Meet Heidi Haase

We recently connected with Heidi Haase and have shared our conversation below.

Heidi, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

In the first year of starting my photography business, I dealt with a lot of imposter syndrome. Even though I had worked hard to develop my style of photography and advertise my services, I felt that there was no way I was good enough to for clients to actually like my work. One thing that has always helped me is reminding myself that clients are booking me for a reason–they decided that they liked my photos enough to book me for their wedding or portrait session.
When I feel like I’m just a random girl pretending to be a wedding photographer (which happens a lot for me), I stop, look around, and see that I’m doing it. I am photographing weddings on a professional level. And that is enough to make me a wedding photographer. That simple reality check keeps me grounded in the truth that if I am doing the job of a photographer, then I am one.

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?

Heidi Hi Photography is a business that is all about capturing photos that feel like YOU. I typically lean into a documentary style of photography that prioritizes natural, candid photos without distracting from the beauty of the moment. Whether I’m photographing a wedding, family pictures, or portraits, I love getting to be a part of my client’s story. My primary focus is wedding photography, since I love getting to know my clients more through engagement pictures on a separate day and multiple hours spent with them on their wedding day. However, I have also grown to love portraits and family photos that showcase some very tender and sweet moments.
As I’m preparing for the start of the weddings I’ve been booked for this year, I’ve been thinking through ways to make the experience more personal and special for my clients. While I’m keeping those ideas under wraps for now, I’m super excited to start giving clients fun surprises during and after their weddings!

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?

The first area of knowledge that came to mind as being helpful in starting my photography business was studying business administration. I got my degree in business, and, although I don’t think that necessary to have a college degree in business to be successful, I found that it gave me a foundation for how my business could operate. Because I was able to learn about accounting and business finance in school, I am able to manage the financial side of my business almost entirely on my own. This has allowed me to have a better understanding of where my business is at in terms of revenue and costs. Even if getting a degree doesn’t fit your current situation, there are classes online (or even just explanations of business basics on YouTube) that could help you develop your understanding of how businesses work.
A second quality that has benefitted me is constantly striving for excellence in all my work. I like to edit every picture individually (rather than batch edit) so that I know each picture has the best color and light balance possible. I want every client, no matter how much or little they paid for their session, to leave feeling beautiful and to receive a gorgeous gallery of pictures that accurately represent the best parts of them.
Finally, I have found that learning to take every opportunity you can has helped me to grow in ways I wouldn’t have otherwise. As long as I feel that I can deliver what my clients are looking for, I have loved being able to travel for weddings and photo sessions that push me outside my comfort zone.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

Running a business on my own can leave me feeling a little overwhelmed at time. When I start to feel that there is too much on my plate, I like to start by making a list of all the things that are “must-dos” so that I don’t have to worry about forgetting anything. Usually that helps me to feel like I can start to relax. Then I choose one thing on the list to start with. Doing things one at a time often feels more manageable, which definitely reduces how overwhelmed I feel. Another thing that helps me is to block off time in my schedule to knock out bigger projects so they aren’t constantly hanging over my head. Finally, I like to give myself one day a week where I don’t touch anything work related. That helps me to set healthy work/life boundaries that keep me from being so overwhelmed that I burn out.

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All images property of Heidi Hi Photography.

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