Photographer Tianna J Williams
About this episode…
PHOTOGRAPHER TIANNA J WILLIAMS
Tianna was working as a midwife.
Photography was a self-taught hobby.
But having a family of her own meant she wanted flexibility that midwifery simply couldn’t give her. So she helped bring her own business into the world instead.
The communities she found online have given her confidence, knowledge and referrals.
As a maternity & newborn photographer she’s fully focussing on the ‘client experience’. Through learning, investing and taking bigger steps - now her business is growing up.
Read the highlights in the next tab.
FLEXIBLE HOURS - BUT LOTS OF HOURS
Tianna found that her job as a midwife just wasn’t flexible enough once she had a family of her own. Working for yourself doesn’t necessarily mean less hours, but at least you’re in charge of them…
“I spoke to one of my former colleagues recently, and she's saying, 'oh, Tianna you were such a good midwife, is there any way we could tempt you to come back?' And I'm like, oh, I dunno, my life's pretty easy going now.
I mean, I work more hours than I ever did. But I'm in control of how that works.
So I don't know if I could go back to that. I miss being a midwife dearly. I really do, but this is great. Yeah. There's no way.”
YOU CAN CHARGE MORE AFTER ALL
Tianna’s photographic hobby needed to evolve into a business and that inevitably meant going from doing things for free, or low amounts, to charging a whole lot more…
“You realise, oh, I kind of need to charge a little bit more now cause I need to figure out a way to put money back into the business so that I can grow. That's an ongoing thing I think.
But once people do pay more, you start to realise that, oh actually I can do this. So why didn't I charge sooner? And it's always that when you go to the next level and you charge a little bit more and you think, oh, people are never gonna pay me, surely they're gonna think, what is she doing?..”
IMPORTANCE OF A PHONE CALL
We can automate and use the tech on our websites so that we don’t have to interact with our customers before they book with us - but interestingly, Tianna stripped that back…
“I used to have a booking system where they could book the actual date that they wanted to have, but I took that away because what I like to do now is ask clients to send an inquiry via the website. And I give them the option to book a telephone call so we can have a chat about things.
Because I think it's really important that they get to hear my voice. I hear theirs. They can hear how excited I am. And I talk to them about it. They can ask any questions that they want.
I think it really helps.
And I've found that clients that I've spoken with on the phone are more likely to book. I feel like they kind of get a feel of who I am and they just feel a little bit more comfortable.”
I JUST WANNA TAKE NICE PICTURES!
Doing the ‘thing’ you love is actually one of the smallest parts of running a freelance business…
“Learning the business side of things is the biggest challenge. I still feel like I'm learning that. It's really hard because photography is such a visual type of thing to do you think, oh, it's all about the pictures.
And in actual fact it's probably the smallest contribution you make to your business - actually taking the photographs. It's everything else that builds into that.
So learning the business elements - there's so many things and sometimes you kind of get to that feeling where you're like, 'I just wanna take nice pictures!.”
WHAT’s Your Client Experience?
Tianna doesn’t just care about getting the ‘job’ and getting paid - she cares about the whole experience her clients have from first call, to enjoying their final photographs. She thinks of it as the ‘client experience’…
“The reason why I use that term is because I want them to enjoy the whole experience. I'm gonna take care of you. You're gonna come to my studio, you'll have your makeup and hair done… This is just all about you and you're gonna be pampered and then you're gonna be photographed and you're gonna look absolutely amazing. You're gonna feel good and you're gonna look great… They make a day of it.
Then I'll edit the best pictures that we've captured from the day and invite you back and we're gonna watch a slide show and we're gonna pick your absolute favorites. And they're like, oh, this is so exciting.
And yeah, it's an experience - I want them to feel and know that, it was like ‘we spent a good amount of money with her, but it was so worth it’.”
AWARDS MATTER BUT THEY ALSO DON’T
Tianna has won multiple awards. Her clients love this, plus it’s made her more confident - and when she sees her work being judged she uses it as a way to grow her skills. But if you do enter awards don’t get too upset if you don’t win…
“You have to remind yourself, cause I don't win all of the ones that I enter at all, but you've gotta remember that when you took those photographs of that client, how you made them feel and how they felt when they saw themselves trumps any award by far.
And they're also paying you!”
“Just be yourself.
You don't have to be anybody but you. Because people will love you for who you are.”
Photographer, Tianna J Williams
More from TIANNA J WILLIAMS
Tianna’s website
Tianna on Instagram
More from Steve Folland
Transcript of the Being Freelance podcast with Steve Folland and Freelance Photographer Tianna J Williams
Steve Folland:
As ever. How about we get started hearing how you got started being freelance?
Tianna J Williams:
I used to be a midwife. Not to say that I was never creative. I loved dance and performing arts at school, but never really thought about photography at all. And then when I was pregnant with my first daughter, I wanted a hobby. I was absolutely sure I was never gonna dance ever again...
Steve Folland:
Other than to The Wiggles and Barney The Dinosaur.
Tianna J Williams:
Yeah. The Mum Dance. I'm good with those. I liked taking pictures on my phone, so I thought, why don't I get a proper camera? So I did. I went into Currys (an electronics store in the UK) and I picked up the Nikon and thought, yep, that'll do. So I bought that. I had no idea how to use it. I started learning on YouTube. So then fast forward a little to when my daughter was born in February 2016, I thought, oh my gosh, I could take pictures of her with my proper camera. And I can document her journey in life and how motherhood is going. I started taking pictures of her and I just loved it.
Tianna J Williams:
And I'd made friends in a parenting group and one of them happened to be a photographer. And she was like, 'oh, you seem like you have a really good interest in it, I'll add you to a Facebook group that's full of female photographers, majority of us are mums'. And honestly, I got sucked into this world of photography and it wasn't just like maternity and newborn, which is what I absolutely adore. There were landscape, wildlife, documentary, wedding, all various kinds of genres. And when I say I got sucked in, I literally fell in headfirst like Alice in Wonderland. In the time that I was off on maternity, I was taking pictures of my daughter mainly. And some of my friends were saying, oh, could you, you know, do you wanna take some pictures of my little boy? And I was like, yeah, I can do that. It'd be fun.
Tianna J Williams:
And then I went back to the NHS after having a lovely year off of having fun. And I thought, oh my God, I don't think I like this at all. So a couple of months into going back, I registered my little business as Tianna J Williams Photography. And I thought, right, I'm gonna try and make a go of this. And at some point I kind of thought, yep, I'm done with the NHS. This is too hard. Mainly because there was just no flexibility. And because I had my daughter, I really wanted to spend more time with her. And when you are working 12 hour shifts and you get your rota for six weeks and you're on five weekends out of six. And I was just like, this is not fun anymore. I didn't mind before I had children: I worked whatever shifts I got, I swapped with parents, so that they could have the weekend with their children who were at school Monday to Friday. And then I kind of realised, gosh, I want a bit of that kind of freedom now. So, I left midwifery August, 2017. I had a nursing job that I went back to. I'm not even gonna go into that, cuz it was not very nice. And I realised I was completely finished with healthcare at that point.
Tianna J Williams:
So January, 2018, I was fully self-employed, no idea what I was doing. And I thought, right, I've got a little bit of money. I can do some training - business training, photography training. And I threw myself in head first and I thought, if I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna have to do it as best as I can so I can get the ball rolling really quickly. And it really has, especially the last kind of two years, even though we've been through the most traumatic thing that could have possibly happened to the world, bar what's going on in other countries right now, you know, it's been really good, it's been great. But I'm still learning. I'm still finding things out. I still make mistakes as we all do, but it's a journey.
Steve Folland:
I love the fact that you went back to work and then found yourself, registering a business. Did the confidence come from being within that community of other female photographers?
Tianna J Williams:
Definitely. I just thought if they can do it and they're all, you know, majority of them are mums and they all had different careers and lives before then, surely I can give this a go. And part of me always thought, you know, babies are always gonna be born, I'm never ever gonna be out of a job. So I may as well give this a really good go, cause if it didn't work out, the NHS would've happily had me back. And even now, I spoke to one of my former colleagues recently, and she's saying, 'oh, Tianna you were such a good midwife, is there any way we could tempt you to come back?' And I'm like, oh, I dunno, my life's pretty easy going now. I mean, I work more hours than I ever did. But I'm in control of how that works. So I don't know if I could go back to that. I miss being a midwife dearly. I really do, but this is great. Yeah. There's no way.
Steve Folland:
I'm interested in how you took it from hobby to business. Having a few friends saying, oh, could you take some photos, yada, yada to you then saying, yeah, but it'll cost X, Y, Z. How was that transition?
Tianna J Williams:
That was really hard. Because I guess you don't go into the NHS because you're gonna get a job that's gonna pay you super well, you do it because you love it and you get paid for that. That's the kind of mentality I had. So going to say to somebody, who's asking me to take photographs of their children or themselves and saying, okay, you know, I have to charge you for this was really hard. It's still a bit of a stumbling block now sometimes. I started ridiculously cheap because I didn't really know anything about costs of doing business. I just thought, oh, this person's gonna pay me £30 to take a couple of pictures. That's all right, isn't it?! So it started from there. And then you want to do training and you wanna do classes or you see this shiny new lens that you wanna buy.
Tianna J Williams:
And then you realise like, oh, I kind of need to charge a little bit more now cause I need to figure out a way to put money back into the business so that I can grow. That's an ongoing thing I think. But once people do, you start to realise that, oh actually I can do this. So why didn't I charge sooner? And it's always that when you go to the next level and you charge a little bit more and you think, oh, people are never gonna pay me, surely they're gonna think, what is she doing? Is she trying to rip people off? And I will say, I've had people say that to me, but I've got broader shoulders now than I did a couple of years ago. So I can deal with it a little bit better.
Steve Folland:
I was gonna say, how does that feel?
Tianna J Williams:
It's really hard. And I've got so many incredible friends now who are in the same industry, all around the world. And you know, some of them have said, 'that's a reflection on them and not you'. And so what they're doing is kind of putting that on you because they feel bad and they don't like how that feels for them because they can't afford it. So it's trying to kind of change your mindset and think that, okay, that's fine. That isn't my problem to worry about - it's theirs and just kill them with kindness and just say, 'that's fine, thank you, I appreciate that this isn't the right time for you - maybe in the future'. Oor you can just not reply, especially if they're really rude, which I have done that in the past. And then, you know, you go in your little private groups and have a natter with your friends it's 'oh, I just had this really horrible person'. And everyone's like, 'yeah, we've all had that this week must be the weather. Is it a full moon or something?!'
Steve Folland:
Although I notice on your website that you now at least have a pretty clear indication of what things might cost. So was that a new thing? How did that feel when you added that to the site? IHas it made a difference to getting that reaction in the first place?
Tianna J Williams:
You know, it's funny because I'm learning and people that I've kind of had training with, tell you this, that once you start charging a little bit more, the way that clients respond to you is different and you are always gonna get people that are gonna kind of be a bit strange about it, but it happens less. And I think that, for example, with my website, you know, I got someone to build it for me and I showcase the best of my work, although I will say more of my recent work is on Instagram. But I think that when people now see that, they expect that they're going to have a bigger investment. So I would say now, it doesn't happen that often where I have a strange reaction to the pricing.
Tianna J Williams:
I get people that often they thank me and they appreciate that, you know, it's an investment and that they're not able to make that kind of commitment to book me, even though they absolutely love my work, but they also see the value in it. And they recognise that I love what I do. So when you have feedback like that, it feels good. Even though they're not booking and they won't able to, I sit there and think, wow, they took the time to send me a reply. And even though they're saying, 'we can't afford you right now, but we love your work, it's beautiful. Maybe in the future..' Especially, you know, for many mums that are on maternity leave - maternity pay doesn't stretch very far, so it can be difficult for some to be able to do that. But then equally when people can and they don't bat an eye-lid about the price and they just pay and you think, oh my gosh, wow, is that me? Woo! It's such a good feeling because people aren't gonna argue about what you're worth and you feel like you're getting paid, what you deserve and you know that what you've put in, you get back out and yeah, it's a good feeling, but it's hard, really hard.
Steve Folland:
Yeah. So when did you invest in the website?
Tianna J Williams:
November, 2020. So I've always had a website, but I'd done it myself. So not that I know how to code or anything like that, but YouTube is the best free resource on the internet. So 'how do I build a website on WordPress?' And I scoured the internet and found a website walkthrough for WordPress. And I think a theme called Divi. So I followed this tutorial from start to finish, and then I customised it. So it looked a little bit more like how I wanted it to be. And it worked, it was perfectly fine for the longest time. And then I thought I really wanna get it looking a lot more like the way I see other websiteslook - even though I'm sure somebody probably would've looked at my old website and been like, oh my God, that's an amazing website. So yeah, I booked somebody to do that for me. He's a good friend. He's actually a photographer as well, which is how I knew him. And I love it now. And because I did all of that kind of YouTubeing and figuring out how to use that theme, I can make changes myself.
Steve Folland:
Has the new website made a difference to the way that your business has worked?
Tianna J Williams:
I would say so, especially I think with the type of clients that I get - the majority of the clients that inquire with me come via Google. So they're searching on the internet, they come across my website and many of them actually comment on it and they say, 'oh, it looked really professional - we loved the images on there - it was really easy to get in contact with you'. So I definitely think it helps. I know social media has such a kind of strong influence on how we do things now, but I still believe that a really good website will kind of set you up. But I think also for confirmation as well, I know when I'm looking at another business for something that I'm looking for, if I find them on social media, I wanna know if they've got a website. I dunno what it is. But if I see that they have a website and it looks okay, I'm thinking, okay, they must be someone I can trust to do whatever it is I need. So I feel like it's really good. If you can get a good website, then definitely do.
Steve Folland:
And can people book via it?
Tianna J Williams:
So I used to have a booking system where they could book the actual date that they wanted to have, but I took that away because what I like to do now is ask clients to send an inquiry via the website. And I also give them the option to book a telephone call so we can have a chat about things, because I think it's really important that they get to hear my voice. I hear theirs. They can hear how excited I am. And I talk to them about it. They can ask any questions that they want. And I know some people absolutely hate phone calls and sometimes I'm a little bit like that, but I think it really helps. And I've found that clients that I've spoken with on the phone who have inquired are more likely to book. I feel like they kind of get a feel of who I am and they just feel a little bit more comfortable.
Steve Folland:
And I guess that's really important because what we haven't quite touched upon is the fact that you followed the natural niche, coming from being a midwife - you do maternity and newborn photography. Well, I think you do weddings as well, but maternity and newborn seems to be the driving focus.
Tianna J Williams:
Oh, completely. Yeah. There was no way that I'd not do those genres. Absolutely. If I could just do maternity, I absolutely would. But then it's lovely when clients come back and they're like, 'oh, we had such a gorgeous session with you and we trust you to photograph our baby.' And they're happy to come back. So I happily do newborn sessions, but maternity, for me, it's like my little kind of connection with my midwifery background. And clients love that. Like they read it on my website and they're like, 'oh my, is it okay if we can talk about this? My consultant said this, my midwife said that, what do you think?' And it's just nice. I think it just helps break the ice. They feel safe and comfortable
Steve Folland:
And you know, you get somebody from maternity shoot and then there's a natural end to that story, which you would maybe end up doing a newborn shoot. Does this mean, you're now thinking about doing toddler shoots and then in a few years time as your business grows, you're gonna suddenly be doing, five and six year olds going to school shoots?
Tianna J Williams:
I've dabbled in a couple of them now. They're not my absolute favorite session.
Steve Folland:
No, they don't sit still quite the same.
Tianna J Williams:
No, they absolutely completely tornado around the studio. It's like afterwards, I just sit there and think, wow, that was hard work. Like it was so much easier when you were like 'this small' and I put you there and you don't move. Whereas now they're running around and they don't wanna do this. And we're kind of singing all the songs and waving YouTube Kids around the studio. It's crazy. So I'll do them if clients ask, but I don't advertise them because they're just not my favorite session to do.
Steve Folland:
Interesting. The work is there, but actually you don't say you do it because you'd rather not. But you have a studio - have you always had a studio space?
Tianna J Williams:
I haven't. I've had a studio for two years. I'm heading into my third year of having a studio space now. Before that I did all of my newborn and maternity and family shoots in my living room in my house. It was crazy. But we did it. And some of my favourite images were shot in my living room and I show them to people and they're like, 'you did that in your house?!'
Tianna J Williams:
And I'm like, yeah, I just didn't have the means to have a studio at that point. And you make it work. You know, I didn't have a dedicated space and it was funny kind of moving stuff across the living room. And then after a shoot I'm thinking, oh my gosh, I'm so tired, but I know I've still got an hour of packing the lights down the backdrops away. And I used to do the cake smash sessions in my living room. And I remember we had a blue cake and I've got biscuit, coloured carpet. It was not a pretty sight afterwards! I just sat there and thought, I don't even know how I'm gonna get this outta the carpet. But luckily parents save the day. They had a carpet cleaner. So I was like, right, I'm coming down to get it cause the carpet is blue right now and it needs to not be. That was fun.
Steve Folland:
But you got the studio eventually...
Tianna J Williams:
It was a big step. It's a bit of a sad story. So I found a space in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, a lovely location. It was just one room - it was really affordable. And I remember bringing my mum and showing her the space and I hadn't moved in yet. It was carpeted and painted but I wanted to change it and she was like, 'you know what, T go and get your studio cause I can see how much you love it and I see how well you're doing'. So I took on the lease and me and my brothers, my cousin, my dad, we spent endless hours painting it. I got someone to put laminate flooring downs so it looked like a really nice space. But yeah, the reason why I say it's kind of a sore point for me is cause I lost my mum not long after. She never got to see it in its full glory. So now I feel like I have to really keep at this because she knew I loved it. And although I never got to show her what it looked like and obviously what it looks like now, cause it's grown, you know, I'm like, oh if there's one person who really, really believed in me - not to say that people didn't, they did - it was her. So yeah, she's my little guardian angel and honestly, it's crazy that she's not here, but everything has gone so well, so...
Steve Folland:
I'm sorry. But how lovely that she saw that it was gonna happen. That you were going to be alright - you had this dream.
Tianna J Williams:
Definitely.
Steve Folland:
So are you still in that same space now?
Tianna J Williams:
No. So this was October, 2019 and I stayed there until end of November 2020. So mid-pandemic I moved and the reason for the move was I just had issues with the other tenants there. The main issue was that obviously I'm having pregnant clients come to the studio and clients with their children and babies. And there were a lot of issues with smoking in the doorway. And I don't have a problem with what people do with their lives. They are your lungs. I'm not gonna have a go at you about that, but please do it in the designated smoking area. That's why we had one. But obviously it's cold, so they wanted to stand in the doorway. So it was affecting my clients' experience when they were coming to the studio. So I started looking for a new studio space and I'm still in the Jewellery Quarter, just the other side.
Tianna J Williams:
And the space that I have is beautiful. And it was completely way out of my budget, like significantly. And I was thinking, this is really bad. I love this space, but we are in the middle of a pandemic. How on earth am I gonna pay for it? But I needed to move. And I walked into this place and it had this gorgeous yellow wall. There's all this exposed brick, several rooms, like a massive room to do the shoots in and then I've got a room where I do consultations and viewing appointments. I have a hair and makeup room and I was like, this is it. This is the dream. This is where I'm gonna be. So I moved in a year ago, beginning of December. And then did all these sessions I'd had to cram in because we had that kind of had a fire-break lockdown in November and then we closed again for four months, January to April.
Tianna J Williams:
And I was like, yeah, this wasn't a smart idea, was it? But honestly, every time we've been able to reopen, I have been able and lucky enough - because it's not been like that for everybody - to hit the ground running and not have to worry about how am I gonna pay the rent, pay my bills. It's been fine. It's like clients were just waiting to kind of get back to doing something. And because they weren't having baby showers and parties because gatherings weren't allowed, but we could do photography, people were like, \I'm gonna have a maternity shoot instead!' And I was like, that's fine! That works for me!
Steve Folland:
It can feel like a big pressure to get some business cards printed, let alone take on the financial worry of going to that bigger studio. How did you get it together to be able to do that?
Tianna J Williams:
I know. You know what? These Facebook groups are a great place.
Steve Folland:
Amazing.
Tianna J Williams:
So 'friends, this is what I'm thinking of doing. What do you think?' 'Okay. So you need to make sure of this, you need to know this. Have you got this saved?' So yeah, whenever I was ever stuck with something like that, I just went back into the groups and bounced off people. I private messaged photographers that I was inspired by that I thought, oh my gosh, you seem to be doing incredibly well and I hope you don't mind me picking your brains a little bit on this thing or I'm thinking about doing this...' And I'd like to think I'm a nice person and I contribute to the group, so there was never really anyone who wasn't willing to share some tips with me.
Tianna J Williams:
I actually had a friend who was a photographer who was so kind and I would say she mentored me in a sense for six months or so - just saying, 'oh, make sure you've got this and do that'. And it was just so nice of her to do it, you know? So that was helpful. But I was like, 'well I'm gonna do it - so this is it'. Let's see what happens and yeah, it's been going really good.
Steve Folland:
So your first clients were obviously people you knew. Then your website has been working wonders for you as well. Is it mainly your website that people find you through or is it word of mouth? Is it Instagram? Where do you get your clients?
Tianna J Williams:
I would say it's a good combination of all of those. I definitely get the majority of my clients finding me on Google and sometimes they haven't even gone to my website. They've just typed in 'photographer in Birmingham' or something like that and it's come up with my details and they've called me straight from Google to inquire. Then you get the ones that are usually kind of browsing on the internet, looking for a maternity photographer. So what the phone calls tend to be is someone who's looking for a photographer. So it might not necessarily be maternity or newborn.
Steve Folland:
So when they come to you direct through Google - have you put time into Google My Business?
Tianna J Williams:
Yes. That is so essential. It's really helpful because people want information quickly. And what I've learned is that people don't want to kind of be clicking too many times - if it's taking too long to get the information they want. They're bored of that like two seconds ago. So Google My Business has been really, really helpful.
Steve Folland:
Do you ask for reviews?
Tianna J Williams:
I definitely do. I have a system. I use a client management system and it's all automated. I've spent time setting things up in the emails to go out every so often. So at the end of a client experience, usually around six weeks or so, they'll get an automatic email saying, you know, 'we really loved our experience together, loved the pictures that we created. I hope you're enjoying your photographs. How's things?' Cause sometimes people reply - and just asking them if they would spare five minutes to just pop a little review on Google. People are happy to leave reviews on Google, reviews on Facebook. Word of mouth is also very, very powerful. There's a Facebook group that I'm a part of called Black Owned Birmingham - it's all about black owned businesses trying to support each other a little bit more. It grew off the back of the issues with George Floyd. Whenever someone asks for a pregnancy photographer in that group, hands down guarantee, I will get recommended at least 10 times.
Steve Folland:
Great. And then Instagram, you said helps as well?
Tianna J Williams:
Instagram is perfect because you can use hashtags and I only really realised about six months ago that people do actually really use hashtags to find things that they're looking for. So I had a booking via it - she inquired via my website, but she found me initially on Instagram and she was literally typing in hashtags that were 'Birmingham' 'maternity' 'photographer'. And these are some of the hashtags that I use. So I was like, oh my gosh, it actually works. So yeah, I do get inquiries via Instagram often if I'm posting maybe like some behind the scenes in my Stories or sometimes I post images that I've shot recently and people are like, oh my gosh, I've been meaning to get my head around booking a session and I haven't done it yet, but I've seen this and I wanna do it now ,so let's get talking. So Instagram's great for that. I don't often get many inquiries via Facebook, but I have to say I don't use my Facebook page as much as I probably should, but it's a preference thing. I feel like Instagram's a little bit quicker for me. Whereas some of my friends, their whole business thrives on, you know, getting inquiries via Facebook and they're very kind of present on that platform, but it's trying to keep on top of all of the things.
Steve Folland:
When it comes to Instagram, how much time would you say you put in?
Tianna J Williams:
That's a really good question - I don't really have a strategy. I guess some people say that's not a good thing, but I'm like, I don't know, it's okay at the moment, so I'm not gonna knock it! Timewise, it varies. One thing I try to also do and I've been slacking a little bit on it recently, but I've been so busy, is trying to stay engaged on there rather than just post content and not do anything. People like replies. I find that I end up having conversations with people in the comments.
Tianna J Williams:
It kind of helps them feel connected. And sometimes I try and go on other people's Instagrams and comment on theirs also because it's just nice to do that. That also helps a lot. It makes your presence a little bit more personable and people kind of like that. And then people remember, oh gosh, what about Tianna? Have you thought about going to see her? So I think it plays into the word of mouth thing.
Steve Folland:
What would you say you found most challenging about being freelance?
Tianna J Williams:
Learning the business side of things. I still feel like I'm learning that. It's really hard because photography is such a visual type of thing to do you think, oh, it's all about the pictures. And in actual fact it's probably the smallest contribution you make to your business - actually taking the photographs. It's everything else that builds into that. So learning the business elements - making sure you have contracts, is the insurance that you have right for your business, what software are you going to use to invoice your clients? Do you have a mailing list? Looking at income, outgoings, pricing... there's so many things and sometimes you kind of get to that feeling where you're like, 'I just wanna take nice pictures!'
Steve Folland:
One of the phrases I noticed you say earlier, which I thought was nice, was calling it a 'client experience'.
Tianna J Williams:
Definitely. And the reason why I use that term is because I want them to enjoy the whole experience. I'm gonna take care of you. You're gonna come to my studio, you'll have your makeup and hair done. You'll have some quiet time. We'll send hubby away with the other kids or he's gonna go and have a coffee. So this is just all about you and you're gonna be pampered and then you're gonna be photographed and you're gonna look absolutely amazing. You're gonna feel good and you're gonna look great. And I say to them at the end of the shoot, 'don't waste this good hair and makeup - now I think you should go out for lunch'. They make a day of it. Then I'll edit the best pictures that we've captured from the day and invite you back and we're gonna watch a slide show and we're gonna pick your absolute favorites.
Tianna J Williams:
And they're like, oh, this is so exciting. And yeah, it's an experience I want them to feel and know that, it was like we spent a good amount of money with her, but it was so worth it. Cause she did everything. We didn't have to worry about how I looked or I didn't have to worry about stretch marks or that I didn't have any outfits to bring because Tianna took care of all of that. So I want them to feel just the same kind of feeling as when you go on holiday, you're like, oh everything's booked and taken care of. All I need to do is show up at the airport at the right time and it'll all happen. I'll get there, have a great time. So yeah, I want it to be a good experience. And it's fun. I love it. I really do.
Steve Folland:
Love it. I noticed on your website, how many awards you've won, which is marvelous. What's that experience been like for you? Has it made a difference?
Tianna J Williams:
It's made a massive difference to my confidence. You have to remind yourself, cause I don't win all of the ones that I enter at all, but you've gotta remember that when you took those photographs of that client, how you made them feel and how they felt when they saw themselves trumps any award by far. And they're also paying you, whereas with competitions, a lot of them you've gotta pay to enter and you're putting work... like it's you wearing your heart on your sleeve. And you're saying, this is something that I love and I'm gonna be judged on by it. And compared to what they would say is the industry standard for that competition. So it is a good experience, but a very scary one also, because it's really hard to hear feedback about your work that doesn't align with how you feel about the image.
Tianna J Williams:
For example, I entered a competition in October last year. And I went to watch the images be judged live. That is the most nerve wracking thing I have ever done. And it is really hard, but it helps you learn and it helps you see where you may have made some errors and you get feedback on how to improve. So they are really good to go to because that's what helps you grow. You never know which way they're gonna go, but when you do enter an award or a competition and you win, it's just incredible. Cuz you know, people around all around the world are entering these and you come first or second or third, you're like, I'm third out of all of these international people, this is insane! And clients love it because they're like, 'wow, she's winning an award. Look at how well she's doing. We've picked an award winning photographer. This is great.' But as I said, I do enter them for my own kind of growth.
Steve Folland:
You said right at the start about building this business to be flexible around your family in a way that your job in the NHS couldn't be. Has that played out? Work life balance wise? Is that all good?
Tianna J Williams:
It's a challenge sometimes, definitely. Late nights - I'm often working once the girls have gone to bed just because it's easier than when they're kind of bouncing around behind me. It can be really hard to separate yourself from your work and let it go for a little bit, so you can, you know, shut the laptop and just have some family time. It's really hard, especially because for me, I am my business and I don't feel like at the moment that I could completely step away and it would run itself. And, especially with social media, people want a reply very quickly. But I've kind of got to that point where the right people will understand.
Tianna J Williams:
And a lot of people know that I have children or they'll see them in my Stories sometimes. So they kind of know that little bit about me. So I think that the right people will say, oh, it's fine, she'll get back to me in the morning. I mean, I've been that mum, who's awake at three o'clock in the morning doing the night feed and I'm thinking, oh, I need to do this email now, before I forget and get busy in the day. So I get that. I'll never be annoyed with someone for a message in the middle of the night. Even sometimes my clients will text me and they're like, I know it's 3AM and I won't see it till the morning, but they're like, this has just occurred to me now and I have to write it out now.
Tianna J Williams:
And that's absolutely cool. But one thing I don't do now is respond to phone calls after 7.30pm. If someone calls or like when clients book to have a pre consultation with me, I tell them that there's only two times they can really book - 4:30 or five o'clock. I won't call them after that time at all. And they're happy with that. They're absolutely fine. If it's a problem, I'll try and catch you in the day if I'm not with a client, but sometimes I'm with the children. I don't want to be doing calls then. So it's still something I'm kind of trying to figure out and navigate. But I mean, if someone's like really rude, then I make them wait a bit longer!
Steve Folland:
Love it. Now Tianna, if you could tell your younger self, one thing about being freelance, what would that be?
Tianna J Williams:
It would be to just be yourself. You don't have to be anybody but you. Because people will love you for who you are. And I didn't know this at the beginning. I was a bit of a, you know, round peg square hole, whatever it is. But just be yourself because people know who you are and that's more authentic and people will be happy with that. So yeah, that would be the biggest thing, cause I think I've always kind of felt like a little bit... not that I don't really fit in anywhere, I'm a bit of someone who sort of floats in between. But coming to that realization that that is absolutely fine, has been a journey. So that's one thing I would definitely say.
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