An unexpected career

“The key for me in the early days was never say no. You’ve always got to give it a crack.”

In a nutshell, that is how Georgia Quick built her photography business and last month the Georgia Paige Photography team celebrated a decade of capturing memories across the Limestone Coast.

From social photos at the city’s entertainment venues to family portraits, from weddings to real estate, from graduations to award ceremonies, Georgia has spent 10 years honing her craft, adding to her team and having built her business by being prepared to do anything and everything, she can now call the shots.

It was never meant to be her full time career.

It was simply a passion and became a way to earn money while she was studying but in the final year of her Vet Nurse course, Georgia discovered the unthinkable – she was allergic to cats and with that her path to a career in the veterinary science industry was over.

“In the early days I didn’t see it as a business,” Georgia said. “I started out taking photos at events mainly and then people started asking me for family portraits and it just went from there.”

It was a business built through word of mouth and her social media platforms and before long, sister Alex was also jumping behind the camera when her busy sister needed a hand to cover bookings.

“If it meant working seven days a week, I would do it,” Georgia said. “I didn’t have children or commitments like that so I was solely focussed on my work and I always had the support of my family.”

One of her first main gigs was working for Mac’s Hotel taking social shots on weekends and that went a long way to getting her name out there, while working alongside Frank Monger, with who she still does some work, also helped her gain valuable experience.

Weddings started to be part of her core business around two or three years in and it didn’t take long for her to implement sister Alex shadowing her.

“To have two shooters at one wedding has really helped with getting the best possible shots and getting every aspect of the day,” Georgia said.

It was then two years ago that real estate became a major part of her portfolio, first as a sub contractor and now working directly with agents.

The growth of the real estate work saw her able to add again to her team with a personal assistant – Demi De Jong – and that has been a life changing move.

“It means I can put all my energy into photography,” Georgia said.

And now she has built a reputation and has a diverse skill base, plus a team to back her up, she has evolved into someone who takes control about just what her schedule includes.

Alex, of course, has been a long time help, Demi is all about the logistics and administration and is now also learning the photography side of the business from Georgia, with fashion stylist and creative consultant Kellie Nobes taking care of the promotion and social media side of the business – showcasing what Georgia Paige Photography has to offer.

“I have learnt to stand up for myself, learning to value what I am worth,” she said. “This is a job and I have expenses and it took me a while to learn all of that and truly run the business as a business.”

Part of that means continuing to find new ways to stand out from the crowd and on the back of her successful foray into the world of real estate, she is now looking at home styling and lifestyle photography and she has her own property where she can facilitate the shoots.

Georgia loves that her business works across a number of photography styles.

“It keeps it interesting,” she said. “And you can’t rely on weddings. They only really happen in the summer season and you need to be working all year round so I am glad I have been able to find other ways to use my skills. You can’t stay stagnant. You have to keep challenging yourself and trying new things.”

One of those new things is videography – taking on the world of moving pictures to add to her still photography offerings.

Celebrating the 10 years in business was also a first for Georgia and she is glad she was talked into marking the milestone.

“I had never really celebrated my business or myself and it was also a way of giving back to my clients,” she said. “If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be where I am and I also think it has been part of learning to value myself and what I offer.”