Today we’d like to introduce you to Catie Ronquillo Wood.
Hi Catie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my photography business as an escape from my cubicle 9-5 job. At the time, I was living in California (where I was born & raised), I was engaged and was engrossed in the planning process when I discovered the world of wedding photography. Gone were the days of stiff, posed wedding photos. With the rise of digital photography, wedding photography was evolving. I set my eyes on becoming a wedding photographer.
After getting married and moving to Texas, I officially formed my business. I assisted other photographers with their weddings and photographed my own wedding clients. However, I quickly learned that wedding photography was not everything I had hoped it would be. See, my husband worked in corporate Monday through Friday, and as a wedding photographer, you primarily work on weekends shooting weddings.
My first pivot was from weddings into senior portraits. I photographed senior portraits for about five years until we found out that I was expecting our first baby. I took a hiatus from photography during my pregnancy and throughout my son’s first year.
However, when my son started preschool, I felt like my heart still wanted to do photography. It also felt like it was time to pivot again. This time, I pivoted to brand photography – which is what I do now. I’m a personal brand photographer for creative entrepreneurs.
I help business owners create a library of custom photos that showcase their brand – what they do, how they do it, why they do it – in order to attract their ideal clients. Brand photography feels like a perfect mix of business strategy and creativity.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I feel like anything you build from the ground up is going to have growing pains. When I was just starting out, I knew nothing about photography. I had to learn how to focus, compose, shoot, and edit my photos. I also had to learn about business. There’s so much more to a photography business than just taking photos. There’s figuring out who your ideal client is, learning how to market to them, emails, client care, advertising, bookkeeping, blogging, and so much more.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a personal brand photographer for creative entrepreneurs. I serve primarily women-owned businesses in the Far North Dallas area including Prosper, Frisco, McKinney, Allen, Plano, and Little Elm. I help business owners create a library of on-brand custom photos to use across their business from their website, social media, marketing, advertising, sales pages, and more. When you have a photo bank of photos you love, you’ll feel more confident posting, sharing, and promoting your work and products.
I strive to maximize the time that we spend together – I know that time is precious – so give me three hours and we’ll create 3 months’ worth of content. Content includes headshots, lifestyle photos, behind-the-scenes, tools of the trade, and products.
I offer both one-time sessions and a quarterly or semi-annual subscription for business owners who need regularly updated photos.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Books: Dare to Lead, Brene Brown
Built to Belong, Natalie Franke
Building a Storybrand, Donald Miller
Podcasts:
The Jasmine Star Show
Online Marketing Made Easy – Amy Porterfield
Apps:
Honeybook – an amazing CRM that takes care of leads, proposals, contracts, invoices, and workflow.
Flodesk – user-friendly email marketing platform
Showit – drag, and drop website platform – SO easy to use and update
Contact Info:
- Email: catie@catieronquillo.com
- Website: https://www.catieronquillo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catieronquillo
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catieronquillophoto
Image Credits
Contemporary Portraits
Catie Ronquillo Photography