We recently connected with Kiera Gregory and have shared our conversation below.
Kiera, 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?
Growing up as an only child to a single mom, who suffered from financial instability after escaping an abusive marriage, I learned fast that the only way to succeed in life, was to work hard for what you wanted. My mother worked tirelessly to give us a better life, after losing everything she had to her abuser, and she had to re-start her life from the ground up. Watching her work so hard for everything she had, gave me a wonderful role model for what it meant to work hard, and why you should never give up. Thanks to her, I have always had a strong work ethic, and desire to push myself for the things I wanted most.
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?
Just over a year and a half ago, I decided to finally put my fears in the past, and opened my photography business. To be honest, I had VERY little hope that it would ever really amount to anything, besides a weekend hobby.
After being told for so long that “photography isn’t a real job”, I was positive that I was most likely going into a business that would be much more about fulfilling a passion, rather than paying the bills.
Fast forward just over a year, and I have an incredibly blessed, highly successful photography business, that boomed before I had a chance to process what was happening.
Now, I have become a well known warm and moody travel photographer, based in New Mexico, specializing in couples, weddings and maternity.
In the past year, I have had the privilege of being published numerous times, by various magazines, won multiple covers, placed second in the Wedding Collective Cover Contest, and have been featured by various well known celebrities & businesses, including Randy Fenoli and Allure Bridal. I’ve been able to travel to numerous states, for various weddings, and plan on beginning destination weddings soon.
If you’re in need of a warm and moody photographer, who loves to emphasize intimacy, and passion, Endless Autumn Photography may be just for you!
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?
The three qualities that have influenced my business the most have been determination, humility, and resilience. When you start a new business (especially with zero classical training, and knowledge), you will have to undergo many lessons along the way, and will make MANY mistakes.
With this, it’s important to acknowledge your mistakes, apologize when necessary, work to correct the mistake, and then use that mistake to grow, instead of beating yourself up for it or giving up.
I have found that owning a mistake and correcting it with humility with my client instead of being defensive, has helped create a better bond, and has allowed me to grow immensely as a business owner and person.
And when you can channel mistakes into change, rather than use them as reasons to quit, you can gain so much more resilience to keep pushing yourself forward.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I am constantly looking to collaborate with other small businesses, near or far! I love collabing with wedding venues, dress designers, models, hair dressers, makeup artists, florists, and anyone else in the Wedding industry. Since I hold styled shoots several times a year, it really helps to have local businesses to create gorgeous content with, for the benefit of all of us! If you’re in one of these industries and are looking to get creative, never hesitate to reach out!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://endlessautumnphotography.mypixieset.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/endlessautumnphotography?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
