Meet Brittany Hall

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Hall.

Hi Brittany, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My deep fascination with creating photographs started when I was a child. My mother was an amateur photographer with the perfect models, two smiley daughters. I cherish all of my childhood memories when we would wear our new sweaters and mom would do our hair. We would all go hiking in the Michigan forests in hopes of capturing another year and another milestone.

Cameras were always around, but I never had my own. The cameras I had access to were borrowed or broken. That part never bothered me, but it did create the ultimate goal in my young mind to have my own camera someday.

My dream of creating my own photos intensified when I met my boyfriend Alex’s, now husband’s, sister Andrea.

She was an aspiring professional photographer at the time and I was 18 and full of energy. I wasn’t exactly sure who or what I wanted to be, what I did know was that I wanted to establish a legacy and find my purpose.

After shadowing one session with Andrea, I knew building a business as a photographer was something I would excel at. Creating beautiful photographs is a great joy, but the experience I value most is creating a moment where I am able to catch our customers being their best selves during our time together.

It dawned on me that the most important ingredient to providing the best service was to be sure that our photoshoot together was a joyful experience. When you create an experience and people can have a good time, they will tell their friends all about it. And that is how you can start to build a business on referrals.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
All roads in business are windy and curvy, bumpy, and maybe even a little dangerous. It is scary when you might be unsure of the destination or even where the next turn may be. Everything is uncharted territory and is as exciting as discovering a new place. As a professional dream chaser, you are in a constant state of discovery and firefighting.

My husband Alex and I have built our photo and video business together from the beginning. We have faced every challenge and obstacle with curiosity and confidence. We have both had moments of weakness where we needed to rely on the other to lean on and charge back up. This is such a rewarding opportunity for us to strengthen our relationship and work beyond what we used to believe was impossible.

One of the biggest challenges that our small business had to face head-on was when to hire other creatives. This was such a tough question for us and we went back and forth on it for some time. Ultimately, we decided we owed it to ourselves to try and see if we could expand our business with additional creatives.

This turned out to be a mistake and one that we needed to make in order to fully believe in each other and our full potential. Hiring out for different parts of your business is important and oftentimes, incredibly helpful. We had identified our mistake wasn’t that we needed to hire for portions of our work, the mistake was that we had chosen the wrong tasks to hire for. This is all part of the learning journey and we are better and more confident because of the way we learned this lesson.

Hiring an independent contractor for your business is a decision that should be fully vetted before putting your name and life’s work on the line. It is important to stress that it is unlikely that the person you’ve hired has as much dedication and cares as much about the final outcome of the product as you do. Are they operating and interacting with our brand and values in mind?

This adversity allowed us to rise above and to find ways to produce what we needed with just the two of us working together seamlessly. This is the theme that we have found to be true throughout the life of our business.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Chasing Sunsets Photo and Film is the name of our baby business. Alex and I were meant for this work. The opportunity to create content for two humans that are madly in love completely aligns with what sets our souls on fire. Alex and I care deeply about the importance of protecting the legacy moments that will be looked back on for years to come.

We are most proud of how we make our people feel. Through playful posing and prompting, we create space for individuals to fully embrace their moment. The expressions and laughter begin to flow as they ease into their true selves. This is what separates Chasing Sunsets from most others, we linger through the in-between moments to catch it all.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and are any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Covid-19 taught us so much as a society. Time is fragile, precious, and never guaranteed. Life is meant to be lived and celebrated. As humans, Covid reminded us how important it is to embrace power over your circumstances, and take the reins of your destiny. Alex and I understood if we wanted this business to grow, we would need to passionately reach for it daily.

Covid-19 was the reality check we needed to dedicate ourselves to this entrepreneurial lifestyle and the mission of documenting milestones. You never really know how much time you have with the ones you love most. Photos and videos have become even more valuable in the wake of the tremendous loss Covid brought.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://chasingsunsetsphotoandfilm.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chasingsunsetsllc/?hl=en&__coig_restricted=1
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChasingSunsetsPhotographyLLC/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo18c3qo4hm2gssea_QkevQ

Image Credits
Photography by Chasing Sunsets Photo + Film @chasingsunsetsllc