April 3, 2017

Meet Amanda Trotter-Bartlett of Amanda Bartlett Photography in Dekalb County

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Trotter-Bartlett.

Amanda, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have always liked taking photos; when I was younger, my family and I would go on vacations to the beach, mountains, camping, etc. and I would just be fascinated with taking pictures on my phone of the nature around me! I loved it. When I had my first son, I fell in love with capturing little and big moments of him growing and learning new things! He grew up so fast and I’m so glad I got to capture them! Those memories will live forever for me and my family! About a year and a half after he was born, I really started to think to myself… this is what I want to do, I want to be able to do this for others! I went on amazon and bought a cheap little digital camera, nothing fancy at all and I started to take photos for friends and family, just to see what I could do! I fell in love even more!

After I knew for sure this was what I wanted to stick with and what I really wanted to do, I invested in my first Nikon DSLR Camera, I started taking on clients outside of my family and close friends and it just went from there! I started out doing mostly family, maternity, children and events here and there! Recently I have taken a major interest in births, fresh 48’s and newborn sessions as well but I do just about any type of photography that someone brings to me! I even just recently did my first Breastfeeding Milk Bath session and I absolutely loved it! I just can’t get enough of capturing any and everything for others to remember forever! My family is so supportive, without them and my amazing clients, I wouldn’t be able to do what I love! I appreciate everything my family does and everything my clients bring to me!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I would say it’s been a pretty smooth road but I won’t sugar coat it, I have definitely had some struggles! The first year was very hard to find clients that wanted to book with someone who has little experience even with a portfolio to show my work, but it does get easier as your clientele grows! Another struggle I faced was how to balance my work life and being a wife and mother of 2 young boys (2 years old and 6 months old)! Especially when it comes to editing, it’s taken me a long time to learn when it’s a right time to edit and when it’s the right time to be a mom and wife, and I still sometimes don’t know when the right time is, lol! I would have to say that just balancing is my biggest struggle so far, especially since being a stay at home mom was one major reason for me in making the decision to be a photographer! Being a photographer is a constant learning process, you learn something new every day but I wouldn’t say there is ever a wrong way to doing it! Everyone has their own unique style and that’s what I love about being a photographer! If everyone was the same, it would be boring!

Amanda Bartlett Photography – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I mostly specialize in family, maternity, children, newborn, fresh 48 and birth! As much as I love all things photography and do almost anything a client brings to me! I love capturing a growing family and catching all the love when a new addition is added to a family along with milestones that a child accomplishes for a family to cherish forever is a great feeling for me! I am most proud of just how far my business has come in just a short amount of time! I appreciate all my clients that have chosen me to capture their special moments! I’m very excited to see how much more my business will grow in the years to come!

I would have to say what sets my work apart from others is; I like to focus on what exactly my clients want to gain from their session and then I do my best to accomplish that for them! I also give my clients all of their images instead of picking 10-20 images like some photographers do. This does mean it takes me a bit longer to get the images to my clients (usually within a week or two during a busy season) but I feel it makes my clients more pleased with their session outcome! I do this because what 10-20 images I might think are the best or that I like, may not be exactly what my client likes! So I provide all edited image on a password protected gallery and they have the ability to download, share and/or print which images they love most!

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I personally define success based on what makes someone their happiest self! I believe I am successful because at this time in my life I am happy with my accomplishments, family and business! I always look to push myself to be better by doing things that make me and my family happy! I try to think positive and hope that the outcome is just that… positive!

As far as my business… my definition of success is my client’s happiness! Not everyone can be pleased but I try my hardest to make sure my clients are pleased and happy when they walk away from their session and with their finish product(s)! For this reason, I always ask my clients to leave a review on their experience, good or bad! I want to know, so I can 1. Make it better and 2. Learn from it!

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