Today we’d like to introduce you to Kandice Hanley.
Hi Kandice, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have always been creative-minded and loved to make things fun and beautiful. I really wanted to try photography classes as a teen but figured it would be a difficult field and went into interior design instead. When I was 26, I attended Columbia International University, I took communications classes and it was all things photography. I fell in love, bought my first DSLR and began photographing everything I could find. My camera went everywhere with me for a while. I began getting requests for shoots.
Fast forward 14 years later, I am doing what a love professionally and helping so many women and business owners in a variety of ways.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road to finding success as a professional photographer has been very challenging. It’s been filled with trial and error and ups and downs. Being a creative in a small state like South Carolina has been, I believe, a disadvantage. I have contemplated moving to a larger city many times. My brand is a luxury photography brand and at times bookings have been sparse but other times, bookings have been too busy to keep up. I have witnessed creatives in other larger cities flourishing while here, bookings just weren’t happening for myself or fellow photographers. This seems to be due to the fact that in many other places, high-end photography is seen as a desired art but in the south, many people have had a view point that it is something so simple that it shouldn’t cost much. A great photographer educates their clients regarding time and expertise required to create outstanding work..
Photography is a very expensive field to be in from equipment and maintenance to the training, licensing and insurance, as well as ads and anything else one would need to set the brand apart in the industry-it is very expensive. Nothing about this industry is cheap so I never could understand why a large number of people expected photography to be.
Great Photography is a luxury.
Marketing great photography has been the most challenging part of my job. Even though I have learned so much over the years about this, marketing and tech are these variables that never stop changing and even if we think we have mastered it, something brand new is incoming, and here we go- let’s start all over again.
Photographers must have a thick skin to succeed. Be able to bend but not break. When you fall down, it’s a pick yourself right back up again situation. Learn valuable information from any failures and use that information to fuel your creativity- practice, adapt, reinvent and succeed. Never stop learning.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have been a luxury brand for women and children for many years. This includes fine art portrait, glam and glam maternity, and boudoir.
Most recently, I have been working on personal branding and commercial photography as well. With so many people creating their own businesses, I saw that this was an area that I could really make an impact.
I am known for a magazine style portrait. My clients have said they were scrolling Google for a photographer, and most of the work all looks the same. Then they see my work and it stands out a lot, so that draws them in. They tell me that nothing grabs them like my work.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Everything in this field is a risk from start to finish. From the first $1200 dollar purchase to deciding to move into a commercial space with rent prices that you aren’t sure you’ll be able to pay in a couple of months.
The commercial spaces are always a huge risk. That happened to me. I decided I wanted to take the plunge during a busy era and two months later, I had zero clients coming in. The economy tanked and there I sat. I chose to leave the nice beautiful space I created and moved back to my small studio.
Some risks are ones we take because it would make us feel good or confident. Other risks are a chance to better ourselves and teach ourselves something. In most cases, if we can take a risk that worst case scenario- if it fails- will only keep us ant square one and not send us backwards, take that risk.
Use wisdom, make the choice and give it all you got.
Pricing:
- Know your value.
- Add tax.
- Get a mentor.
- Learn business and some accounting.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kandicemarie.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/beautiful_soul_portraits
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/beautifulsoulportraits
