Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Maughan.
Hi Taylor, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have always been fascinated by photography and videography! When I was younger I was always taking photos and creating silly videos of myself. The main trigger to try out photography was when I didn’t make my high school’s cheer team my sophomore year. I was devastated, I had been cheering since I was 8 years old, and truly didn’t know what else to do with my life. My mom had the suggestion to start taking photos of the cheer team, that way I could still be a part of the team while growing another skill set. This spiraled into me doing so many things with photography in high school. Once I graduated high school in 2017 I went to college at Utah State, and I saw other people creating a business with photography. I thought to myself, I could totally do that! So in 2018 after my first year of college I booked my first wedding, and truly the rest is history! I have been running my business since 2018 and it only grows bigger and bigger every year!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The answer to this truly all over the place. At first it didn’t seem like it was going to be hard to grow a business, because I was still in college. I had so many other priorities in my mindset that growing my business wasn’t truly my main point in life. The moment I realized that it could grow was the summer before COVID hit. I was truly thriving and had so many bookings, it was so fun. Then COVID hit and I was terrified. But the summer of COVID was my first summer where I had so many weddings and missionary homecomings that I truly didn’t skip a beat!
The biggest struggle I had in this business was seeing if I could run this full time without another job. In 2023 I had worked two different full time jobs while still running my own business. I was in such a low place mentally because I truly thrived running my own business, but I was not sure if I could run it and help support my husband and I. After much thought I quit my full time job at the end of 2023, and made the jump to go full time beginning of January 2024. It was a rough start, but once I got into the groove of it, I truly helped my mental health and found my true passion in life.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a photographer/videographer based in Davis County. I started out my career filming Missionary Homecomings. The moment where a LDS Missionary returns home from their mission and are reunited with their family back home in Utah! This is what I personally feel like I am most known for! I record at least one homecoming a week and it is truly my favorite aspect of my job!
I also capture high school sports! I focus on team photos as well as in game action shots! This really stems from my start of photography in high school doing photos for the cheer team! I have so much creative freedom in capturing once in a lifetime moments in games it is so fun!!
As well, I offer wedding day coverage with photo or video packages. These are really fun for me because every wedding is always so different. My job is to showcase the love of the couple and to help them transport back to their wedding day! I always say I have the best job, but I truly do! There is never a day where I leave work sad, I am always happy because I am capturing peoples BEST DAY EVER!!
What does success mean to you?
Success can be defined in many ways. For me it is seeing how much I have grown. I always take a chance to see how my work looked when I started to now, and it always is a good reminder that I have grown immensely over the years! Obviously the numbers of money overtime are a great sign, but I think for me the true meaning of success is growth.
Pricing:
- Wedding Packages start at $2,900+tax
- Missionary Homecomings are $400+tax
- All other regular sessions start at $250+tax
Contact Info:
- Website: https://taylorshaemedia.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taylorshaemedia/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taylorshaemedia
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYIxvPZJ5vQRG6opHpy-4zA
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@taylorshaemedia
