Founders Corner: Pauline Holden Photography
This is Founders Corner, a series where we get to know the stories behind local businesses and the founders who started them.
Pauline Holden specializes in personal brand and boudoir photography, capturing unique photos for her clients, helping them feel confident in themselves and their businesses. When she’s not moving the hair off her clients’ faces during a session or retouching photos behind the computer screen, she’s probably hanging out with her chihuahuas Roo and Pepper, or binging a new Netflix series.
Let’s learn more about Pauline and her photography business!
Q: Why did you start your business?
PH: When I first moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2015, I had the opportunity to be mentored by my cousin and fellow photographer, Jennifer Picard. I worked under her for a while, and fell in love with taking photos as a profession. The more I started to do my own thing, the more I fell in love with photography.
Slowly I was working with more and more women entrepreneurs, and I saw a big need for content that helped my clients stand out from the crowd. Every year, the need for fresh photos to share online grows, and I really want to help with that need. I also started my business in order to help empower women. I love being able to create a safe space for my clients to feel beautiful and seen.
Q: How did you come up with the idea for your company?
PH: I saw a huge need for personalized photos that could help my clients stand out and grow their brand. I knew it was more than just taking headshots or portraits, I wanted to create an experience for my clients and tell the story of their brand. I needed to learn more about them, gain rapport, and have real conversations before meeting them and taking their photo.
I learned that by investing more time into my clients, the results were so much more impactful for them. I was inspired to focus on working with women business owners in creating a unique session and by celebrating them with all their quirks, differences, and uncommon commonalities.
Q: What makes your company unique?
PH: I work with my clients to tell their brand story. Every business is unique, and my philosophy is that people relate to real people. With everyone online these days, we need content and photos that truly stand out from the crowd. The biggest way to do that is to be yourself and show your personality. Scary - I know! But it really works. Through questionnaires, phone calls, and a planning session, we fine tune aspects of the brand we want to highlight and I am along with them every step of the way giving feedback and ideas.
Q: What's up next for your company? Or business goals for the next year or so?
PH: So hard to know in 2021! But I hope to eventually expand by creating a "one stop shop" for businesses to get off the ground or do a full brand refresh. I love working with women owned small businesses, and want to continue to work with incredible people.
Q: What is a piece of advice that you would give to another entrepreneur to help them get started on their journey?
PH: Embrace being imperfect, we aren't going to feel "ready" for everything in life, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't go for it. If you feel passionate about something, that energy will help carry you through some hard times. And lastly, invest in yourself! Find a photographer, marketer, business coach, etc. who sees and understands your vision for your brand, and don't be afraid to invest in your business. It will come back to you!
To learn more about Pauline Holden Photography, visit www.paulineholden.com.
