Meet Bethany Reasoner | Photographer & Social Media Consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bethany Reasoner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bethany, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
When I first started my business and began booking clients steadily, I took on the mentality that I had to say “yes” to everything and everyone in order to be successful. This was great for gaining experience in my craft, but before too long I was constantly overwhelmed and overbooked, which led to some major burn out. I’ve realized in the last two years of doing business that I work SO much more efficiently if I do two very important things: 1. Say NO when something doesn’t feel like it’s right for me to take on, and 2. Set boundaries between my business and my personal life. I stopped responding to client emails at all hours of the day and night, and extended my deadlines for myself in my client contracts. It allowed me to actually take a day off here and there to spend with my spouse/friends, and I quickly realized I serve my clients way better that way! I think about the balance as a very crucial aspect to running my business, because without it, my business will suffer. It sounds cliche but, I run my business – my business doesn’t run me!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I started out with the goal of just being a photographer – I wasn’t really sure what my niche was or what that looked like, I just knew I wanted to learn as much as possible and make some beautiful photos. I started out shooting anything and everything, and quickly realized that couples were my favorite thing to photograph. When I started consistently booking clients – mostly couples and families – we lived in Florida. As luck would have it, we got orders from the military that we were moving to Alaska just as I started gaining momentum. That was my biggest challenge – navigating how to pick up my business that had just taken off, and make it take off across the country somewhere new, where I had no connections. I truly believed that my business would take a backseat and I started looking for other jobs. (This is when I also dove into social media management as my ‘other’ job!). But, what I’m most proud of, is how when I got to Alaska, I put my head down and focused all of my energy on booking just a few first clients. And I did- I booked a couples session, used the content to market myself to the area, and within a couple months I had a pretty full schedule. After being in Alaska for a bit, I made a new business goal for myself, and that was to book more elopements – specifically one on a glacier. By the time we left Alaska in 2022, I had booked and shot 3 glacier elopements and so many other elopements. Now that we are living in Colorado, I’m navigating the “starting over” phase again, but this time with a bit more confidence. It has taught me so much. The biggest thing I’ve learned is consistency. It’s never an overnight process, and you have to consistently put yourself out there, even if it makes you uncomfortable.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We live in the Springs, so we’d probably start in Denver after picking them up from the airport and grab some donuts at Voodoo (because when in Denver!), then maybe do a brewery or distillery tour (our favorite is Stranahans!). Then when in the Springs, we’d for sure eat at Denver Biscuit Company, Snooze, Colorado Man Brewery (and probably In N Out). We’d grab coffee at Building 3 Coffee, beers at Red Leg Brewery, Goat Patch Brewery, and do trivia one night at The Brass Tap. We’d also throw in some hiking and explore Garden of the Gods!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
It might sound sappy, but I’d have to shoutout my husband here! With him being in the military and his job controlling a huge portion of our life/decisions, it took me a while to find a career that worked for our lifestyle. He has been SO incredibly supportive of me finding something I love and something that allows me to have my own thing outside of the role of ‘military spouse.’ He’s constantly encouraging me, offering business advice, and sometimes even comes along on shoots as my assistant

Website: www.bethanyreasoner.com

Instagram: @bethanyreasonerphoto

Linkedin: Bethany Reasoner

Facebook: @Bethany Reasoner Photography

Image Credits
Bethany Reasoner Photography