I moved to Durham Region in 2013, and I feel like Tara Graham has been there documenting most of that time. I met Tara when I was pregnant with William and was looking to have maternity and newborn photos taken. Since then, she's captured Elise's newborn session as well as my husband and my branding and headshot photography. I'm always delighted by the photos that she manages to capture during her sessions: I love working with her.

When I decided to highlight local businesses on my blog I knew I wanted to feature Tara. She is such a supporter of local entrepreneurs and has a savvy business sense that I think we can all aspire to. I love hearing about how other entrepreneurs run their business and Tara did not disappoint!

What is your small business and why did you start it?

I am a newborn, family, and personal branding photographer located in Oshawa, but working with clients in all of Durham Region and throughout the GTA.

I always knew that I wanted to do something creative: art and math were my favourite subjects in school! I actually started out in the wedding industry and photographed weddings for about 14 years, but once my son was born I didn’t want to be away from my family every weekend in the summer. My business had already naturally progressed to include newborn and family photography, so making these areas my main focus was an easy decision.

More recently, I have developed a passion in working with other entrepreneurs to create a collection of images that showcase their brand, personality, and services or products.  

What is your favourite thing about what you do and why?

My favourite thing about my job is knowing that I am creating something that families cherish. Seeing parents’ reactions when they view their images after their session is such a wonderful and fulfilling experience.

On the entrepreneurial side, I love that I can use my skills to help other small businesses grow. There are so many great things about running your own business, but it can be stressful too. The pressure to create beautiful content for social media and websites is a big one, so I love that I can help ease that stress by providing local business owners with a collection of images they can use as they need.

You can find Tara on Instagram and Facebook. 

Would you like to be featured in my Small Business Spotlight? I love entrepreneurs and think we are stronger together. Send me a note at gillian@gillianbuckley.ca. Let's chat!