There are no shortage of amazing photographers in Oregon. So many of them have incredible skills and produce beautiful photos. However, few of them stop me in my tracks the way that Betty Boyce Photography does! Her work is truly breathtaking!
Betty Boyce is a Salem, Oregon photographer and you can find more information on booking session with her on website, Facebook and Instagram.
Tell us about yourself.
I have a love/hate relationship with this question. My name is Betty … not Elizabeth, not Betsy and not Beth…yes, I am a 32 year old BETTY! I was raised mostly by my Grandmother who was a business women and entrepreneur extraordinaire, she was never still and she always had multiple things going on. When I was in middle school and high school she was in her 70’s and she had a Bed & Breakfast (where we lived), a small breakfast restaurant, a hair salon and bead business. Today she is 94 and has slowed down a lot and can’t stand being so...unemployed. I give her all the credit and blame her for my inability to be still. I fill all my free time with something.
I am married to my fourth grade sweetheart, we have three beautiful children: Landon age 9, Ava age 7 and Renlee 7 months. I am a 10 year Army veteran but currently separated after having my last baby to spend uninterrupted time with my kids for a year or two. Three years ago a little farmhouse property fell in to our laps and we took it and thought, “oh, a couple goats would be fun for the kids” then Betty saw there was potential for a homestead, self sustaining abilities and oh, I bet I could sell this and that. The Boyce Family Farm was created. Today we have a couple sheep, heritage breed pigs, lots of duck, chickens and a large beautiful garden!
Besides hanging out (I mean slaying) at my homestead, I love hiking and going to new places with my husband and kids. I love sunsets and sunrises (but barely get myself up for them). I love beautiful flowers and learning new things about everything on the property we call home.
How did you get into your business?
My Grandma handed me her 35mm film camera back when I was in middle school to snap a couple pictures of family while we were on a short tour of the Oregon Coast with my Aunt from Arizona. She got the film back and I got scolded for “all this waste.” I took three pictures of people and 17 pictures of waves, trees, sand & shells etc. I just fell in love immediately with the process of looking through that camera and framing the image as I saw it.
When I was working my federal job, as a benefits program manager, I loved what I did but I still LOVED taking people’s pictures so I did photos on the side for friends and family. I didn’t charge them for years. Then a school friend from my childhood wanted me to shoot his wedding and asked what I charged. Though I loved what I did, I did not feel worthy of being paid for what I did. I was such a beginner but I said $250. While shooting the wedding and being surrounded by tons of friends and my husband, they all ganged up on me telling me I needed to start charging people money because I was THAT good. I put together some business cards, a Facebook page and SHIZAM, I was in business, right!?! After a lot of stumbles and learning what it really takes I have a business, 6 years later, that is starting to feel more and more like a legit business.
What has been your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge has been figuring out the right method of marketing so I can have my calendar filled with my “ideal clients”. Also, balancing a business (I could literally spend 22 hours of day on this alone), a family, a homestead with animals and military service. Most days I feel like some sort of exhausted pigeon. Writing this I am literally at my breakfast table feeding my baby in her high chair and yelling out to the older kids to stay on task getting ready for school. Oh and my dogs are standing at the door wait for me to let them back inside annnnnd my coffee is now cold.
What do you wish you’d known when you started?
That I don’t have to do it all at one time.
If you could narrow your success down to one thing, what would it be?
Determination and apparently my “eye” for the shot.
Where do you see yourself in a year?
In a year I see myself transitioning in to doing more senior portraits, which is my passion, which is what I am currently trying to establish as my brand.
What are your top three tips for women starting a business?
Such a good question. As women and usually mothers, we feel a need to “do it all." I still fight this. I would say in the beginning, the very beginning, establish a schedule and stick to it. Say, “I’m going to work on my business from 10am-2pm, Mon-Wed” or whatever it is.
Establish boundaries with electronics because they can run you down faster than anything trying to stay on top of everything.
Lastly, find a mentor in your field who you can talk with and bounce ideas off of. Embrace any ideas they have.
What is a typical day for you like?
A typical day for me varies because I only shoot 2-3 sessions a week but there is so much other work (client messages, forms that need created or updated, sending invoices, marketing plans, social media etc) to be done throughout the day. I will give you an example of a shooting day that usually has everything else rolled in as well.
Saturday:
6:30am: Wake up and nurse baby.
7am: Sneak out of room and unload dishwasher, start coffee pot and get to my computer where I review the notes for tonight's session. I get my camera bag out and make sure everything is in the bag, the battery is charged and I have a clean SD card in the camera along with a spare in the bag.
7:30am: Head out to do farm chores; feeding and watering chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep. Stop by the garden to water and pull weeds.
8am: start breakfast for the family (all still sleeping). Wake everyone up and eat.
9am: On my phone choosing the day’s Instagram posts (I usually do 2 posts each day) and checking/responding to any messages on social media. Contact client and my assistant for tonight's session. Confirm meeting location and time along with any reminders for what they may want to bring.
10am: Housework... because #adultlife
12 noon: Sit down for lunch at my computer and check financial info. Do I have any invoices that need to be sent? Do I have any that haven’t been paid and need reminders sent?
1pm: I do an activity with the older kids, projects around the farm, odds & ends.
4pm: Dinner making and eating.
6pm: Loading equipment in the car and I am off to the location.
7pm: Arrive at location a little before client and scope the areas with the evening's light for the perfect spots.
7:30: Clients and assistant arrive and we get to work shooting the session.
8:30: Session is over and I head home.
9pm: Get home, get kids to bed (cause they missed me you know).
9:30pm: Back to the computer to load images on computer, edit a few sneak peaks, format them to web size and upload to social media.
10:30/11pm: Bedtime
What’s your business motto or quote you live by?
Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy
If you were starting your business over again, what would you do differently?
I think I should have shadowed or been an assistant for another photographer in business, to show me the ins and outs of the business side. Most of the time I hate the “business” part and I just want to get out and shoot the sessions, edit the pictures and call it a day. But I understand that my field is evolving, it changes…new fads come and go and I love learning new styles of shooting along with new editing techniques.
I don’t know that I could do it differently because I am a “dive in head first and figure it out as I go” kinda girl.
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