Capturing Real Moments - Ata-Girl Photography Co
Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in photography but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Tammy Blalock, owner of Ata-Girl Photography Co., LLC., located in Jourdanton, TX, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I am a San Antonio-based wedding photographer, and I am absolutely in love with capturing the kinds of weddings where there are more hugs than handshakes, the dance floor rumbles all night long, and chairs are pretty much rendered useless after dinner. If whiskey bottles are passed around, most of the wedding party has been best-best friends since kindergarten, and Grams is likely to lose her shoes—I want to be the wedding photographer!
My customers are engaged couples who care about quality wedding photography and want their wedding day captured completely organically. They want the images unfolding from their day to be completely unscripted. They don’t want to be paraded around posing for this or that. They only want true stories and real moments to be documented from their wedding day.
Since 2010, I have excelled in helping each of my couples plan for one of the very best days of their lives! I love sharing my very personalized wedding experience, super-human organizational abilities, and my U. S. Army combat skills (when needed) with all of my couples. I am all in with my whole heart!
Tell us about yourself
Ata-Girl Photography Co. came about completely organically as a result of my two daughters playing competitive sports. I had always remembered how seeing images of myself playing sports changed the way I thought of myself. Images literally improved my self-esteem. The sporting images other people took of me let me see myself as a strong, determined, disciplined, triumphant member of a team—ways I had never thought of myself up until that point.
So when my two daughters began playing sports, I immediately picked up my camera to start improving their self-esteem. As I became a little better, I would start to “improve other players’ self-esteem,” too. I loved capturing images of young athletes that made them look like million-dollar paid celebrity athletes.
Sooner or later, my photography became good enough that I started charging a small amount of money for these sporting images. Athletes who had purchased sporting images would eventually ask me to take their senior portraits. Then one day, a graduating senior asked me to photograph her wedding.
That one wedding is all it took for me to discover that weddings were my favorite. I realized I sometimes captured as many as four generations of family history at a single wedding. I knew that my photographs would have the ability to outlive every single person at any wedding I photographed. I knew my photographs would have the power to introduce these faces to people who hadn’t even been born yet.
I love this job, and I wake up every day to do this job because I know my photographs are special.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Making all the things happen that start out as tiny, little ideas in my head… like turning my motorhome into my mobile office to meet clients, writing a book (I’ve actually written two now), and producing a podcast. The next tiny idea in my head is to create an online course that piggybacks on my books and podcast. The online course will be additional educational materials to teach engaged couples how to improve their own wedding photography and set their photographer up for success.
I love being a creative! Being a wedding photographer allows me to be creative in so many more ways than just taking photographs.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
I would say… imposter syndrome has often been hard for me to deal with. It’s incredibly difficult when imposter syndrome sneaks up on you. One day you can be on top of the world, and the very next, so deep in the dumps you think you might never crawl out. Meanwhile, everyone around you hasn’t a clue about the roller coaster ride you’re on. It’s really tough to balance all of this.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions or look up to a mentor—or lots of mentors!
- Don’t be afraid to be your authentic self and interject that personality into your brand.
- If you’re not having fun doing it, it’s not the right business for you.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
If you can figure out how to make a living doing something you love, your professional life will be so much more gratifying than helping someone else carry out their professional dreams. You can literally make money doing anything… anything. You just have to devise the business model that works for you. And when you figure this out, you'll probably not be the only one doing it. If that's the case, continually look for ways to be unique and diverse. You have to stand out from the crowd if you want to be noticed!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://atagirlphoto.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/atagirlphoto
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atagirlphoto/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/atagirlphoto
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammyblalock/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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