Today we’d like to introduce you to Maura Stone.
Hi Maura, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started in photography back in 2020 after I withdrew from nursing school. The college-route wasn’t for me at all – I could never decide fully on what I wanted to do & ironically never really took any time to explore creative options! I was always a science person/medical field type of employe. After I picked up a camera at the beginning of COVID around the time I was laid off due to the virus – it all just snowballed quickly from there. I did a LOT of free shoots for fun/experience my first year of photography & quickly found that I loved weddings. They were SO much fun. I loved the camaraderie of getting to work with other vendors & I loved that I brought so much joy to my clients – it really was the perfect medium for me.
I weaved in and out of other jobs throughout my 6 total years of being in business – call centers, HR, virtual assisting – anything flexible so I could still take photos whenever I wanted to. I honestly didn’t really dive seriously (and successfully) into full-time freelance work until I got pregnant with my son in 2024. I knew I always wanted to be a SAHM, so this just seemed like the perfect time to fully dive in.
I had honestly started feeling pretty disconnected with weddings around that time – there was a lot of comparison/stress about not being where I thought I should be during that period of my life – being pregnant definitely didn’t help the challenge of figuring it out LOL. I ended up focusing on some virtual assisting side work I had taken on & just portrait photography with families/other moms, and it was a whole new love for me as I entered into motherhood. Since 2024, I’ve solely focused on photographing families, mothers, and babies (I’ll shoot anything, but those are my favs haha) and it has felt SO aligned as I photograph people who are living the same story I am.
The BIGGEST part of my story though is giving my life over to Jesus Christ in July of 2025. I struggled a lot postpartum (as I know a lot of moms can relate to) & He completely healed me of anxiety/depression. This is when I truly learned to trust Him and the plans He has for my business and life. Ever since then, the clients haven’t stopped coming & this has begun to blossom into a beautiful new season of my life. It is truly all thanks to God!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not at ALL – but what road is? I struggled a lot with consistency and lack of confidence in my early years of business. Not posting, second-guessing myself, changing my niche 900 times (and honestly now I can say my “niche” is a little bit of everything – continuity in my clients’ lives is my sweet spot and where my heart & creativity lie).
It’s easy in this industry to have your eyes on everyone else – but if you really just put your head down, put your clients FIRST & make sure they are extremely loved on and taken care of – God will bring you where you are meant to go!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a family and motherhood photographer – I am extremely focused on sentiment & the stories of our homes (even the ones that aren’t always very pretty – messy living rooms with crumbs are my favorite places to photograph haha)
I used to lock myself into one niche – but now I genuinely just want to be part of peoples’ lives throughout all of their important moments. I want clients who value sentimental details & imperfection to work with me & bring me along with all of their memories.
I think I’m most proud of how my client experience exists now – I focused on a lot of wrong things in business over the last few years and I have never been more successful than I am now. I’ve never posted this little in my life & I’ve also never had happier clients. It really goes to show that experience and customer service are the #1 most important pieces of having a thriving business! Of course, everything else is important, too — but when you are people-first in every aspect of your life — God really honors that & it’s what He calls us to do!
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I don’t want to say lack of professionalism, because I am professional, but I think I’m pretty chill and understanding of any situation. Like, if your toddler is screeching and throwing things at me, I’m not really going to care or get upset because I’ve experienced that in my own life (probably earlier that day lol)
I have a more relaxed nature, so I think people relax & open up easily around me because of that! Nothing is truly that serious, unless it is, but you’re not going to find anything like that during a family photoshoot hahaha
Pricing:
- Starting family & newborn pricing is $450 for 1 hour!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://maurataylorphoto.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsmaurataylor/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maurataylorphoto
