.com
- Instagram: @cmiraclephotography
- Facebook: C Miracle Photography LLC
- Other: email – [email protected]
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