Today we’d like to introduce you to Zeena Gregg.
Hi Zeena, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I never intended to become a photographer, it just happened. I got my degree in Psychology from SDSU with the intention of going to law school and pursuing a career in the FBI. I attended law school at Cal Western for one year and after finding out that my vision would be an issue in the FBI, decided that law school wasn’t for me. I worked in the legal field for a few years, then in Human Resources for 15 years. I bought a digital slr camera when our kids started playing soccer so I could photograph them. That led to taking classes at the local adult school, practicing on friends, family and co-workers and being asked to photograph a wedding (a friend of a co-worker). I had recently watched an episode of Oprah that was all about the Secret and the law of attraction and having recently put photography related thoughts out to the universe said yes to photographing the wedding even though I was terrified. I bought an expensive camera, practiced on many more friends and neighbors, shot the wedding a few months later and decided that since I had a portfolio should pursue photography on the side. From a business perspective, I did everything wrong for the first two years until I attended some classes offered through WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International). From there, I slowly started building my business and learning what I needed to know. As my kids got older I discovered I really enjoyed working with high school seniors and did my best work when working with one person and really getting to know them, getting them to relax and enjoy the experience. Over the years I have photographed newborns, events, headshots, families, seniors and underwater sessions. These days I prefer to focus on seniors, families and underwater photography.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As a psychology major, I never took any business classes such as accounting or marketing so those have always been more of a struggle for me. The industry is constantly changing and growing so you have to really keep up with technology, invest in the newest equipment and continue to improve your skills and knowledge to stay competitive. It was also hard learning to be the one who wears all the hats without the support of other team members.
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 specialize in high school seniors, families and underwater photography. I really understand posing and working with clients to get them to relax and look natural in front of the camera. I offer a full experience to my clients including meeting them in person to plan their session in terms of location, clothing and props as well as after their session to help them select and narrow down images that they want to order. I’ve also been doing underwater photography for the past 6 years which I enjoy as each session is truly unique and the resulting images are artistic, whimsical and sometimes magical. One of the other things that sets me apart is that we have created an outdoor studio area on our property with a variety of backdrops including a bridge, an outdoor locker room, a rustic wood wall, and more. Although I do many sessions on location I also offer a variety of mini sessions and cap and gown sessions on the property.
I wanted to include some information about my new business, Max My Miles. My husband and I started traveling more after Covid as we discovered that we had earned the Southwest Companion Pass mostly due to spending money on our credit card for a large home remodel. We took advantage of the fact that we had accumulated several hundred thousand miles and we had the pass. We started traveling to some of SW international destinations and because of my flexible schedule started going with my husband on his works trips since my flight and hotel were free. After the first year, I figured out the best way to keep earning the companion pass and eventually decided that I needed to learn how to get free hotels too. I spent hours and hours researching and watching videos online until people started asking me to teach them what I knew. Last year, booked over 13K in hotel rooms for under $1,700 and points. We spent almost 2 weeks on a family trip to India (the primary purpose was to take our youngest who was adopted from there 22 years ago). This year I booked a 3 night trip to New Orleans where both hotel and flights were free ($22 in taxes) and I just booked a trip to meet a friend in Europe for 9 nights (3 in Paris and 6 in Malta) that is worth $6,700 and my out of pocket will be $883. I currently offer in person classes to teach people the basics of how this all works, which credit cards to get and how to earn and redeem points for the best value. I will be offering zoom classes in the near future. I also offer individualized coaching which is good for people who need help figuring things out and especially for people who already have points out there but no idea how to use them.
How do you think about happiness?
Figuing things out, traveling, reading, tropical waters, earning lots of credit card points, spending time with family and friends, entertaining,
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.zeenagregg.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/zeenagreggphotography
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/zeenagreggphotography
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zeena-gregg-7939422/
- Other: https://www.maxmymiles.com
