Meet Wendy Solomon | Portrait Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Wendy Solomon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Wendy, what do you attribute your success to?
To me, the biggest predictor of success for building a business is persistence! There’s no one magic formula that brings success; there are multiple paths to achieving your goals. But you just have to keep trying new things, expanding your comfort zone, and adjusting along the way.

Throughout my career, I have learned a lot about marketing strategies, and I’m constantly changing things and trying to evolve with new technology. I know that my success depends not just on keeping up with my photography and photo editing skills, but also learning new ways to understand and influence consumer buying behavior. Technology changes rapidly, so while I can’t possibly stay up to date on everything, I do choose one or two things so I can be a master at those things as they pertain to my business.

Because I’ve invested some of my time to keeping up with marketing, I feel like I could be successful in any business. And this gives me confidence that spills over into other aspects of my work.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I love getting to express myself through creative work! I do all types of portrait work – mostly weddings and families, and some business branding – but it’s an expression of my personality at the same time. I enjoy photos that are vibrant and colorful, with realistic skin tones. I’m more editorial in my style, and prefer more of a candid feel to overly posed compositions.

I get a lot of people that tell me they think they are awkward, because they don’t know how to pose for the camera. But posing isn’t a natural thing, and there is no such thing as a peson that’s awkward in front of the camera! My apparoach is to just relax, and have fun. I’ll direct some actions, but they are normal things like, “walk toward the camera”, or “put your arm around your Mom”. Whatever way they perform those actions will generally look more natural than if I posed them. This also helps them get relaxed more quickly, and we can keep the action going.

There are so many things I enjoy about my work, and am proud of about my work. The first thing that comes to mind is that I still can’t believe I get to photograph weddings! They are a more complex thing to photograph than other portrait sessions – you don’t have as much control over lighting and settings as you do in other types. There are certain ways the day flows and you have to be ready to switch gears and be ready for each of them. Often, there is no break in a long day! But it’s so much fun to see couples on the happiest day of their lives, surrounded by friends and family, and getting to see and feel all the emotions of the day! It’s such an honor to be chosen to help them capture all of that to look back on later and to hand those memories down to their future children!

When I started in photography, I would never have thought I would do weddings, or even some of the other sessions I do. I had been a hobbyist all my life, but it was when I had started an unrelated business that my photography career began. People kept asking me who took the headshots for our staff members, and when I said I had done them, they would ask if they could come in for that. After fielding several of those calls, I decided to add it to the menu of services! Once I did that, people started asking me to do family shoots or birthday parties… So my photography career began!

Eventually, I sold the other business to concentrate on photography. It was supposed to be a hobby business. But because I understand marketing, I really have had an easy time filling my calendar. And it’s also the thing I would be doing in my spare time if I weren’t doing it as a career!

Still, it isn’t completely without challenges. Covid definitely took a chunk out of my career, as it did with many. There were a couple of years that were pretty slow, and I just couldn’t seem to push myself to get out there and make things happen. And my focus has changed as the business has shaped itself. I had started with those headshots, and I planned to expand into business branding work, since I’m passionate about small business and helping other business owners. And I definitely do that.

But when I started talking to wedding photographers and thinking about doing weddings, I did a few to see what it was liked. And I enjoyed it SO much! So I started doing more weddings. And then from all the weddings, I kept getting asked to do family sessions, which at first I was reluctant to do. So now my business is about 80% families and weddings, which was definitely not my goal at the beginning. But things just flow and change, and the business tends to find and shape you! I have found this with my previous businesses as well, that you end up in places you hadn’t anticipated if you just roll with what happens.

My brand is really all about happiness! Most of my shoots are commemorating a moment in time that is joyful, so I want to capture all those moments, large and small. And I want the shoot itself to be fun and effortless, where the poeple feel relaxed and confident. My tag line is “Capturing the color of life”, and that’s what I hope to do every day!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would definitely have to show them every corner of the city! First, we have so many amazing botanical gardens, and it woulld be difficult to figure out which one to visit! I think my favorite is the NC Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill. I love the way they have it divided into sections (like the carnivorous section, or the poisonous plants!). And I enjoy their annual sculpture contest and sale.

Then, for a little culture, I’d go to the NC Museum of Art. The grounds are spectacular! So many water features and sculptures, plus pretty rolling hills and landscaping. And of course the art itself is amazing.

We’d head downtown to the State Capitol and the Museum of Natural Sciences. It blows me away that we have so many free museums here!

We’d go to the WRAL Azalea Gardens. The azaleas only seem to bloom for a blink of an eye, but the gardens are pretty year-round thanks to beautiful landscaping. And since we’re so close, we’d go to Pullen Park and take a little ride across the lake or hop on the carousel.

You shouldn’t miss an opportunity to see the NC State Library!! It’s like an art museum, too! The Hunt libray is my favorite, but they have renovated the HIl branch and it’s almost as spectacular.

A litle bit of history at Yates MIill and Oakview Park. Then we HAVE to go to the Butterfly House at the Museum of Life and Sciences.

For food, I’ll have to visit Gugelhupf for some amazing German fare. Their pastries are amazing!!! I would have to take them to the Sycamore in Pittsboro. The food, decor, and service are all terrific! Carrburritos is such an adorable and quirky place that makes the tastiest, fattest burritos! And I’d round it out with a banana split at Mapleview Farms, or a decadent dessert confection from Dulce in Morrisville.

I’d also go to Lafayette Village if someone likes shopping. The Bavarian theme just makes everything more festive! And I wouldn’t let any friend visit without going to Spring Haven Farm, where you can feed and play with goats, pigs, horses, turkeys, chickens, and bunnies! I love that place so much!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My husband of 38 years, Roy, is my constant support system! He never wavers in his support of my business, even when I over-commit. I often need a model to test lighting or a new technique, and he never grumbles when he has to be that model! He also sometimes gets to be my photography assistant, and carries my gear for me. Most of all, it’s just great to have someone by my side that really believes in me and understands my love of my career.

Website: www.WendyJade.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendyjadephotography/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendyesolomon/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendyjadephotography/

Image Credits
My photos