Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Pulliam.
Hi Laura, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I may be new to the business side of things, but I’m an old soul when it comes to photography. My love of painting with the light came to life in an Austin, TX, darkroom in 2006. That “required” art credit for my degree program fed an already budding love for photography.
Photography remained a staple in my life throughout the next 15 years as I served as a Director of Christian Education in a couple of churches and pursued a Masters in Theology. My husband and I added a few kids to our family, and I returned to learning more about the art as time allowed.
As anyone with kids knows, time for “hobbies” is short when raising littles, and I was making less and less time to hone my craft. Fast forward to 2022, when my sweet husband, Mark, encouraged me to start Simple Vintage LLC. I gave myself an “allowance” of two years to say yes to every photography genre that came my way. From real estate and corporate work to newborn and family photography… I did it all!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
As I frequently remind my children, most things worth doing aren’t easy. I suspect most entrepreneurs can resonate with this sentiment, but thus far, the biggest challenge in my business is fighting the inner voice that says, “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
One of my earliest struggles was learning camera operations and building the muscle memory required in order to capture a photograph the way I saw it in my mind… all while posing with dad, fixing Mom’s hair, and doing a monkey dance to get the kids to smile!
Lately, the struggle has been setting healthy boundaries so that my business doesn’t encroach on family time. The hustle mentality is prevalent in small business and I do not want to sacrifice my family at the altar of (so-called) success.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
In the last six months, I’ve been leaning more heavily into brand photography. The thing that makes me unique in the photography world is that I’m left-brain dominant. While I can absolutely run and chase toddlers for those precious smiles, the place where I feel the STRONGEST is when planning & implementing a portrait list that boosts a business owner towards their goals.
Branding photography is a communication puzzle. I LOVE helping business owners solve that puzzle by creating “pretty with a purpose” marketing images that offer a return on investment.
I am proud of the work I’ve done with a coach to marry my strengths as an organizer and communicator with my love of photography. When I very first launched my business, I was doing both copywriting and photography, so my tagline was “Communication simplified.” At the time, I didn’t realize that this tagline would become prophetic as I now am able to hold a business owner’s hand through visually communicating their brand!
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My husband is absolutely my biggest supporter. Mark is a pastor and public speaker and his strengths are so very different from mine. He is my sounding board and my best friend.
Additionally, my sweet neighbors Amanda and Kristi were some of the earliest cheerleaders as I pitched this “crazy” idea to start a small business while raising small kids! That first year, they got in front of my camera and sent many, many friends my way for portraits.
Pricing:
- Mini Sessions – $120-200
- Portraits – $350-570
- Branding – $470-1500
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.laurapulliam.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplevintagephotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simplevintagephotography
Image Credits
Simple Vintage Photography
