Many boys dream of working for a professional sports team like The Colts. After graduating from college, Nathan Siner got a job doing just that. When he took the dream position, it's doubtful he ever considered leaving the job to be a professional photographer. And if someone had told him he would leave his job in sports administration to take pictures of women in poofy white dresses and teenagers in their senior year, laughter would most certainly fill the room. Yet, here he is. Nathan has found such success in wedding photography and capturing senior portraits. Three years ago, his wife, Ashley, left her career in cosmetology to be a full-time photographer right alongside her husband. Now the pair successfully run The Siners Photography.

It all started about 7 years ago on a cruise to Alaska when Nathan fell in love with photography. “Nathan had a point and shoot camera at the time and came home with a desire to start shooting and his entrepreneurial spirit led him to start a business about a year later! It has been so helpful to have the business and marketing background. Also, with Ashley's hair and makeup background, we include hair and makeup into all of our Engagement Sessions and Senior Sessions…our clients love this personal touch and added benefit that we offer!”

While we have had other power couples grace the pages of this blog, Nathan's and Ashley's story is unique in their desire not only to preserve the details of the wedding day, but above all “to transport you back to the feelings, the love, the joy that the day represented.” They convey this with their clients on their newly designed Showit site. “We are just so excited that this website really lets people inside our brand and get a behind the scenes look into who “The Siners” are and what we believe in…a husband and wife team living the beautiful reality of two becoming one.
We shoot for the vow. We shoot for the promise of forever LOVE.”

While their site really allows you to understand the couple and their creative business, their brand didn't emerge overnight. “After being in business for five years now, we finally feel like we have come into our own and know who we are as photographers. I think most photographers start their business and expect their style, brand and overall theme of their business to just come to them instantly…it's so hard to be patient as a new photographer. It took us almost 3 years though to really figure out who we were and what our “style” was.” With the help of the GOLiveHQ template LAMODE as a starting platform for their new site, they were able to hone in on that style and brand they had spent so long refining.

Patience seemed to be one of the hardest lessons the Siners learned while starting their own business. Clearly, it paid off, but it was not an easy lesson. “It is so hard. Starting a business takes time and hard work and you learn so much from mistakes, successes and experiences. You need patience in your learning curve which comes from experience. You need patience in your style & brand and this comes from trial and error with editing and shooting different styles of weddings and seeing which ones inspire you and make you excited to shoot. You need patience with increase of pricing…if you raise your pricing too quickly you will loose referrals. This is extremely hard for those with a quicker learning curve because you might feel like your work “deserves” more money earlier, but you have to be patient and slowly raise your prices over time. This is one of those things that is so much easier said than done…trust us! haha We felt like toddlers throwing fits because we just wanted success overnight…but patience is a virtue and will pay off in the end.”Ashley and Nathan believe patience is a key element in their success. However, with mentors and leaders to look to within the industry, they were able to be much more patient with themselves. “First and foremost, we wouldn't be where we are today without the help, inspiration and love from Bob & Dawn Davis Photography! They have stood by our side from the beginning, cheering us on and encouraging us every step of the way. Bob's lighting techniques completely changed our business and took us to the next level! They are amazing people and we are so thankful for their mentorship and friendship!” Katelyn James, The Youngrens, and Michael Carr have also been creatives the Siners are able to look to and be inspired by. “We have found that having mentors or others who have gone before you that you can text, email or call to get advice or just encouragement from has made our path a lot easier and kept us from making some of the mistakes we would have if not for these leaders in the industry.“

You can continue to follow The Siners through their website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts. If you want to follow them individually, they invite you to check out behind the scenes of juggling their life with two kids and running a small business with Ashley and Nathan.

If you would like to share your story, we would love to hear it. Just drop us a line.

Cassandra Campbell

Casandra is a born and bred East Coaster who finds herself braving the heat of the Valley of the Sun with her husband and three cute kids all for the love of Showit.