We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Amanda Elhage. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Amanda below.
Hi Amanda, really appreciate your meeting with us today to talk about some particularly personal topics. It means a lot because so many in the community are going through circumstances where your insights and experience and lessons might help, so thank you so much in advance for sharing. The first question we have is about divorce and how you overcame divorce and didn’t allow the trauma of divorce to derail your vision for your life and career.
When my Divorce started in 2020 to when it ended officially in 2022, it was easily the hardest time of my life. Having just moved across the country, it was honestly something I didn’t see coming. With having a new house, 2 kids, and a business to consider, it was no easy feat to navigate. The first few weeks were spent crying, being angry, being in denial, and sulking. It was safe to say that I ran the gamut of emotions but what helped me during that time, I found, was hiking. I spent a lot of mornings getting myself up early and getting into the fresh air and trying to use that time to think more clearly without the distractions of home. Taking that time for myself really allowed for a clear perspective, some more definitive decision-making, and most importantly, re-finding who I was and what I was capable of. I also turned inward and read a lot of self-development books. Divorce is never a one-sided issue and we are not perfect enough to say we don’t have faults. Therapy and introspection were hard and it certainly checks your ego, but it was imperative that I try and use whatever tools I could to get through this as gracefully as possible while also learning about myself and what characteristics I needed to improve upon. It is a process and a time-consuming one sometimes at that, but if you can use it as a learning experience and allow yourself time and space, you will come out the other side a stronger, more resilient person and that it something that you can’t replace.
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 have been a full time photographer for 13years and have moved businesses three times now. I started in Florida in 2009, moved to Maryland in 2011, back to Florida in 2017, and landed here in California in May 2020. A whirlwind is a good way to describe it! So happy to have had such different areas to photograph such amazing clients and friends.
When I was a little girl, my favorite thing to do at my grandparents’ home was to sift through photo albums that I would find in the closet. I would stare at faces of family and friends of the family that I never got to know or meet and wonder who they were and if their personalities matched their demeanor in the photo. Several years later when I started college as a Marine Biology major and subsequently quit that program, I left feeling a little lost as to what I should be doing.
Remembering the feeling I got looking at photos so many years before, I felt a tug at my heart and I wondered if I could be the maker of those images. To give a piece of wonder and a sense of time and feeling to those looking at them. Thus began my college career into photography and a couple years later, delving right into my own business. It’s not easy being a photographer or an entrepreneur in itself, but it’s a dream come true for me and that brings me overwhelming happiness.
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?
I think what has been more helpful in my own journey is my ability to self start. When I knew I wanted to do this as a career, I researched everything, made my website, and marketing materials, and started getting the word out. I went full force and learned a lot through trial and error, but you’ll never know if you don’t start!
Another quality is resilience. Sometimes, this can also be mistaken for stubbornness, and that can be true. I know for me, it’s a bit of both, but they simultaneously helped me push through times when things were slow to start, or I hit a snag in bookings or heard a lot of no’s. What I have learned was it you want something bad enough, you make it work despite the no’s, despite the snags, and throughout the ups and downs of entrepreneurship.
Lastly and quite frankly, the fear of failure kept me going. There were times when I felt at the bottom of the totem pole and didn’t know how to rise, but you find a way. Networking with local businesses or anyone you can tell about your business in general is super helpful and needed. Word of mouth is the best form of advertisement and it’s free! So, if you have a fear of failure like me, use it to drive you to always keep going and doing what you can to keep the business moving. Failure has lessons as well and we all do go through that feeling within our business whether it be a failure to communicate properly, a failure to manage time, or even just a failure to stay disciplined. Sometimes that be incredibly scary and defeating, but we have to ultimately rememeber why we started this in the first place and use that as a driving motivation to always rise above and keep going!
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
I describe my ideal client as someone a lot like myself. Families, couples, and people who have good vibes, fun personalities, are open to ideas and can go with the flow. I look for those who bring their own authenticity and genuine nature, whatever that may be, to their session. What I live to capture is always true emotion and natural personalities in all their glory.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.AmandaMcMahon.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/amandamcmahonphotography
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/amandamcmahonphotography
