Today we’d like to introduce you to Honeylet Dent.
Hi Honeylet, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My passion for photography started out when my daughter Zoe was born. I wanted to take her pictures every month for her milestones and so I looked for photographers who can do the job, but one thing that I realized while looking is that practically speaking, it isn’t exactly something that you can include in your budget on a regular basis.
As a solution, my husband had given me the advice to purchase my own camera so I can take Zoe’s pictures as often as I want, even every day – which is exactly what I did. We had pictures for all of Zoe’s firsts – from her first trip to the zoo to her first car wash experience! What I like to believe is that aside from my daughter’s firsts, the pictures I took also show my progress in the field of photography. I learned from every capture and improved the following picture.
I took pictures of my daughter every day for a year – Zoe basically grew up with the camera next to her. Right after that, a friend reached out to me to take her maternity pictures and since photography was becoming my hobby, I agreed. After sending her the edited pictures, she decided to post them online, and through that, we started receiving calls about my photography services.
I accepted these requests and did the pictures for free back then, but when the inquiries started to reach a certain number, I thought this could be something that I can do – offer affordable but great quality photography services to interested clients.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It was not smooth at all. I remember when we first moved to San Antonio, I had one of the most unforgettable problems I’ve ever faced as a professional photographer.
It was the time I struggled the most in finding clients – I almost considered closing Honeylet Photography and going back to my previous job, which was in accounting. Thankfully though, a few months after settling in, a client contacted me for some holiday pictures which resulted in our very first Christmas Minis!
Another challenge that I would face every now and then really is time. The job does not stop right after doing the photoshoot. Then comes the process of editing and delivering these pictures to our clients. I edit the pictures myself and each picture takes a lot of time – I value the quality the most in my pictures and so I do not mind taking up a long time editing each picture – it’s just that sometimes I wish we can have more than 24 hours per day!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I am a photographer based in San Antonio, Texas. I take pictures in Bexar County and surrounding areas. I offer a variety of photography services that are absolutely great for any family occasion there is.
We offer maternity, newborn, monthly milestones, and watch me grow sessions; we also have quinceanera and senior sessions; college graduation, professional headshots, engagement, and family sessions; lastly, we also offer solo portraits for any occasion for our clients, and pet photography (we love our furry clients, as well!). Aside from these sessions, we do seasonal mini sessions (they usually have a duration of 10 minutes) for different occasions such as Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s, and Back-to-School.
What I believe sets us apart is our prices. We want to stay affordable because we understand the conflict of wanting to record every moment you have with your family yet being unable to do so because of the high price. It’s one of the joys I experience now in life whenever my daughter would point at each picture on her wall (we have arranged an Instagram wall in her bedroom where a collection of all her pictures when she was younger are posted on the wall) and ask about the story behind that picture.
She is just 10 years old now but we cannot wait to accumulate more pictures until she’s older.
Any big plans?
One of the things I am very much looking forward to doing is going back to covering weddings. I am unsure yet of how soon this is going to happen – but we will definitely keep our clients updated for when we are ready to offer this!
Also, I aspire to start teaching photography in the future. It’s still a little bit far off but this is definitely a part of my career plan as a professional photographer.
Pricing:
- Newborn Photography – $250 (plus tax) for 15 edited digital pictures plus black & white edits. 2-hour session and includes up to 5 family members.
- Maternity Session – $175 (plus tax) for 15 edited digital pictures plus black & white edits. 45-minute session and includes up to 5 family members.
- Senior Sessions – starts at $150 (plus tax) for 10 edited digital pictures. 30-minute session and good for 1 outfit only.
- Solo Sessions – starts at $100 (plus tax) for 10 edited digital pictures, and the session lasts up to 30 minutes.
- Family Sessions – starts at $125 (plus tax) for families of 2-5. Includes 10 edited digital pictures and the session lasts up to 30 minutes. (NOTE: We accept families of up to 29 members)
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: honeyletphotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/honeyletphotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HoneyletPhotography
