Today we’d like to introduce you to Joanne Barratt.
Hi Joanne, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I have been a Professional Photographer for 20+ years now. I started my business shortly after my daughter Jordyn was born so that I could be home with her and work around her schedule. I raised her as a Solo Parent on the North Shore of O`ahu in the surfing mecca of Haleiwa.
I ran my business out of my home studio and my main focus has always been on Kids and Families. Most of my clients wanted Tropical beach photos so that became my specialty.
My daughter grew up as a Surfer so I did lots of photos of her both in the water and on land. When they built a skatepark just down from our house she fell in love with Skateboarding. By the time she was finishing up Middle School we were constantly flying to California for her competitions that she was doing really well in. We decided to move to Southern California when she was 13 so that she could skate more and be mentored by legends in the sport like Bucky Lasek , Tony Hawk and Steve Caballero.
We packed all of our things up and moved across the ocean to Encinitas, a place we had never really been but always heard that it was the hub of Skateboarding. I re-started my business up here and had a studio on Cedros in Solana Beach for many years until the building closed down during Covid.
San Diego has been a really great place for us, Jordyn was doing well in Professional events and then became one of the first females to Skate in the Olympics in Tokyo. My business started growing as I took on more work while still having my main focus on Kids and their Families.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being a solo female business owner is never easy and I dont know any business owner who would ever say its a smooth road but for me it was still the only thing I wanted to do. Photography has been my passion since I was a little kid and while making a living at it was becoming more challenging since everyone started having a camera in their pocket with smart phones, I couldnt think of anything else that would be fulfilling for me.
Running a small business requires wearing many hats whether you want to not! You have fill every role including marketing, book keeping, customer service, graphic designer and many other things on top of doing the main job of being the Photographer.
There are always many struggles along the way with getting established and keeping a new business running and doing it in a new town where you don’t know anybody just complicates it a bit more.
I don’t really mind the challenges of it all but some days are definitely harder than others. You learn to just take it one day at a time and keep building on what you have been doing. The end goal is always making a your clients happy and when they love the work you have produced for them, it makes it all worth while.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I never tire of making photos and truly enjoy my work every day. I am so grateful to be able to say that because I know is not something that a lot of people feel about their jobs.
Every time I pick up my camera I get excited for what I get to go create. I have fun making photos and at the end of the sessions my clients often talk about what a great time it was. Even the Dads who sometimes come to the sessions reluctantly leave saying they had fun.
My goal is to always make my clients feel comfortable and that working with me is stress free. It all starts with a phone call to discuss their vision and what is important to them. We talk about plans for the photos and where the images will hang so that we can make something that goes well with their home decor. Then we get to work with Styling what they will wear. If someone wants to dress up that is great and if they want to stay very casual that is also great, I always want the images to feel authentic to them. Some need me to help them through the whole process and I am happy to do that. I am always here to offer as much or as little help as they need.
My favorite subjects have always been kids and dogs along with their families. My sessions are all about having fun and interacting with each other in a playful and loving way. I love capturing Motherhood stories and know that the images I create will be cherished for many years and that the kids in them will one day show them to their own children.
My work makes me most proud when my clients see their images for the first time and they cry happy tears. It is also incredibly rewarding to walk into a long time clients home and see my work all over their walls and know that the stories these images tell are meaningful to everyone in the family and to future generations.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I am a beach person so I would say I like the beaches best. I also love the big variety of restaurants and cafes and of course the best Mexican food in the country!
The only thing I don’t like about living here is the weather – I know that’s weird since everyone says we have the best weather but for me it always feels so dry! I miss having rainy days especially in the summer and I love a good thunder storm which doesn’t happen often here!
Oh and snakes… I dont like that there are snakes here and I always worry about them when I go on hikes! Hawaii has no snakes at all so when we first moved here we were really freaked out by them!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.JoanneBarratt.com
- Instagram: @JoanneBarratt_photo
- Facebook: Joanne Barratt
Image Credits
All photos copyright by Joanne Barratt
