“A lot of us work alone.”
Mary Fisk-Taylor and Kira Derryberry host the podcast “Get Your Shoot Together” and they know how important it is to have other people in your life to love and support you.
“I think there’s value in being able to commiserate with people who get it.”
1:45 - Expectations and Best Friends
5:10 - People Who Get It
7:35 - A Great Team
11:05 - The Whys
17:00 - One of the Misconceptions
19:52 - Avoiding Cynicism
23:42 - Mary’s Self-reflection
28:49 - Kira’s Awareness
30:23 - The Importance of Engagement
37:25 - Symbiotic
40:36 - Mentors and The Year to Implement
45:23 - Selective Sharing vs Oversharing
47:42 - The Long Running Joke
51:37 - Blinders
54:41 - Where to Find the Ladies
“We’re all about brand recognition.”
Mary Fisk-Taylor has been a member of the Professional Photographers of America since 1998. She owns and operates two highly profitable photography studios in Richmond, Virginia with her business partners. Hayes & Fisk Photography is a small home-based studio that for over 20 years has provided their clients high-end wall portrait installations and custom-designed weddings. In 2009 Mary with her mother and sister created Real Life Studios which filled a niche in their market area for a boutique volume/event business and high school senior portrait studio that offers both professional imagery and excellence in customer service.
Mary’s pursuit for knowledge, learning and education has always been a priority. From the time she was nominated the “Kindergarten Valedictorian” she has excelled academically. Always at the top of her class through High School, College and Graduate School she has excelled and loved learning. She has degrees from both University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University. It was only natural for her to pursue educating others as part of her career. Mary joined the PPA Business Instructor program back in 1999 when it began. She has enjoyed lecturing all over the world and sharing with other photographers as well as serving as a PPA Studio Management Services Mentor as well as an International Juror for PPA.
Mary earned her PPA Master of Photography, Craftsmen of Photography and PPA Certification. She also received the ASP Education Fellow in 2018 as well as completing and earning the designation of StoryBrand Certified Guide, which gives her the rights and ability to teach, lecture and coach the StoryBrand concept. She is also a Profit First Professional Guide and has completed the training and passed the certification to teach and share the Profit First methods.
Mary is passionate about image competition and is a PPA Approved Juror. She has earned numerous awards including VPPA Photographer of the Year, VPPA Top 10 Photographer of the Year, PPA Loan Collection images, PPA Grand Imaging Finalist, PPA Photography of the Year (Bronze, Silver and Gold), Kodak Gallery Awards, Fuji Masterpiece Awards, LexJet Awards, and the PPA Charities Impact Award to name a few. She is the proud recipient of the Virginia Award, PPA National Award, the Charles H. (Bud) Haynes Award and the PPA Charities Legacy Award all for her dedication, volunteerism, and commitment to the excellence and education in professional photography.
Mary and her husband, Daryl, are most proud of their two beautiful children, Alexandra and Jax. She enjoys the flexibility and joy that owning a profitable and successful photography studio has allowed her and her family. Mary has enjoyed lecturing and teaching all over the world. She currently serves on the PPA Board of Directors, the Virginia PPA Board and the Society of XXV Executive Committee. She is past President of PPA Charities and because of her continued volunteer work, business savvy and commitment to community development was named Top 40 Under 40 in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Mary is very grateful for all of her mentors and teachers that have given so much to her and her business partners. The path to their success is paved with the wisdom and advice they so generously have given. If you asked Mary for her best business advice she would most definitely say, “You get 100% of what you do NOT ask for, so ASK for the business, ASK for the sale, ASK for the possibility!”
Kira Derryberry is a Tallahassee based photographer focused on Family and Commercial portraiture. Kira has spent the last 10 years of her career photographing hundreds of clients all over the southeast as well as sharing her knowledge with thousands of photographers across the country. Kira is a proud member of Professional Photographers of America and has earned Master Photographer, Master Craftsman and Certified Professional Photographer, is an approved judge for International Photographic Competition, as well as a member of PPA痴 Board of Directors since 2017. Kira is also cohost of the Get Your Shoot Together Photography Podcast alongside fellow photographer and friend Mary Fisk-Taylor. She’s a Paul C Buff Ambassador, Tether Tools Pro, Spider Holster Ambassador and WHCC Speaker. When not slinging a camera or volunteering for her favorite photography organizations, Kira is a wife and a mom who publicly loves karaoke jams and bad science fiction.