Meet Maria Long | Photographer

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

Hi Maria, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I think relationship building and customer service strengths I possess that have been huge factors behind my success. It is extremely important to me that my clients walk away from a session experience feeling happy and optimistic. I consider their time valuable and try to make the most of it. I truly care about my clients, and they know it. Alot of my clients have become personal friends of mine, and it is just one of the bonuses of being present during so many important moments in their lives.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I think what sets me apart in the industry is that I truly get to know my clients and they trust me to capture and share their story. I always strive to make my clients feel incredibly important because they are! It’s important to me to know the reason behind the session whether it’s a newly engaged couple, or a mom whose never taken family photos, or a couple who has done IVF and is finally pregnant after much loss, or a new business owner excited to take on the world. I am invested in their stories, and I pray for those happy endings. I think something that also sets me apart is that I don’t see other photographers as competition, I try to encourage them and praise their work because I want them to succeed.

My background is teaching, I actually have a BS in education and was a teacher for many years. I quit my job when the music I wrote and recorded started to get radio play, and I traveled for a while with a band as a Christian Recording Artist. Music was most definitely one of my first passions, especially growing up in a musical family with my talented parents. When my husband and I decided to have a baby, our precious son Noah had complications, he was a preemie, and after all of that I just wanted to stay home with him. I stopped traveling and got a job leading worship locally at a church. Because I had quit doing music professionally, I really couldn’t afford a photographer when I had my son. So I didn’t get maternity or newborn photos, BUT I was determined to learn photography so I could take photos of my son. I taught myself and I honestly prayed to God for wisdom and guidance. I had friends who loved photography and would show me things here and there, and those little seeds definitely grew. It was a labor of love to learn and now I am just so happy that my husband supported me in taking that leap because I love what I do. People started noticing my work when my son modeled for instagram shops.
I would take all of his photos and I’m so glad we did it because I have so many treasured photos of Noah now.
From there my business grew organically with church friends, and then their friends, and now my business is really established. I have so many new clients each year that find me because my clients are INCREDIBLE and put my name out there to all of their friends and family. I get so many referrals and I just feel so grateful to God for putting such special clients in my life, so many have become friends. I get the sweetest messages from them about my work and that is EVERYTHING to me!

I think one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that social media is a vital part of my success. I’m not very techy but in order for me to reach clients I’ve had to learn things like making tik toks and reels and growing with technology and social media. I’ve also learned that my customer service skills are also crucial for maintaining clients and gaining new ones. I admit it is challenging to keep up with all the messages I get, whether it’s new inquiries, families asking for advice on clothing for their upcoming session, sending out client closet photos for my maternity clients, or helping a senior pick a location, there is a ton of multi tasking and communication involved. If I wasn’t an effective communicator this just wouldn’t work. I can’t tell you how many clients I have gotten just because my response back to them was done quickly. It is a BIG deal to people.

I think what I want the world to know about me as a creative is that I want them to leave their session smiling, that is so important to me. I don’t want someone leaving their session feeling like we didn’t get the shots. I love seeing their faces light up when I show them photos on my camera of their session. I always want to encourage them to do their best because I want the best from them. I literally want to love their photos just as much as my own family photos. I think most importantly people should know that this is deeper for me. I left an extremely rewarding career to do this, and this has to be deeper and rewarding for me too. When I see clients arrive possibly stressed from getting everyone ready, and then the look of joy and love when they leave, when I have clients send me baby photos once their baby arrives because they know I prayed for their pregnancy, or when a client shares the most personal story with me and says they trust me to share it : I know that this is what I’m supposed to be doing.

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.
So I love tacos, and one of my favorite places is Salsa Limon off University, I also LOVE this fairly new restaurant called Flowerchild which has lots of vegetarian and their taco salad, mashed potatoes and corn ribs are crazy good! Usually if I’m in grapevine I refer my clients to Moxies restaurant because it’s open late and every dish I’ve ever had there is AMAZING! My favorite food is Indian and Star of India in arlington is THE BEST! They are pretty much as authentic as it gets. Because I’m a photographer I enjoy hanging out at spots that are not super crowded like Rockledge Park during the week or Big Rocks in Glenrose. Every time I have a session at those two spots, I tell myself that I will go back and just write music and look at the view. I’ts so peaceful and beautiful.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to give any and all recognition and glory to God because He is most definitely the reason that I ever got into photography, and the reason I am any good at all. I pray for wisdom, and I still pray for Him to bless each and every session. My husband, Ryan was always so supportive from day 1 and encouraged me to keep growing and pursuing this passion.

Website: https://marialongphotography.mypixieset.com/

Instagram: @marialonglife

Facebook: facebook.com/marialongphotography

Youtube: marialongmusic

Other: tik tok : @marialonglife

Image Credits
Maria Long Photography