Today we’d like to introduce you to Zachera Wollenberg.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Photography was never part of the original plan but it’s no surprise I ended up here. I went to school at Michigan State University and graduated with a BFA in Musical Theatre. Chicago was a great fit for me to begin my theatre career so, off I went.
After a week or so, I had a serving job, was auditioning as much as possible and taking headshots as a side hustle. Since I knew the inside scoop as an actor, I did pretty well. I would literally hand out flyers to every actor waiting in line at my auditions. It makes me cringe now to think about it, but I think I might owe my entire photography business to that gorilla marketing. This went on for a few months until one of my headshot clients asked me, “Do you take engagement photos?”.
Of course, like any scrappy entrepreneur, I said “absolutely”.
After manically googling and game-planning for my first (but absolutely NOT my first) engagement session, I arrived to photograph my couple. It took about 10 minutes before I knew I would be doing this for the rest of my life.
From there, I became obsessed with growing a business dedicated to photographing love. Fast forward three years and here we are.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When anyone initially asks me this question I usually respond by saying “Oh it’s been fantastic! Everything went great and it’s been totally smooth sailing.” because that’s honestly how it feels when I look back. I’ve been a lifetime wearer of rose-colored glasses and prefer my past to maintain a lovely shade of pink.
Bringing my business to life has been this excellent adventure but it certainly has not all been perfect. Part of being an entrepreneur is riding the wave of feeling like you’re the queen of the world to feeling like your name will appear in the dictionary after “failure”.
I think I define my success primarily by my ability to surf that wave.
Zachera Photo – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Zachera Photo is the embodiment of everything I love most. First and foremost, humans. I love my species. I’m an extrovert who’s career is to pretend to be an introvert observing people at their very best; stating their wedding vows, taking family photos for the first time with their newborn child, cozy couch snuggles, or ripping it up on the dance floor. I look for emotion above all in my work and keep that as the touchstone for my craft.
I tear up all the time when I’m shooting. I never let it affect my professionalism and have learned to hide it very well – but I am brought to tears by what I see through my camera so often. This is also due to the fact that I’m my father’s daughter and we are a very weepy clan (like cry over commercials bad).
This, in essence, is what I believe sets me apart. A deep empathy and respect for those I work with and an extraordinary passion for the service I provide to them.
I see so much beauty in my fellow humans and it’s so exciting to freeze those moments and be able to return to them whenever you want.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
There are so many and most of them are so, so boring! It’s the kind of stuff you wouldn’t assume would be a big deal like nailing really tough lighting conditions or printing my work and truly loving it.
I’ve been published a number of times and that’s always a fantastic feeling but I think the first time with a big publication (The Knot) was probably the coolest.
If I had to pick one, it would be the day I paid my parents back the money they leaned me to buy my first (big girl) camera. We all cried because it meant what I had said to them in my proposal letter (yes, I wrote an investment proposal to my parents because asking for money even from them was something very difficult for me to the stomach and I needed it to feel official).
“An investment in my company is an investment in me, and I won’t let you down.”
Pricing:
- Wedding investments begin at $4800
Contact Info:
- Website: www.zacheraphoto.com
- Phone: (231) 838 2310
- Email: zachera@zacheraphoto.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zacheraphoto
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zacheraphoto
Image Credit:
Grace Gruwell
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