Life & Work with Abby Williams

Today we’d like to introduce you to Abby Williams.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started my photography journey in 2015, my husband, son and I had just relocated from the Midwest to the Raleigh area. Shortly after we moved here, our son was diagnosed with a very serious rare medical condition, and I found myself a newly stay at home mom juggling his medical appointments. Over the course of his treatment, at times, our son would spend upwards of 15 hours a day sleeping, and to keep my mind busy I discovered photography as an outlet.

The more I learned about photography, the more I found myself uncovering this hidden passion. Over the years, our family continued to grow and I became invested in documenting my children as they grew and made their own discoveries. My children will no doubt say that I am *that* mom who brings my camera to everything! After a few years of learning photography, learning my camera and practicing on family and friends, in 2019 I decided to open my business as a family and children lifestyle photographer. At the end of 2019, I decided to branch into newborn photography as well and I now offer both lifestyle and in studio newborn sessions.

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?
These past few years have definitely been eye-opening how much is required to legally open a business and set it up for success. The complexities are far greater than I could have first imagined and in today’s world of social media and algorithms, marketing is something that has been and continues to be a challenge for me.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in lifestyle family and children photography as well as both in studio and lifestyle newborn photography. I commonly describe lifestyle photography as capturing a family interacting with each other while I give the family prompts or ‘tasks’ to do to promote a fun session. For example, a family with young children may get a task that has to do with tickling the kids by surprise. I am then able to capture an authentic laugh from the kids who can sometimes be my toughest subjects. I strive to make my clients feel as comfortable as possible in front of the camera, which is why I love the candid style Lifestyle photography offers. I adore working with children and find their honesty to be very humbling and fun, I have no problem making silly noises to get a child’s attention or talk Paw Patrol to earn their rapport. I truly value each and every one of my clients, so during my sessions, if I ask what your summer plans are or if you have seen the newest Netflix movie, it’s because I genuinely want to know! I am known for creating a laidback environment during my sessions while being able to deliver beautiful photos. Photography has always been part-time for me, I take a limited number of clients every month which allows me the capacity to be very responsive to my families and their sessions and ensure I’m able to give 110% to each client.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I feel like this is a tough question for me, if my son had never been diagnosed, I don’t know that I ever would have found how much I love doing photography. So I’m not sure, is that good luck or bad luck?

Discovering photography aside, I have been incredibly lucky to have some amazing photographer friends who have helped guide me over the last few years. Without their guidance, I honestly don’t know that I would be where I am now.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.maewilliamsphotography.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/maewilliamsphotography
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/maewilliamsphotography