Today we’d like to introduce you to Rinat Halon Neal.
Hi Rinat, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Photography is my second career. As a teenager, I was an Israeli TV child star and was acting and singing professionally until I was 24. Being a dual citizen, Israeli American, and always traveling between my divorced parents, I chose to go to college at The Ohio State University so I could be close to my father. I graduated from OSU with a personalized honors degree in photography and visual merchandising and have been photographing professionally ever since, for the past 25 years.
In the past few years, I earned my photography certification as well as Craftsman Degree from the Professional Photographers of America (PPA). I wake up excited every day and grateful that I get to photograph for a living Photography is my profession – and my passion. I love of photography – and being able to show people how beautiful they actually are through my photographs. In this day and age, it seems we are all so critical of our looks. I just love being able to use this tool – the camera – to be able to reflect to people that they are, in fact, beautiful.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I think the biggest challenge to a small business is dealing with life’s curveballs. As a small business owner, most of the time you ARE the business. Even if you have a support team, you are front and center leading the way. What happens to a small business when life happens? Things like death in the family, divorce or illness, in my opinion, many times hurt a small business. In my own life, due to divorce and illness, I have had to restart my photography business three times. All three times are building it from the ground up, like new. It did take a lot of effort but also was a blessing in disguise. I was able to reflect on what worked and what didn’t in my business and was able to adjust accordingly in order to succeed. Our one of a kind Personal Branding Photography system for small businesses was created and developed thanks to one of these times I had to restart my business.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We do business with people we know, like and trust. I am an open book, and it’s pretty easy to get to know me. From there, people decide if they like me, and after we talk for the first time, they understand they can trust me. It’s a personality thing, I think. And people truly get that I am passionate about photography and the gift that an amazing portrait can be in their life. I don’t ever focus on my competition. I focus on offering amazing concierge service and boutique photography products to people who appreciate these things. My goal is always to do a great job and to exceed my client’s expectations. We are known for our beautiful headshots and creative high school senior portraits as well as family portraits.
I am most proud of the Personal Branding Photography System I created ten years ago to help small businesses connect with their target audience using relevant and engaging photos. This system streamlines the brand photography by first understanding WHAT to photograph that would actually make someone stop and look again at a business – and then create a call to action in the potential client, making them reach out to the small business. That – is what the Personal Branding Photography System is all about. Before we ever photograph any brand photos we do brand interview, target audience market research and our one of a kind photo personality test. I based this Personal Branding Photography System on the research thesis I wrote in college about the influence of photography on purchasing behavior.
What does success mean to you?
When my clients love their pictures so much, they can’t shut up about it and tell all their family and friends. When grandma tears up insight of her granddaughter high school senior portraits and hugs her daughter and granddaughter, a sweet and emotional group hug in my studio and we call cry tears of joy. When my clients tell me this is the last headshot they are ever getting because it is so good, they never want a new one. That’s success in my book.
Contact Info:
- Email: rinat@rinathalon.com
- Website: https://www.rinathalon.com
- Instagram: RHphotoComm
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RHPCC/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1c-AzYNCBNWigLgsK7eThQ
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/Whats-Wrong-My-Camera-photographs/dp/1533592608
Image Credits:
Rinat Halon Neal, All Rights Reserved
