I got a passion for still pictures. What else floats my boat? My pinterest boards give me away big time: crafts, cooking, baking, sewing, knitting…you know, girly cheesy stuff. No shame. I’m not the romantic type though. Flowers don’t do it for me, and neither does jewellery. You can turn me on with the $700 KSM mixer, in case you’re wondering. I am a serial TV-series watcher…or used to be, at least, before motherhood hit and robbed me the luxury of time. I love the sound of a melodic rock song and the feel of a live show…but boy, do I sing out of tune! Dancing-wise, I’m afraid I was deprived at birth from the gift of bodily movement…hubby says the dripping toilet has more rhythm than me (it’s true). Neither can I do sports…when I run or jump my internal organs remind me they prefer a steady state of affairs. I love science, but suck at maths and physics, and will never understand how a plane can float in the air. I like the steak well done and prefer vodka over wine. I believe waking up in the middle of the night for a wee is a miserable failure of evolution. I am a bit of a hoarder (ok, I admit it), but let me assure you, what I lack in organizational skills, I make up for with my awesome ‘tres leches’ cake…yum! On balance, I consider myself lucky; I love my life, I love my family, I love what I do.  My perfect day? The one with the highest laugh count.

Self Interview

What's your background?

I’m a post-producer by background (bachelor in audiovisual communications), specialist in editing and digital image enhancement.

I have 12+ years of experience mostly in the film industry, but have been a photography maniac all my life and there is a lot of commonality between the two fields.

Why did you set up a business?

Throughout my career I’ve worked both as employee and as independent running my own digital production Company. In this moment of my life I feel that various elements fell into place so I decided to take the plunge and turn my passion into a business.

Why the name 'BellaShoot'?

‘Shoot’ for photoshoot. ‘Bella’ means beauty. Therefore…’we capture beauty’. ‘We’ instead of ‘I’ because although I’m a lone photographer, the whole process requires a lot of collaboration with various parties, including the client. Plus, I keep a view to expanding in the future and become a ‘we’. Plus, this is a project me and my husband created together, so it feels more as a ‘we’.

The other reason for ‘Bella’, is that this project came out after the birth of our second girl, Isabella, so there is a bit of anchoring to her and her birth as triggering event.

Do you have employees? Who do you work with?

I am a sole trader, so I work alone, no employees. However, I am aiming to establish collaborations with various parties (designers, models, stylists, make-up artists, photography suppliers, frame shops, print shops, etc). Also, my husband is helping me out with the business side, looking after the accounting, marketing strategy, web design, etc.

What's your marketing strategy?

Mostly online presence; website, facebook page, pinterest, instagram, google plus, participation in community forums, etc.

I’ll also run sales and promotions on special dates throughout the year and put in place a customer loyalty and referral program to offer discounted prices.

What is the product you offer?

I’m a portrait photographer who specializes in maternity, newborn, baby, children and family photography.

We run both outdoor portrait sessions in the Brisbane Region, as well as in-studio photoshoots in our home-based studio.

We can also come to you and do a more of a lifestyle type of shoot in the comfort of your own home.

Our starting packages include the photo session itself and digital collections of hi-res images (JPG/TIFF files in USB).

In addition, our goal is to provide our clients with a start-to-finish hassle-free experience, so we’ve partnered up with professional photo labs and other suppliers to offer a broad range of high quality products, including prints, photobooks, frames, canvases, and more.

What does your service include?

Capturing the images in the photoshoot is the easy part! Extensive planning leading up to the shoot is critical for a successful outcome. After the shoot, a chain of creative interventions is applied during the post-production stage before arriving at the final glorious photograph.

From start to finish, we’ll give our all to look after you, keep you informed throughout, and deliver on time.

What is different in what you offer?

I am calm, quiet, even shy. My approach is relaxed, warm, and down-to-earth. My images are simple, delicate, and pure. These are my traits, and I hope they come across in all aspects of my work.

Also, I’ve had a few professional photo sessions in the past and I have always felt the customer service could have been much better; poor planning, poor guidance during the shoot, poor communication after the shoot and a bit disappointed with the final photos.

So, my main goal is to set myself apart as a quality customer oriented photographer, and provide a photographic experience which is clear, smooth and enjoyable all along the way from pre-planning through to the shoot itself, to final delivery. Absolute customer satisfaction is my goal.

How about your pricing?

Although my goal is to provide a top quality service with a high-end result, I won’t run a professional photo studio, so no staff, no expensive overheads, etc. I’ll run a home-based studio and outdoor portrait sessions in the public space, so my pricing sits on the mid-end range.

Also, as I mentioned before, I’ll run sales and promotions on special dates throughout the year and put in place a customer loyalty and referral program to offer discounted prices to repeat customers and those who spread the love and bring new ones.

What are your key selling points?

  • Tailor made, personalized sessions
  • Simple, delicate style
  • Relaxed, warm, down-to-earth approach
  • Exceptional customer care