We recently had the chance to connect with Beth Leitzke and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Beth, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
Lately, I have been feeling called to be a bigger part of my community. Over the past few years, I have been able to get a glimpse into the world of small businesses and other parts of my community that frankly, I have previously overlooked. I realized how many small businesses there are and how much they need support from me and the rest of the community. Unfortunately, I can’t always support them in a monetary way, but there are so many other ways to help. Now I am spending more time finding ways to be a more active part of the community and help the small businesses and organizations around me. Along with being a bigger part of the community, I am being called to use my voice more. I never really felt like my voice mattered. It has always felt too small and unimportant.
However, as I have grown up and have become an entrepreneur and a mom with a child growing up in this area, I see how important all voices are. Voices and minds coming together are what help build communities. Now, I am taking giant steps outside of my comfort zone and joining local committees, offering up an opinion or suggestions, and seeking other ways that I can get out to learn more about and participate in the local culture.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Absolutely! Hello, I am Beth! I am a mom and business owner, born and raised in the Jacksonville area. I have lived outside of Jacksonville twice, both times were in South Florida. I went to the University of Miami (Go Canes!) for college and after some time back home after college, I moved back down there and lived in the Boca Raton area for about 4 years, from 2015 – 2020, now I am back in Jacksonville for the foreseeable future. Although I always thought I would live in Florida, I am now feeling the itch to move outside of the state. I am majorly obsessed with giraffes! I love to collect coffee mugs, journals, and so many other things that I think I need, but really don’t. Wandering around stores like HomeGoods looking at (and touching) all the things is like therapy for me. I love watching football, going out to try new places and foods, and sitting in little cafes to co-work. Walking in nature helps me feel more grounded and at peace – so going out to state parks is one of the things I love to do most (usually with a camera in hand and when it’s not too hot outside). And of course, I am a lover of photography! Whether I am doing it for work or for fun, it always makes me truly happy.
Not too long ago, I was having a conversation with someone who asked me about why I got into photography. For the first time ever, I didn’t give her the usual answer. Words just came out of my mouth and I started telling her that I have always been creative, but painting or drawing were never my strong suit. But, photography – that is where I found my art. I would always tell people that I wanted to be a photographer when I grew up, but in reality, it felt like a pipe dream. The future I saw for myself involved a 9-5 job in Corporate America.
At the end of 2020, in an instant I went from being a wife and stay at home mom to a widow, solo parent, and the person now responsible for providing for me and my daughter. I had so many choices to make. The one that was the most important was deciding what kind of life I wanted to build for myself and my daughter. I didn’t quite have all the answers, but what I did know is that it didn’t involve a 9-5 or Corporate America. I needed to be able to show up for my daughter whether that would be for school plays, soccer games, or stopping by school to eat lunch with her. This is when I made the decision to pursue my dream of being a photographer! In 2021, Elizabeth Anne Photography was officially born!
I believe that what helps me stand out is that each session with me is truly unique for two main reasons. First, I work with my clients to create a space where they feel safe and comfortable enough to be their true selves – feeling seen, understood and valued. Working with me is also truly a collaborative effort where your ideas, suggestions, and opinions are encouraged! I love it when a client has an idea for a shot and I am always willing to try it. To me, that is a sign that they are enjoying and engaged in the shoot. Secondly, one of the things that drew me to photography is the artistry and I bring that to each session with me. I always show up with a shot list, but I don’t always stick to it. My clients will always hear me say “Stop! Hold that, right there.” because for me, shots are created in the flow of the shoot. My images are created when I see how the client fits into and interacts in the space. I love being able to bring that artistry into the images I create for local small businesses.
Right now, I’m most excited about growing my business and getting to know Jacksonville’s business community more! I am looking forward to making connections with my fellow business owners and building relationships, and helping them grow however I can!
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
My relationship with my daughter. People tell you all kinds of things about being a parent and offer up all kinds of advice, but what I didn’t expect was how much it would make me look at myself and how I act, speak, and think. I am now under her microscopic eye. Every behavior, every word is being watched and analyzed. I have been forced to take a much deeper look at how I show up in life. Do I do hard things? How do I speak to her and others? How do I speak about her and others? Having to be an example for her has made me look at the reasoning behind the things I do, the tone behind the things I say, and so much more. It’s so easy to go through life and behave the way we do, without giving it any other thought. But when you are helping to shape a small child, you need to be able to look at how you show up and when you see something you don’t like (which you will), make a change and be the example they need.
Having to be that example for her has made me push my own boundaries. I have found myself showing up in ways that I never have in the past. I am doing hard things when I typically take the easier road. I have hard conversations with her, with myself, and with others. I am taking a good, hard look at the person that I want to be and how I want to live. Before her, I was content with working a job that I didn’t really enjoy, living paycheck to paycheck, and simply going through life however it came at me. My relationship with her, and wanting more for her has made me take a look at how I was just accepting a mediocre life because, it was easier and I didn’t believe that I could have anything else. v Being her mom has shown me what I am capable of, the kind of person that I want to be, and the kind of life that I want to build for us (not just her). I truly don’t believe that I would have looked at myself in this way without her.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
I don’t think there is one specific fear, but I think that the fear of not being liked or accepted played the biggest role in holding me back in my life. I spent most of my life trying to make the people around me happy and changing myself to do that. I never felt like I could show up as my true self because someone might not like me. I always gave the most accepted answer, even if it wasn’t really what I thought or wanted. Or I stayed in a relationship no matter how bad it was for me, so that person wouldn’t be hurt or angry – no matter the consequence to me.
However, being a mom and a business owner have helped me find ways to deal with those fears. What I didn’t expect in either of those roles was how much they would require me to face my fears. I have had to talk to strangers, be vulnerable, do things I wasn’t sure I knew how to, put myself out there, create and stick to boundaries, and hear criticism. Each time I am confronted with something that scares me, I have a choice. Before being a mom and running a business, I took the easy way out. I let my fears win. But back then the consequences were only for me and I was willing to accept them. Now, those consequences affect my daughter and business. Although I was never willing to go the hard things for myself, I am more than willing to do them now.
I was having a talk with a coach of mine about my love/hate relationship with social media. During that talk, she very blatantly pointed out that I don’t hate social media, I am afraid. Not what I wanted to hear, but definitely what I needed to hear. That statement made me take a long, hard look at myself and I realized that she was right! I feared putting myself out there and being vulnerable – I feared the judgement and not being liked and accepted. That moment was a game changer! I also realized how much that fear was keeping me from doing what I needed to do to grow my business and consequently the life I desired. That day, I made a promise to myself to not let that fear keep me from my dreams. I promised to do one hard thing to help me take one small step forward each day. I have not taken that promise to myself lightly.
Being (mostly) free from that fear has truly been a game changer!
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
That we are all in competition. In recent years, there has been a boom in the photography business. Sometimes it feels like everyone is a photographer. I think this boom in the industry has made some people think that there is not enough work for everyone, so we are in extreme competition with each other. But I don’t believe that is true! Even with the boom in the Brand Photography niche (which I am a part of), I still believe that there is enough business to go around.
Here’s the thing, one of the many awesome things about photographers is that we each see the world so differently. If you have two photographers taking photos of the exact same subject, from the exact same place, at the exact same time, you are going to get two very different images! We each bring our own vision and experience into our photography. That means that we are not going to be the right photographer for every single person or business. Styles will not always match – which is absolutely okay! But that also means that we are not all competing for the same clients.
So, when another photographer wants to talk shop, I am more than happy to do that! Because even with all the same information, we still are not going to create the same photography. Plus, I believe that we should be able to lean on each other and build each other up! I want my fellow photographers to feel like they can call me with a question, or ask advice about what to shoot or what’s the best location for a session, or even call because they are nervous about a shoot and need a little confidence boost! I know that I do that with other photographers and it is invaluable!
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What will you regret not doing?
Not facing my fears to build the life I want for me and my daughter and to be an example for her. I decided to pursue my dreams because as a solo parent, I need and want to be able to show up for my daughter. Before my husband died, we talked about building a life where we worked for ourselves so we could escape the 9-5 world. He slowly started to find ways to provide passive income streams to get us toward that goal. After he died, I vowed to continue on with that dream. I tried to continue on with the income streams he was building, and although with hard work, they would have provided a great income, it wasn’t what sparked my soul. And honestly, I didn’t want to continue to be a stay at home mom, especially when she started school. I enjoy working. That, along with our vision, is part of what has provided the drive and inspiration to build my photography business. My daughter needs me to be able to show up for class functions, games, events, etc. and she needs to see me doing what it takes, no matter how hard, to build a life we want and deserve.
She also needs to see me doing those hard things that scare me and seeing me “survive” them. We truly never know how much of our lives our kids are watching and absorbing, even when it seems like they aren’t. I can tell her until I am blue in the face that she is strong and can do hard, scary things, but those are empty words if she doesn’t see me doing the same. It also means that I will have the tools to help her push through when she needs to. I will have walked that path already and paved the way for her.
Getting my business up and running has been hard. I have had to do so many things that are outside of my comfort zone. But every time I considered giving up and going back to a 9-5 job, I thought about how I would feel at the end of my life about making that choice. Each time, I know that the answer is that I will feel regret – disappointment for not facing my fears and going after what I wanted, and for not being an example of strength for my daughter. I don’t think that I can eliminate all of the regrets in life, but the power is in being able to look back on life and say that you tried – even if it didn’t turn out the way you envisioned. I will be able to look back without regret and say that I tried!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.eaphotography.art
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/e.a.photographystudio
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eaphoto683
Image Credits
Models: Aimee Dijkers – One Eleven Farmhouse
Micky Foos – Aura Glow Tan
Emmanuel Emile – Massage and Skincare by Emmanuel
Little Pizza Truck of St. Augustine
Kathleen Petre
Tiffany Vesterman – Self Care Bestie
Karen Calvo – Tidy by Karen
