The Alimond Show
Welcome to The Alimond Show --join us as we share our entrepreneurial guests' stories, uncover their secrets to success, and explore the unique paths they've taken to build thriving businesses in our community.
In each episode, our host, Aliyah Dastour, sits down with a diverse group of local business owners, from the corner cafe to the boutique shop, from tech startups to family-run enterprises. We peel back the curtain to reveal the trials, triumphs, and transformational moments that have shaped their entrepreneurial journey.
Discover the passion, perseverance, and innovative thinking that fuels these businesses, as well as the challenges they've overcome along the way. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur seeking inspiration or simply a curious listener interested in the stories behind your favorite local spots, The Alimond Show has something for everyone.
Our guests share their experiences, insights, and valuable advice that can empower you to turn your own dreams into reality. We discuss topics like marketing strategies, customer relationships, community engagement, and much more, offering practical takeaways you can apply to your own business or career.
Join us every week as we celebrate the unsung heroes of our local business community and explore the vibrant tapestry of entrepreneurship in our area. Tune in to The Alimond Show and get ready to be inspired, informed, and motivated to support and nurture the businesses that make our community thrive.
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The Alimond Show
Brii Dieter - Portrait Photographer & Founder of Brii Dieter Photography LLC
When was the last time you held a photo and felt the weight of its significance? Our latest conversation with portrait photographer extraordinaire Brii Dieter of Brii Dieter Photography LLC will remind you of the profound power behind every snapshot. Brii walks us through her impressive ten-year trek in the industry, from the cherished Canon Rebel camera gifted by her grandmother to the aspirational goals of opening her own studio. With an infectious passion, she unpacks the evolution of her brand through savvy social media strategies, her love for capturing life's key milestones, and the discerning eye that guides her wedding photography. Her reflections are a testament to the dedication and fervor that illuminate her work—a flame she's kindling in her young daughter’s heart.
Join us as we develop an appreciation for the timeless value of professional photography through Brii lens. For anyone starting in photography, Brii underscores the necessity of grasping the technical ropes and the importance of practice. More poignant, however, is her discourse on the emotional resonance of photographs. Brii eloquently illustrates how these captured moments transcend the quantifiable, serving as cherished heirlooms that bear witness to our lives. This episode is a tribute to the art form and a treasure trove of insights for both burgeoning and seasoned photographers. Find your frame, focus on the beauty of Brii art at Breedeater Photography, and let her story inspire you to see beyond the viewfinder.
For sure. My name is Brianna Dieter. I'm a photographer based in Hagerstown. My business is Bri Dieter Photography LLC, and I've been taking portraits for about 10 years now. It's actually my 10th year in business. Oh, congratulations.
Speaker 2:Thank you. How did you get into photography?
Speaker 1:Well, I've always been into photography. Since I was a kid, my grandmother actually bought me my first camera. I remember begging and begging and begging and begging for it, like I was like grandma. I'm sure this is what I want to do, cause you know it's an investment, you know, as as a child, but she, she came through and got me the camera and I've never put one down since. Oh, that's amazing. What was your first camera? It was a Canon Rebel, so kind of more of a starter camera. But I went to a Washington County Technical High School for photography and there I got a really good knowledge base and then I just took it the rest of the way by myself. You know, never stopped.
Speaker 2:Amazing. Probably started collecting lenses and building your equipment, yeah, like every gift was, you know, like something for my business.
Speaker 1:It was never like something for me. I was just kind of always trying to get something to build and grow. Yeah.
Speaker 2:What do you do to grow your business as far as marketing and advertising?
Speaker 1:A lot of social media. I'm on Google, you know. I just try to keep up with posting on all the different platforms. It's kind of a lot, but yeah, yeah, that's pretty much all I do, though.
Speaker 2:As far as marketing goes, yeah, um, how, um, how do you best do you get a lot of feedback when you post and, and? Is that how people are booking sessions?
Speaker 1:definitely people see other people's photos and they're like wow, wow, like I want to do that. That happens a lot.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah, yeah, it happens a good bit, so you went to school for photography.
Speaker 1:I did. Yeah, it was a high school, so you know it wasn't. You know the college education, but I took the my education further on my own.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's amazing. Yeah, yeah. What are your favorite sessions?
Speaker 1:Uh, really honestly, just general portraiture. My favorite, my ideal session would be, like you know, just a single child or siblings, or I really like to do pet photography, okay yeah, but I like to do, you know, general portraiture. I take on maybe three or four weddings a year. That's just not really my niche, but I do love weddings. It's just a humongous job. So I only take on a few so that I can focus on the portraits.
Speaker 2:That's great and what I mean. So if you had to pick between doing seniors or babies, what would be your favorite? That's hard.
Speaker 1:Both honestly. Seniors and babies are great, Two very different.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they are very different. That's I couldn, honestly. Seniors and babies are great. Two very different.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they are very different, that's, I couldn't even pick there.
Speaker 1:But if you said, if I had to choose between like weddings and seniors, I would pick seniors. Okay, yeah, but I still love weddings. It's just, you know, a huge commitment, yeah. And what about family photography? I love family portraits. That's lots of fun. And then, you know, you break the family down into the different groups and you'll get you know the individual shots as well, which is my favorite. My favorite is when I can just have one subject, but obviously that's not how it always works.
Speaker 2:No for sure. Yeah, you mentioned you have a one-year-old daughter.
Speaker 1:I do yeah.
Speaker 2:How does she feel about mommy taking pictures all the time?
Speaker 1:She doesn't seem to mind. I mean, she doesn't really know what's going on, yet she has a really great grandmother that she goes and hangs out with while I do my work. We call her Gigi, yeah, so she's with Gigi and she doesn't mind that. Yet she really loves her Gigi, so she's happy to go with her. As far as taking the photos goes, like she's pretty into it, does she? Yeah, and she knows to click the button. I set her on my lap to take a photo with her and my camera the other day and she put her finger right on the button, so she knew exactly what to do yeah, I think she's been watching me more than I've realized with the photography.
Speaker 2:I'm sure yeah, so you said you've been doing this for 10 years. Yes, ma'am Started when I was 16. That's amazing. Where do you see the future of your business going?
Speaker 1:I would just. I really like what I'm doing with my business now. If anything, I would just like to grow. I don't have a studio at this time. I utilize rentals, you know, because where we live it's pretty nice outside most of the year and a lot of the things that I do are outside. I would like to have a studio someday, but it's not something that's, you know, super urgent for me.
Speaker 2:Because, if I need one, there are some really awesome studios and some people that I know. You know I can just use theirs.
Speaker 1:It's good, it's good to have friends in good places, right For sure, for sure.
Speaker 2:And you said you're located in Hagerstown. Is that correct?
Speaker 1:Yep and I do travel. A lot of my clientele comes from Frederick. Then I also have a lot of clients from Pennsylvania.
Speaker 2:Oh good, and you'll travel to them, they come to see you. Yep, vice versa. Whichever, whichever works. What do you find most rewarding about photography?
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, it's the fact that the images last forever. You know it's, it's just they're forever. It's incredible to me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's amazing to have um to produce something that will live on past you Right, and something that will live on past you Right, and something that somebody can cherish so much.
Speaker 1:You know, it's actually really incredible to be trusted, you know, say, to photograph a child. You know the parent is trusting me to capture their child and I know that these images will carry for their whole life.
Speaker 2:So it's like wow, yeah, they'll be showing at their weddings when they get older, right? It's actually quite the honor. Yeah, it is quite the honor. It's a good way to. It's a good way to say that For sure. Yeah, Are you looking to grow your business and bring on more people? Are you happy with the way it's running right now?
Speaker 1:I'm happy with how it's running right now. I'm always happy to have more clients. Taking photos is actually my favorite thing to do, you know, besides work, so I'm always happy to have another session, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's great. And you said are you booking a lot right now for?
Speaker 1:spring. Yeah, definitely, definitely. Things are really rolling. When spring comes, in the wintertime, I do a lot of business. I do do some business work, branding and things like that. I photograph some products. You know, in the wintertime is when I would have the most studio rentals, so I do many sessions during the winter and stuff like that, but it's just not quite as busy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we all understand that yeah. It's cold out. Everybody wants to go inside and hibernate. I want to hibernate too. Yes and no one wants to get their photos done so it's a good way to draw them out during that time of year? For sure, certainly, yeah, tell me a little bit more about you. Said you picked this up when you were 16. Yes, what really like inspired you 16.
Speaker 1:Yes, what really like inspired you? Oh, my goodness, I I actually okay. So the photography. I actually was into videography first as a child. Um, I wanted to be a videographer and I, somewhere along the line it it just turned into photography. But I as a kid, um, I was always so into it, me and my friend, we had our own web show. You know, like, when we were like far too small to, you know, produce anything but stuff like that, like I was always making a movie or always doing some sort of little project on my own, you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what advice would you give for other photographers that are looking to get into the business?
Speaker 1:Not to give up. It gets really easy to think like, hey, this isn't going to work, like I'm going to give up, but you literally just have to keep pushing, even when it feels like it might not be worth it. Or you feel like you're not being seen or heard, because that's how you establish yourself. You know you have to start somewhere, yeah. So, even if it doesn't feel like the best thing to do, I don't know. I just kind of blanked.
Speaker 2:What keeps you? What keeps you motivated?
Speaker 1:Definitely my daughter. And then the reactions of my clients. You know, when they love their photos, it just means the world to me. You know some of the feedback that I get. I just read it over and over again and I'm like, wow, okay, that's why I do this, because you know I'm working, you know a business owner, I'm working at 2 am, I'm working at 2 pm. It never ends, you know.
Speaker 2:I totally understand that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if I didn't have something to do, I can make something up quick.
Speaker 2:Yes, to keep yourself busy, Certainly there's always something to do. Yeah. Do you have advice for other photographers that are looking to get into the business? As far as marketing and advertising, you said you do a lot of social media. Is there anything else you do?
Speaker 1:Creating connections with you know business owners and people around you. Another way that it goes is word of mouth. You know somebody has a really good experience and then they do tell others about you and of course your photos speak for themselves. So if somebody sees you know their friend got some photos done that they really love. You never know who might come to you next. Yeah, so really for people who are just starting out, I would say, get out there and shoot and practice and learn and put something out there, but make sure that you know you know kind of a little bit about what you're doing technically with the camera oh, for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it makes a big difference, right?
Speaker 1:yeah, for sure I think that you need a base, education or knowledge on how to actually take the photos, which you can learn on your own. You can, but it's important to at least have a technical base and be comfortable behind the camera before you start.
Speaker 2:Yeah, how do you make people, how do you make your clients understand the value of professional photography? That's a hard one.
Speaker 1:Either they do or they don't. Yes, so I mean, you know, the lowest session that I have is $300. That's, you know, the smallest package and people pay over that to get their hair done and that lasts for a couple weeks a month.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I mean like it really depends on the person, but to me what holds the value the most is those pictures last forever. You know I've taken the last photo of somebody's grandmother. I mean that's worth. You couldn't even put a price on that it is. It's priceless Right. So to me, you know, it's all. It's all how somebody looks at things.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Well. Thank you for coming in today. Is there any last words you'd like to leave our listeners with?
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for having me. I can be found under all social media as Breedeater Photography and you can catch me at wwwbreedeaterphotographycom.
Speaker 2:Perfect. Thank you so much for coming in today.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having me, of course.