Meet Brooke Forbus | Photographer

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

Hi Brooke, what do you attribute your success to?
I think about this often actually. First and foremost, I want to express to anyone reading, that success isn’t just about making a lot of money. Success is what you define it to be for you. Success looks and feels different for everyone and my hope is that we start changing the hustle culture narrative of working around the clock to get to a certain level before we can claim “success”. Create goals that aren’t centered around a monetary figure, instead set goals for what you want success to look like in your life. Build a series of small steps to achieve those goals. To answer the question directly, the most important factor behind my business is me. While that may sound conceited, I don’t mean it that way. Portrait Photography is an art that tells a story through a still image. To get that magical still, it requires attention and trust throughout the entire process. To help my clients feel comfortable in front of the camera, they have to feel comfortable with me. Otherwise, neither one of us is going to receive the experience we rightfully deserve. More than that, my goal is to help people feel that their story is worth sharing in whichever way they’d like.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a portrait photographer. My niche has evolved from wedding photography to empowering boudoir photoshoots. It hasn’t been an easy road and what I’ve recently discovered is that the more your business grows, the harder it gets to reach the next level. I started out as a Special Education Teacher while practicing photography on the side as a hobby/side business. After 4 years of teaching and struggling with the broken system of education, I decided to take a leap of faith and pursue photography as a full-time photographer. Since then, financial success has looked like a roller coaster. Some months I cried in worry and other months I cried out of gratitude. To be honest, it still is that way, but the good months ride out a little longer. My business growth has taken longer than many others in my industry and that’s okay. I’m still finding out what works for me and accepting that has helped me enjoy my job even more.

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.
I love Dallas! In fact, my husband and I sold our house in 2021 and decided to go live in downtown to explore our own city. We love hanging out at coffee shops- our favorites are White Rhino Coffee and The Wild Detectives.

We travel a lot, so my best advice for visiting any city to be to wonder around. Don’t get caught up in checking off everything on your list. While visiting Dallas, take a day to visit each district. Do some shopping, get some good food and drinks and take all the photos you want. Deep Ellum, Bishop Arts and Downtown are our favorites. You won’t go wrong spending a day in each of those areas.

Personally, I love studying the Kennedy family, so I find the 6th Floor Museum and memorials to be incredibly interesting. Stand in the Grassy Knoll and let your mind wonder about history and if things had happened differently. Where would we be?

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My husband and best friend (Chris and Andrus). They have encouraged me every step the way, even during the times I felt like giving up, they stayed by my side.

Website: www.silvastills.com

Instagram: @silvastills @silvastills.boudoir @brookeforbus

Facebook: women only facebook group- @silvastillsbabes Facebook page: @silvastills

Other: We are hosting a women’s retreat and would love that to be highlighted! https://www.silvastills.com/womens-self-love-retreat

Image Credits
All images are mine except the photo of me. The photo of me was taken by Bruna Kitchen.