Meet Annily Hawks

Today we’d like to introduce you to Annily Hawks.

Annily, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
When I was about ten years old I asked my mom for a camera as a birthday gift. I started out very small, my golden retriever Lily may not have been Americas’ Next Top Model but she was my top model. Her, along with my younger sisters let me pose them and place them wherever I needed. Back then it was something fun to do, and I never thought at that age, I would one day be able to make money from it. As time went on my siblings let me take their senior pictures, my mom had a friend who needed maternity pictures done and had a very low budget. From there, I took senior pictures for my friends and family members at no cost. I didn’t feel “good enough” to ask for money from them. When I entered high school I joined an agriculture class where I became very involved in the National FFA Organization, formerly known as Future Farmers of America.

This was a place that I fit in, and really I believe anyone can. I had zero farming background but it became of interest to me. I was mostly involved in the leadership aspect of the organization and I was really able to come out of my shell a lot through this endeavor of mine. I credit this organization for a lot of the skills I find useful in my business such as; speaking to strangers, time management, poise, as well as being an entrepreneur. If you are enrolled in an agriculture class you are required to have a project. Most students show animals, grow things, etc. I started my own hummus business where I canned chickpeas, made the hummus and sold it to community members. This project really set me up for success in the future in having my own business, and I didn’t even know it at the time.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For a long time, I only was able to book photo sessions with people I knew. Friends, family, peers, etc. I didn’t mind it much but a mistake I made along the way was discounting my sessions in result of feeling guilty for charging full price for the people I knew and loved. A lot of times I did it for free because a lot of people I knew couldn’t afford photos.

There were times when I completely messed up photo sessions. I sent photos to clients with poor quality, and it was on my end where I didn’t save the photos in high enough resolutions. There was one time that I took photos on a cloudy day and my camera was on the wrong setting and the entirety of the photos came out grainy and unable to be used.

But, I learned from those mistakes. The way I look at it is, you have to make mistakes in order to be successful; especially when you are a business owner. I think that every mistake I made, led me to being the business owner I am right now. Sure my business is very small, but I pay extra attention to every detail and at one point I was not a very detail-oriented person. But I can safely say that isn’t me anymore. But I definitely would not have become that person without making the mistakes listed above, as well as many more.

Please tell us more about your work.
I take photos in my business. I mostly specialize in portrait photography and have the most experience with senior and family photos. I am most proud of my ability to relate with others. I believe that once you are able to carry on a good conversation and relate to your model/clients, then the shoot goes smoother. Once they are comfortable the rest of the work is easy and fun (for the most part)

I also have VERY affordable prices.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite childhood memory would probably have to be going on “dates” to Dairy Queen with my favorite uncle, Charlie. Every summer when I would see him he would take me to Dairy Queen and it was our little thing. He taught me how I hope one day a man will treat me!

Pricing:

• Mini Session – 30 Mins – $55 – 25+ Edited Photos
• Standard Session – 1 hr – $100 – 45+ edited photos
• Extended Session – 90 mins – $150 – 65+ edited photos

Contact Info:

• Website: https://annilymchelaphotography.pixieset.com/ and https://bloomingthroughfaith.wordpress.com/
• Phone: 4806958153
• Email: annilymchelaphotography@gmail.com
• Instagram: @banannily and @annilymchelaphotography

Image Credit:
Annily Hawks

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