FINDING YOUR NICHE

LET’s talk niche.

If you had asked me a few years ago what my niche was going to be, I would have told you that I don’t have an answer. I never thought finding a niche was important and I was more excited to get out and shoot anything and everyone under the sun, which is really the key to discovering what you’re passionate about within the vast world of photography. When you’re just starting out all you need to do is keep shooting, because the more you shoot the more you have to work with. After staring at hundreds of galleries, I can honestly say I didn’t even start to realize what editing style I wanted until a year and a half later. I loved seeing the bright and airy photos, but the moody ad muted photos also made me feel something. I just couldn’t decide. This lead to some inconsistencies in my editing style which you can see if you scroll down my Instagram profile (shameless plug).

After deciding what editing style I wanted to go with, I started to take note of what session types I enjoyed. I loved working with grads because I never finished my degree so celebrating each and every grad was so special because I knew how much that moment mattered. I love the creativity, the colors, the outfits, the options. I also loved just taking portraits of any kind - branding photos, one year old/cake smash photos, and birthday portraits for my clients. I always encouraged them to dress and embrace their personality in sessions like those. 20222 was a big year for couples for me, I shot several proposal sessions with additional portraits, some of which were for my closest friends. Last of all, I captured my fair share of families and I always aimed to provide a variety of family photos - that’s what growing up in a big family with a ton of cousins will remind you of. I always made sure to get a shot of use the parents, just the kids, the kids with each parent, etc. So how was I ever going to decide?

I sat down and went through all the galleries for all the sessions I shot and I tried to decide which sessions I had the most fun at. Now don’t get me wrong, we have fun at ALL my sessions, mainly because I am a oversharer and I love to laugh. But in my search to discover what I truly wanted, I found that the sessions that had the most creativity and felt *extra* were the ones that were ingrained in my memories. Whether it was spraying champagne in a fountain at a grad session or shooting an elaborate outfit in a studio, I loved sessions that felt the most creative to me. I made it a point last year to shoot some styled sessions with anyone I could find and try my hand at a little extra creativity, and I realized how attaché I am to some of those photos because I had the opportunity to curate that experience. We planned outfits and accessories, we planned props and backdrops, and most importantly we played music and laughed for hours.

One of my favorites was shooting with my friend Lauren at a studio in Richardson. I stopped at Trader Joe’s to obtain multiple different colors of flowers because I had never really shot with florals before. We brought the flowers and put together a few setups and just shot away. After looking through and editing some of those, I was instantly obsessed. One of the other times I had fun was also taping newspaper all over my dining room and I had my friend Kyndal come over to shoot with me. We played around with the newspaper, with some sunglasses, and even one of my dining chairs. The entire space was transformed and you couldn’t even tell we shot it in the evening with no natural light in my tiny apartment. I loved the planning process of making the pinterest board of the setting and the poses we could try, staying up late to put together the outfit options, but the most rewarding part of it all was going through all the photos and editing them. It was an accomplishment to have planned something from beginning to end and see the fruits of your labor.

So now the question presents itself: how do you start finding your niche?

My answer: Try everything. There’s no reason to start limiting yourself when you’re just starting out. Shoot everything from grads to couples to families to maternity, you won’t know what you really love. until you try it. I thought I wanted to be a wedding photographer when I was starting out and I followed a ton of wedding photographers to try and learn from them. After shooting 3 weddings in the past few years I can honestly tell you I would never want to shoot another wedding again. I could see myself shooting an elopement since that’s more like an experience you get to plan and build with a couple, but not a wedding where I’d have to be on my feet for hours and capture every big and little thing that takes place. I’m eternally grateful that I was able to have those experiences and shoot those weddings because I got to try something new, but now I know that it’s something I’d never want to do again. People want a wedding photographer that is passionate about capturing their big magical days, that pays attention to every detail, not someone just looking to make a quick buck. That’s the advice I wish someone had given me - it’s that your survival, your legacy, your credibility comes from building your brand on what you love. Of course there are people that can do it all, and if it were a close friend asking me to shoot their elopement or newborn family photos, I would never say no because those relationships are strong and important to me, I know.I’d be able to deliver an emotional gallery for my loved ones. But I would never imagine quoting someone hundreds or thousands of dollars to pay me for a service that I wasn’t passionate about. I choose to run my business with love and integrity, so I’m responsible for any products I produce.

XOXO,

MATHILDA