What happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas. Not when the Pounds team hits town. Our Marketing and Sales Manager Raquel Bowles tells all!

POUNDS: How many years has the Pounds team been attending WPPI?
RAQUEL: This is Pounds’ fifth year attending WPPI.

POUNDS: What made this year great?
RAQUEL: This year was great because we had the chance to spend time with existing customers but to also meet some new,exciting and interesting photographers.

POUNDS: What were the highlights?
RAQUEL: Watching photographers learn from our speakers. We want to educate photographers to grow their businesses so we pick speakers who can do that.  We actually had photographers that were working in other labs’ booths come over to learn from us!  Everyone loved wavy metal. We had so many photographers talking about it.

POUNDS: When you go to trade shows like this what do you learn that helps you do a better job for your clients?
RAQUEL: The feedback is phenomenal.  It is our chance to spend time with existing customers to learn what they like or don’t like.  We also get the opportunity to learn from new photographers what products they are looking for.

POUNDS: What sort of customer input and response did you get?
RAQUEL: The speakers were a big hit. We also found that our customers are very excited about how the lab is growing. Our existing clients are happy because, as we grow, we are able to offer more products. New clients are not only excited about our products, but our ability to streamline their work flow and present marketing solutions to build their business. We always hear about our great customer service and that is extremely gratifying because customer service—giving our clients more––is the heart of what we do.

See pictures on our Facebook page.

Brandi Nellis makes you smile. She also might make you jump, swing, dance, run, hang upside down or stand on your head, but you’ll be smiling the whole time.

This Austin based photographer has been shooting pictures since she was a kid and started her first professional studio eleven years ago.

She has a way of looking at the world with a different eye, a definite attitude and a dash of genius!

POUNDS: What inspired you to become a photographer?
BRANDI: Like a lot of photographers, photography has been a hobby and a passion since I was a little girl.  I knew from an early age that I wanted to own my own company and work for myself. Bottom line, what really inspired me to become a photographer was that I wanted to make money doing a job that I absolutely love.

POUNDS: What’s the best thing about it?
BRANDI: The best thing about being a photographer is that exact moment when you know you just got “the money shot.” I can call the shot every time.

POUNDS: How has your idea of “being a photographer” changed since you’ve been in business?
BRANDI: To be “a photographer” sounds so easy and fun. “Let’s go take some photos!”  However, I learned quickly that I had to be a marketing director, an accountant, a Photoshop and social media guru, a delivery and pickup driver, a video maker and oh we can’t forget, a comedian during the shoots. Yes, my idea of “being a photographer” has TOTALLY changed since I’ve been in business!

POUNDS: Has being a mom changed your way of shooting?
BRANDI: Yes, being a mom has helped me to relate to kids so much better and easier.

POUNDS: Tell us about your branding strategy.
BRANDI: I wish I had a great answer or 12 step program for this but I don’t.  I get ideas in the most random places and times…in the middle of the night, driving in my car, the shower and most recently watching the weatherman! Most of all, I really just want my photography business to be different and offer some fresh ideas.

POUNDS: Do you have a sort of “mission statement” about your photography business that makes you want to leap out of bed each day?
BRANDI: First of all, I NEVER leap out of bed.  I am not a morning mama! I don’t have an official mission statement but if I had to give one off the cuff I’d say I want to give clients happy, colorful & quirky imagery that they can cherish for life.

POUNDS: Where do you hope to be in ten years (yeah, we know, the beach!)
BRANDI: The beach is right! I guess 10 years from now I’d love to own a jazzy little studio with a really fun team of employees.

POUNDS: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given about business?
BRANDI: One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was that you don’t have to go out and spend thousands of dollars on new equipment to be a good photographer.  A good photographer can build a business on average equipment. I know because I have!

POUNDS: What do you tell young people today who come to you and say, “Gee I want to do what you do?”
BRANDI: Follow your dreams.  You can be anything you want to be.