About Paige

Paige Anderson Photography offers photography sessions for all stages of motherhood, from maternity through to family sessions. She is based in West Sussex in her cosy, Billingshurst photography studio or outside in the surrounding countryside. She focus’ on capturing the most important details of families and newborns to be pass down and to be cherished forever by the families.

Describe your photography style in 3 words: 

Neutral, timeless, calm

How did your photography journey begin:

It all began when I was just 13 years old! I got a camera for Christmas from my lovely grandma and I fell in love and captured everything. At school I was that girl constantly taking photos of everyone. I went on to study it at A level and at University. After graduating I wasn’t sure what job I wanted to do but I knew deep down I wanted to carry on with my photography. My mum then had a baby when I was 21 and I started to photograph him along with my other siblings. Quickly realised I could do this for a living and that’s when Paige Anderson Photography began. I bring that big sister energy to my sessions in a caring and playful way, encouraging children to play and be part of the process. Capturing childhood is something I really value because I know how fast it goes having seen my siblings grow so quickly. I want to capture it quick before they grow up and are way too cool for photos.

What was your biggest struggle in your business journey?

My biggest struggle at the start was not knowing if everything I was doing was ok and feeling a bit lost. Something I think a lot of people resonate with. I struggled going from full time employment with a boss to help navigate the way, to being my own boss and making my own decisions. I love direction and needed a push. That’s when I started to invest in mentoring and workshops. Attending lots of workshops and one to one mentoring really helped and gave me the push. Honestly I can’t recommend it enough.

I attended the first Gather to Grow event, 3 months after quitting my full-time job to focus on my business and it gave me the final push I needed. The event left me feeling inspired and eager to start putting in the work! I felt at ease knowing what needed to be done to keep my bookings up. Over a year later, I am still using the information I learnt every day to keep me on track. It was one of the best investments I made for my business.

How do you balance a busy business whilst taking care of your mental health and avoiding burn out?

I still struggle with this and I’m still trying to find the perfect balance (if that exists!). I have to be quite strict on myself and treat my week like a normal working week. To keep a work life balance I work 10-4 each day and I only work 2 out of 4 Saturdays a month. If I do work on a Saturday I will usually have the following Monday off. I also ensure I schedule in holiday like an employed person would too. When I first started, I didn’t do any of this, and I burnt out quickly.

That being said, if I feel burnt out creeping in midweek I will give myself a day off if needed. It’s all about balance.

What inspires your creativity:

Time off and putting my phone down!

I always notice I’m the most creative after I have had a break from photographing and scrolling on Instagram. After taking a break from things outside of my business, I come back completely refreshed and this is usually when I’m the most creative.

Do you have any words of wisdom for anyone at the beginning of their business journey? 

Just start. If I could go back and do anything different it would be to just photograph absolutely everything and go for it. Rather than analysing and overthinking everything before putting myself out there.

I strongly recommend investing in a photography education such as a mentor and of course a workshop like Gather to Grow!

How do you keep yourself on track and organised?

I have started to have a set routine for each day of the week, for example Wednesdays are my editing days and I only focus on editing that day. I find this helps me focus on one task at a time rather than trying to tick everything off at once. It also helps spread out the work which then avoids me feeling burnt out in the long run.

What is your favourite tool/system/software that keeps you on track?

I use Trello and it’s amazing.

I have a board for everything in my life such as business, wedding planning, my house cleaning – you name it! Highly recommend if you are a visual organiser.

When you’re not working, what are you doing?

 Watching a binge worthy series… something like vampire diaries for the 100^th time!

What are you listening to whilst you’re editing?

I love a podcast! Either to do with wedding planning or photography.

What is your favourite pizza topping? 

MAJOR pizza lover. Pepperoni and cheese. Obsessed.

What’s in your bag:

I’m a Nikon girl!

• Camera: Nikon D750
• Lenses: Nikon 50mm 1.8, Nikon 40mm 2.8 & Nikon 35mm 1.8, Nikon 24-70mm 2.8
• Spare batteries
• SD Cards
• Backup camera: Nikon D3400 (my first camera!)

Where can we find you?

Instagram: @paigeandersonphotography

Website: www.paigeandersonphotography.co.uk