Meet Misty Hoyt | Corporate Photographer

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

Hi Misty, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
Photography is less about the art & the science, which, of course, is absolutely necessary for professional portraits. However, in order to deliver what clients deserve, genuine & storytelling images are achieved through confidence & love. A great portrait and/or event photographer has a passion for people, which leads to falling in love with their clients’ stories & really caring about them and/or their companies. When this magic happens on the front end, clients literally fall in love with themselves. This confidence is captured in the camera, the final results are images that come to life. Photographers are also problem solvers & furniture movers. And that’s where the science & art come into play. If a photograph has instantaneously been achieved, the photographer did not do their job. It’s just not that simple.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Strategic planning & execution are not my strong suites, and I also don’t sweat the small stuff or even the big stuff, for that matter. Of course there have been challenges, but I wake up each day and tell myself, “Today is the day the Lord has made. Rejoice & be glad in it.” Our success journey was not written in a business plan or perfectly orchestrated in a spreadsheet. Instead, it started as a natural progression. Believe me, there are far better photographers out there than myself. Yet I have been in business for 18 years, while the average photography business survives a mere 3 years. I’d like to tell a little story about our team’s success: So back in the film days, clients would come up to me and say, “I heard you took portraits of Gina’s family and they turned out great.” I would smile and agree, yet I was thinking, “Gina hasn’t seen her family portraits. They are still being developed.” This would happen again and again. My clients loved their pictures before they even saw them. How could this be? I’m a little slow, and it took me years to solve the mystery. One day it just clicked and I was reminded of the Maya Angelou quote, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” To work for Photography by Misty, stagers, assistants, associate photographers and even editors need to be energized by interacting with people. And not just those in front of their camera, but even total and complete strangers. When we take the time to get to know our clients, their stories, their business and/or their products, we fall in love them. And they, in turn, fall in love with themselves. It’s only then can we create genuine photography.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There is so much goodness in DFW.. where to begin? We’d definitely need to take in a local performance. If our guests had children, we’d see something by North Texas Performing Arts or Outcry Theatre. If it was adults only, we’d head to Rover Dramawerks. One day, we’d head over to Legacy West in Plano, perusing the shops, getting a cupcake from the Sprinkles vending machine, and popping into Legacy Hall for a bite to eat and some live music. We’d spend an evening at Cowboys Headquarters in Frisco. I’m not a Cowboys fan, however I really admire players like Troy Aikman and Darren Woodson, and I enjoy perusing the area. The vibe there is so family friendly and a great place to people and hot-car watch. A visit to DFW would not be complete without heading to Downtown Dallas. I like the DART train, which is an adventure within itself. We’d go by Klyde Warren Park and act like children in all of its goodness. Then head over to Sammons Park’s Reflecting Pool in front of the Winspear Opera House (I never get tired of this area). The Ross Perot Museum is a must. We’d wrap up the day by going to St. Ann’s, s bougee little restaurant, which was built in 1927 as Dallas’s first Hispanic school. The icing on the cake for this little hot spot? It’s dinner and entertainment for the price of the food: sneak upstairs to visit the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Museum: The (ever-changing) Samurai Collection. Last, but not least, we would spend a day in Downtown McKinney, shopping, perusing, maybe catching a show at the old courthouse and definitely dining at the Hugs Cafe, where adults with special needs staff this non-profit. Oh wait… I think we’d have to venture to Dallas just one more time. Thanksgiving Square is a visual delight and a great hotpot for pictures. Then we’d head to Cafe Momentum, a nonprofit, which guides at-risk youths through culinary training so they can achieve a fresh start. The comfort of my home is relaxing, but I also love a great hotel, so we’d lay our heads at The Joule. The next morning, we’d peruse the Dallas Farmers Market & head home, stopping to get our Jesus in at Create Church in Richardson. So, when do you want to go play?

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
If we want to go way back, my high school yearbook & newspaper instructor Sherry Beck recognized my ability to tell stories in written form, which led to degrees in journalism and, in the last 21 years, my ability to capture people & business stories with my camera. Basically, it takes a village to create a successful business. However, if a business owner isn’t willing to be open, meet new people, listen to new ideas & invest in themselves & continuing education, opportunities will pass them by. It would take me a very long time to remember all the people, stories, books & podcasts which continue to lead me down this successful path. To summarize: Our community at St. Mark Catholic School in Plano believed in me before I believed in myself. My husband financially & emotionally afforded for me to start my business. My parents are phenomenal entrepreneurs & lead by extraordinary example. Gobbling up every morsel of knowledge, whether it be formal seminars, continuing education, paid business coaches, Audible books (I fall asleep reading anything except the Bible) & podcasts, and documenting the knowledge to be used when appropriate has, by far, been my greatest business resources. And the people: I grow both personally & in my business with each and every human interaction.

Website: https://PhotographyByMisty.com
Instagram: @photographybymistyco
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/photographybymisty/
Facebook: @PhotographyByMisty.co
Youtube: Photography by Misty

Image Credits
Christian via Photography by Misty, of course