Today we’d like to introduce you to Mackenzie Wilcox.
Mackenzie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As long as I can remember, I have always been the one to take pictures at every event, family party and holiday. I loved capturing every detail and person. I also started making photo albums filled with the memories of each occasion. My husband (boyfriend at the time) started to notice I had that passion and mentioned I should look into photography. But at that point, I was a fulltime hairdresser and I didn’t know anything about being a professional photographer. He pointed out that from my years of modeling, I already understood the camera, angles, and lighting. But still, I was comfortable in front of the camera, not as much behind it.
Fast forward a few years, we got engaged and that’s when I really thought about the photos as we planned our wedding! Even more so, when we got pregnant with our first daughter. My husband bought me my very first professional camera! For a few months, I shadowed another photographer and she taught me a lot about camera settings and some basic editing (shout out to Sara’s Photography, thank you!). I also YouTubed all day, every day! There was a video for everything, so anytime I found myself stuck, I was able to find an answer online for the most part. Learning photoshop was a huge challenge, but I didn’t give up and really loved editing the photos I was taking of friends and family. When my first daughter was born, I started taking photos of her like crazy! I made a small portfolio of my work online which led to booking photoshoots for others. Everyone loved the photos of my daughter and asked me to take photos of their children too! That year (2013), I officially started my business and named my company Moments By Mackenzie Photography. Shortly after, I stopped hairdressing and began pursuing photography full time.
From there, another photographer friend gave me some resources to help organize photos and create online contracts (Thanks Move Mountains Co.). That’s when I was ready to start photographing my original passion, events, and weddings! My cosmetologist background helped my brides feel confident working with me because I knew how to capture their beauty since making them look and feel beautiful was once my job! There were even a few times I had to fix a bridesmaids updo! That’s what I’m there for, not only to capture the details of the wedding day but also help the bride and groom with anyting they need that day.
The real curveball was when I found myself in need of a second photographer and my husband stepped up to the plate! Since he had been there since day one, he learned what I learned and was by my side as my business grew so he knew the ins and outs and felt confident that he could photograph with me! He had been coming along as an assistant for years and had experience in the wedding industry, so I began teaching him everything else he needed to know to prepare him for the following year’s wedding season. Since he began working with me, business has been better than ever and I have a blast working with my best friend every weekend!
I love that my clients are able to contact me for all of their life’s moments, from their engament and wedding to their pregnancies, children, and events. It brings me so much joy to deliver gorgeous photos to my clients that they have to look back on forever. We are already booking weddings into 2019 and 2020 and photoshoots into the winter. We are so thankful for the business God has blessed us with and the clientele we have built!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
From when I started to where I am now, I have faced different challenges. As a beginner, I felt overwhelmed with how much I had to learn! Being self-taught had its challenges because there were times where I didn’t know what to do and I had no one to turn to for help. It’s in those moments that my husband reminded me of why I started and encouraged me not to give up! So, if I had any advice it would be to pursue your dream no matter how difficult it may seem! It took a lot of hard work to build my business to where it is now, but it has been so worth it!
A more recent challenge has been standing out in a market that is saturated with photographers. To do that, I make sure to provide amazing customer service and go above and beyond for them. I wouldn’t have a business without customers, so I make sure they know how much I appreciate them and I always provide them with a great experience. We use high-quality equiptment and hand edit each and every photo to deliver consistantly beautiful work every time.
I read a book called The Business Boutique and that has been a great book and I would highly recommend it to anyone starting out!
We’d love to hear more about Moments By Mackenzie Photography.
We specialize in working with couples and families as they go throughout their lives. We offer packages so that we are able to work with each client multiple times. An example of the type of client we have is someone who books a wedding package with us, which means we work with them for their Engagement Session. After their wedding, we stay in touch and we tend to be the first to know when they are expecting a baby and we take pregnancy announcement photos! From there, they might have us at their Gender Reveal party, or have us take Maternity Photos. We also take newborn photos, milestone photos throughout the year and a special first birthday smash cake. Then, once or twice per year, we take their family photos, photograph birthday parties and more!
We have become known to be the ones to call whenever something special is happening, like the birth of a baby or the celebration of being married for 10 years! We are so proud to help our clients capture all of these moments! We stay in touch with our clients and really get to know them and even give them gifts to let them know how much they mean to us! These relationships, along with the quality of our work and attention to detail, is what sets us apart from others.
Which women have inspired you in your life?
Christy Wright, the author of The Business Boutique, has defiantly inspired me to work hard, be myself and not give up! My mom has also been my inspiration! She has faced many trials in her life yet she always stays positive and never gives up!
Pricing:
- Custom Photoshoots start at $195
- Wedding Packages start at $2,399
Contact Info:
- Website: www.momentsbymackenzie.com
- Phone: 401-215-5677
- Email: contact@momentsbymackenzie.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/momentsbymackenziephotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/momentsbymackenzie/
Image Credit:
Mackenzie Wilcox, Mark Wilcox
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