Meet FL Photographer - Traci Sproule who overcame Imposter Syndrome & created an Amazing Business

SENIOR YEAR MAGAZINE - "Hi Traci! Please tell us about your business.... "

TRACI: "My photography business was born out of a desire to share stories.

Initially, much of my business came from the families of the children my girls went to school with. It took several years of agreeing to a variety of shoots (weddings, real estate, newborns, etc.) before I realized that high school seniors and sports were my favorite stories to capture. And once I made the decision to stay in that lane I found that my business really took off, and I enjoyed it tremendously."

"I use off-camera lights in continuous mode (the Rotolight Aeos 2 PRO and the NEO 3). I love the versatility of these lights, and the relative ease that they offer for studio lighting on location. My clients feel like super models"

"It's been just about a year since I took Beverly's suite of classes, and I am so glad that I did. I've implemented her pricing model, and offer collections to my clients that so far every single one has loved and appreciated."

SENIOR YEAR MAGAZINE:

"Thinking back on your business, what are some things you have been afraid of but have conquered and how did you conquer them?

TRACI: "I was afraid that because I was basically self-taught, I wasn't really a true professional photographer. Impostor syndrome was something I struggled with a LOT. I looked at the images that were being featured on feeds like Senior Year Magazine and I was too timid to tag my images because I just didn't feel confident in myself."

TRACI: "This was WRONG thinking. When I finally decided to just try submitting images, NINE of my seniors were featured in a single issue of Senior Year Magazine. When I downloaded that very first digital copy of the issue I had been featured in I was so overwhelmed I nearly sat down and cried. And that's the day that I realized the only thing stopping me from achieving the level of success that I wanted was me."

TRACI: "Over the course of the next few months I took Beverly's classes, meticulously implemented her suggestions and I am 100% happy with where my business is today. It took me years to be able to make that statement."

SENIOR YEAR MAGAZINE: If you were just starting your business today, what is one thing you wish you had known then that you do know now? What would you say is the key to success?"

TRACI: I wish I had known that I was going to be my own biggest obstacle. I coasted through a lot of years of doing ok with my business - enjoying it as basically a paying side hobby, but not really growing it in the best way.

The key to success is learning what you need to do, AND THEN DOING IT. I have a tendency to think really big, but then stumble on the implementation. I have lists of great ideas that sometimes I don't follow through on. But when I do follow through...like wow. Success happens."

SENIOR YEAR MAGAZINE: Think about new photographers.....What TIPS or recommendations would you make to photographers in our group?"

TRACI: "The very first piece of advice I offer is to get legal. Research whatever your state tells you to do to register a fictitious name, set up your sales tax with your state and make sure you're doing all of that correctly. I was blessed to have some very helpful mentors at the beginning of my business journey who coached me through a lot of that.

The next thing I would suggest is to get organized. Meticulously plan your client experience, your work flow and your delivery. Beverly has some great tips in her organization class for this.

The last thing I would suggest is to set goals for yourself. For the last two years I have set myself "words for the year" and tied very specific goals to those words. Words like "courageous" led me to submit images to magazines, and I ended up being one of Senior Year Magazine's Top 100 Photographers.

Words like "service" and "excellence" this year are pushing me to provide "service over sales" and my clients are making even larger orders because they feel so special from the attention that I am paying them."

TRACI: I"m just a Southern girl doing what she loves, creating stories for really special kids, and helping my family do some amazing things as a result of my business's success.

I am forever grateful to Beverly for the help and mentoring that she offered to help me get to this place."