Episode 15: Building a Business with Lydia Collins

Capturing Motherhood

I am chatting with Lydia Collins today, a London based photographer. Lydia joins me today to discuss how she has built up her business and expanded her client base.

Lydia is a lifestyle and fashion photographer who works with influencers and brands, being fully freelance for around 4 years. To build up clients after university, Lydia did free shoots every week for 15 months to build a portfolio - a business strategy she wouldn’t recommend today.

Although social media and websites are an integral part of building a business, Lydia admits she does struggle keeping her website up to date. For Lydia, social media is a way of showing your validation as a business. If she is recommended a clothing store, she will check their Instagram before their website. It’s a way of seeing their creativity every day and checking how legitimate they are.

When it comes to posting on her own socials, Lydia wouldn’t have an Instagram if she didn’t have a business. The toxic side and trolling have really put her off. When it comes to time put in, in the morning she answers messages and queries but doesn’t scroll. She pre-plans her posts using a platform and definitely sees an increase in inquiries when she posts recent content and behind the scenes. Now, Lydia also has an assistant to help her post on other social sites.

If you aren’t at the point in your career where you can hire someone to help you manage your social media, Lydia shares some advice. An app called Tailwind allows you to schedule all your Pinterest posts on it ahead of time. It’s all about finding which platform works for your business and focusing in on it.

Connect with Lydia:

Website: https://lydiacollins.com/welcome/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lydiaxcollins/?hl=en

Connect with Suzi:

Website: https://www.suzibirdeducation.co.uk

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suzibirdphoto/?hl=en

Suzi’s Photography Studio: https://sunlightportraitstudio.co.uk/