Check Out Beth Hawkes’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Beth Hawkes

Hi Beth, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
During my time in college getting a BFA in acting from UNC School of the Arts, I would experiment with my DSLR and 35mm film cameras by taking headshots for my classmates and candid photos of us in class and around campus. I always knew it was something I had an eye for and genuinely loved, but was so laser focused on my acting career that I never considered it to be a potential career path. When Covid hit and the entertainment industry shut down, I moved back to my hometown to stay with my parents for awhile and sat restless faced with the daunting question that everyone else in the business contemplated: what else do I have? Immediately photography popped into my head and I used my stimulus check to upgrade my gear and taught myself as much as I could with online classes and resources. I built out my website and started to build my portfolio with socially distanced outdoor shoots with the few friends I had from high school who had come back to stay during the pandemic as well. I moved back to LA and hit the ground running offering free shoots and scouting studio spaces, and slowly started to get inquiries from friends, then friends of friends, then complete strangers, and the rest is history.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Owning and operating your own business is never an easy thing and has been an up and down ride since the beginning. I’ve had moments where I’m fiercely motivated to advertise and experiment, and moments where I’ve let it lie dormant while I pursued other things briefly. It requires a massive amount of self discipline when there’s no one but yourself holding you accountable, and I’ve struggled with being a one-woman show and feeling overwhelmed at all I have on my to do list. There’s also imposter syndrome that creeps in since I’m self-taught and do this job in a city with an already saturated market, but I always come back to the fact that my work speaks for itself and I offer an experience that is not only fun in the moment but also produces a great result, and I have all the time in the world to accomplish everything I want to.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a portrait and event photographer, specializing in editorial-style portraits for actors to supplement their portfolios. As an actor myself auditioning in the business, I noticed that there weren’t any accessible photographers that offered photo shoots beyond commercial and theatrical headshots, so I decided to create the solution myself and be the very photographer I was looking for. I’m known for having a fun and upbeat environment during shoots and hyping up my clients as we shoot together, because everyone looks their best when they’re comfortable, feeling their best, and having fun. My photos have been used in a huge variety of ways by my clients; whether it’s to pitch to new representation, beef up websites and imdb profiles, podcast cover photos, new unique headshots that catch the eye or make it look like they were featured in a magazine or print job, I’m constantly getting emails from clients and representatives telling me how useful the photos are and how I’ve captured people’s authenticity and essence.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Get the plane off the runway. Anything you create is going to evolve and grow and get better as you get better, so start now, start messy, and fix things as you go. I probably could have started my business a lot earlier if I wasn’t afraid of failing and being perceived in any way, but once I learned that it doesn’t have to be a perfect polished finished project to launch, it gave me a lot of freedom emotionally and mentally to change what I needed to change in real time. And also (and maybe more importantly): keep going.

Pricing:

• Pricing ranges from $185-$800 for shoots and events. (you can share this with readers)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mariposapics.com
• Instagram: @mariposa.pictures

Image Credits
Mariposa Pictures