Today we’d like to introduce you to Hailey Gonya.
Hi Hailey, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I always wanted to be a photographer. When I was little, I said I would be a National Geographic reporter and take pictures of exotic animals. But I never really considered it as a real job option. I went to college with the hopes of being a marriage counselor but found that I didn’t have the money to continue on in graduate school. At the same time, I picked up my first DSLR camera in the hopes of being able to document my future children well.
Photographing a friend’s engagement session as a favor turned into photographing my first wedding, and then I was fully in it. I had just gotten married, and luckily my husband asked if he could be my second shooter. Eventually, I needed to either take on much less work or quit my day job so that I would have enough time to edit. I never anticipated going off on my own, learning how to run a business, and pay taxes, but it’s been the best decision we ever made! Now, eleven years later, we’ve shot over 300 weddings together and have never looked back.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think something that has been surprising is learning all the facets that it takes to run your own business. It didn’t come overnight, but eventually we learned how to build a website, learn business taxes, and navigate how to effectively market ourselves.
I think the biggest struggle for us was when Covid hit, and we lost the majority of our income for the year when restrictions meant many weddings were cancelled. We learned to save money for emergencies, communicate clearly with clients, and adapt along the way. If we could weather that, we can do anything!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I think most people come to us for our editing style, which is “light and airy.” I think it fools a lot of people, but I’m an introvert at heart. I absolutely love spending my week at my computer editing and making portraits feel more like art.
I’m proud of our relationships with our clients. If you can be empathetic and bring a calmness to a wedding day, the couple will be so appreciative. I feel like as wedding vendors, our job is to be a buffer for the couple and navigate hurdles for them so they can focus on the fact that they just got married. We help set the tone for the day. I consider all of my couples’ dear friends, so when they send that handwritten letter after the wedding is done, it’s the best thing that could happen to me.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I’m interested to see how AI affects the wedding industry. My friends are already using AI to help them edit quickly in their personal style. I’m a little too much of a control freak to give that aspect up yet, but I know that part of being successful is learning new tools.
Pricing:
- Weddings start at $4200.00
Contact Info:
- Website: www.haileylaurenphotography.com
- Instagram: @haileylaurenphoto
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HaileyLaurenPhotography/
Image Credits
Hailey Lauren Photography
