In the spring of 2003, I got engaged. That moment, I can look back and say probably defined where I am today. I’m a mom with 1 child and 2 cats and a wonderful husband. After my engagement, my cousin (a photographer herself) came up to Boston to shoot our engagement pictures as gift to us. Watching her run around laughing and capturing great moments of the two of us, was absolutely one of the best times of my life, and I wanted to be having as much fun as her! After a day of shooting, my cousin put me on the path to where I am now. It took a lot of long hours, a lot of money and a lot of passion, but I’m doing something I absolutely love. In turn, I get to spend time with my son more than I would had I not taken up Photography.
How I got here is strange. I didn’t go to school for business, I didn’t go to school for photography. I just had drive and passion and with that I pressed forward.
I started Cordele Photography in 2003. I lived in a small 400 sq ft apartment with my two cats. I spent one day a week with a local photographer sitting with him, listening to stories, watching him edit and occasionally shooting with him. After a shoot, he would download my photos, go through them and say “terrible, awful, horrid” and then once in every 300 shots, I ‘d here, “That’s not half bad..but..” With his criticism and advice I kept at it.. I picked up free shoots from craigslist, begged friends to model for me, and took roll after roll of horrid photos. I’d shoot free engagement sessions in the Park behind my condo so I didn’t have to drive far.
With all the photos in my portfolio I began offering my services cheap, dirt cheap. Looking back, I think I practically paid people to let me shoot their engagement sessions and events. Slowly but surely my bank account started to grow and I was able to buy a new lens, and that new lens led to better photos. After awhile this cycle would go on and on. Finally, in 2005 I was booking more and more events and my name was circulating around Massachusetts.
After 5 solid years of work, attending seminars, perfecting my craft, learning the business side; my life turned upside down. I had a baby. I never knew that this little person could take so much love and so much time. I then realized that I was about to enter into “The Great Balancing Act” of life. Somehow I would have to manage to feed a baby, change a baby, run a house, and try and run a business and sleep, all in 24 hours. The Babies naps became a futile attempt to keep my business up and running, responding to emails as I nursed the baby with one arm and typed on the laptop with the other. Little did I realize that I couldn’t run a business like that. It worked for the first 3 months, but once my son needed more attention, I realized, I needed help and fast. After 4 Months and a desperate search I was able to find daycare for my little boy. It was hard to let someone else watch him, but I realized if I wanted to keep up my photography business, than I had to have help. Something miraculous happened when he went to daycare. I become hyper-efficient. Things that use to take me 3 weeks, were taking me 5 days. I was getting my clients back their images in RECORD time. I realized that I had limited time to get everything done, and if I didn’t get it done, I didn’t have time to do it later. Time was no longer a luxury. No More Facebooking, no more online scrabble, no more television.
Having a baby and owning a business taught me a few things. First, it opened up my market to more people because, other Moms’ talk. You have a product or service you need, ask a Mom! Mom’s know where to look for good quality, what not to waste your money on, and where to go for a deal. I have more portrait work than I’ve ever had before. Being a Mom with a business has taught me that time does fly. It’s taught me that if I put it off today, I won’t have time to do it tomorrow. That dishes and laundry don’t do themselves. I learned people are patient when you have a baby and you tell them, “I’m overwhelmed, give me a few days.”
It’s a joy to be able to spend time with my son on the days he’s home from Daycare, but those days are long and I need to get out of the house. It’s hard meeting new Mom’s when they ask, “What do you do for a living?”. When I say “I’m Photographer”, I sometimes hear “Oh, we need to get updated snap shots of my little one”. I had to finally learn that my time is so precious that I HAD to charge for it. No more free shoots, no more wasting time haggling with my prices. Prices are firm and there to put my son through college someday. I might be a Photographer, but I am a mom with bills, just like everyone else. Sometimes I feel as though people think I just “take pictures” but if people realized the love and energy that goes into what I do, they would realize that $250 is a small price to pay not to have to drag your child to a mall.
Even with a baby and limited time, I’ve been able to expand my photography market into the Miami, FL Area. We use those trips as family vacations scheduling the family time after the shoots. Sure it’s a lot to handle flying with a 14 month old, his stroller, the three suitcases, the camera bag, car seat and the computer bag. Once we get to our destination it’s not that hard. We love the fact that my business forces us to take family vacations when it would otherwise be easier to stay home. Once the shoots are done, it’s off the pool for some much needed family time together.
Having a business and a child is one of the greatest things I’ve ever done. It’s made me a stronger person, it’s made me a more organized person. and it’s given me the quality of life that so many of us seek. It’s a balance that takes time to learn, that needs tweaking along the way, but if you work at it, it’s not that hard.
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Alicia Williams is a stay at home mom with a 14 month old baby boy named Jake. She has a passion for travel, a love of small animals and she’s a die hard Red Sox Fan. She lives in Reading MA, and works in and around Massachusetts and Florida. She is a established and sought after wedding photographer in both Miami and Boston. She has a passion for Children’s photography as well as Pet Photography. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, andTwitter: cordelephoto
Facebook: www.facebook.com/aliciafwilliams
Email: cordelephotography@mac.com
