This article was originally published in the Fall 2024 issue of ICON/REFINED. Get your copy here. 

Words and Photography by Shayla Pelton

Shayla Photo by James Patrick

For Shayla Pelton, leaving her corporate job and launching her photography business full-time was a plan years in the making. In her own words, this was the path–and the obstacles–she faced to get there. 

Business Name: Pelton Photography

Age: 35

Location: Phoenix, Arizona

Follow her: @shaylapeltonphotography

Photography has been one of my first loves since childhood, but I didn’t start charging and officially go into business until the spring of 2020. To say it got off to a slow start would be putting it mildly. Aside from the shutdowns, I struggled so much with charging. My average session price was $50 (if I had the guts to charge at all), and I raked in less than $300 for the year. At this point, I still considered it a side hustle—just something I enjoyed. Knowing that the families I worked with would always have that moment captured in time felt magical.

Thankfully, I still had my career with a popular wholesale giant. By then, I had been with them for well over a decade, and the company was the perfect safety net during the pandemic. I made use of the downtime from clients to work on my skills—from off-camera flash to Photoshop. I improved on every level, which grew my confidence and helped me to hit the ground running the next year. With the boost in confidence and self-worth came a true appreciation for my very finite time. Between my job, my business, and all the responsibilities as a wife and mother of three, there was time for little else. I doubled my session fee for 2021 and no longer got the cold sweats when someone asked about my pricing.

My busy life meant editing and most other computer work was done late at night or while multitasking in front of the TV with my family. I regularly took my laptop to my day job to edit during breaks. If my hands were busy at home, I was listening to instructional videos on YouTube or podcasts. I even went so far as to delete every streaming app or game that had previously taken up hours daily.

I grew my portfolio, started a website, and learned to navigate social media from a business/marketing perspective. As a late ’80s baby, my natural resistance to unlearned technology meant I had to push myself hard. But as my passion for my work grew, so did my drive. I joined several local Facebook groups, started attending meet-ups, and learned the importance and value of networking. My prices increased further as I started offering products and attempted in-person image reveals for the first time. It was this year that I tried boudoir photography, and in a single session, my entire focus turned to that empowering work. I had never left a photoshoot feeling so fulfilled, with a clear boost in my own self-confidence. I soaked up everything I could from the best boudoir educators and honed my natural ability to help women feel at ease. Through this process, I finally learned to heal my own issues with self-love and body shame—because how could I show up for these women and inspire them to love themselves better if I could not do the same for myself? My dreams for the future transformed, and the thought of leaving my job to be a full-time photographer suddenly seemed not only possible but within reach. I finished off 2021 by increasing my profit from the previous year tenfold, ending around $3,000.

In 2022, I experienced the most growth personally and professionally. I attended workshops and networked online with wildly successful female business owners from across the globe, and my confidence in myself and my work was solid. As my reach and interactions online grew, I realized the power of spreading self-love and body positivity on a grand scale. As I embraced my body, I tried out modeling for other photographers—and as someone who had never previously felt comfortable in front of a camera, this was probably the most surprising turn. It elevated my work and the way I communicated with my subjects even more, and I ended the year with close to $10,000 in sales.

It was then that I set my goals for going full-time. I wanted to be booked at least two months out with steady inquiries and have at least six months’ salary saved to replace my usual paychecks. For me, that would be around $15,000–20,000.

The first half of 2023 was booked and busy, with creative collaborations with other photographers and models happening almost weekly, and clients flying to me in Phoenix from the other side of the country. I established a solid same-day editing and reveal process and finally felt capable and maybe ready for full-time work. However, the safety net of my job was still too powerful to resist. As a compromise, I reduced my hours to focus more on my business and shared my plans to leave my steady income by the following year.

Negative opinions from people started to trickle in more; even well-meaning loved ones discouraged me from taking this leap. My family suffered hardship during the latter half of the year as my mother-in-law showed clear signs of dementia, and suddenly I had less flexibility for my business as she was my main help with childcare. My focus stayed on my family for the remainder of 2023 as we struggled further with loss. I still finished with almost $20,000 in sales, and even though that was before business expenses and taxes, most of that profit was from the first half of the year, all with only a fraction of my attention.

The following year, 2024, started off hopeful, but I could feel myself negotiating with when I would finally leave my job. My 17th anniversary with the company was approaching, and the disparity between the excitement I had for empowering people with my photography and what I felt before every wholesale shift was almost painful. By the end of February, I had had enough and decided once and for all that this was the damn year. I made a plan for my departure and I told people about it to make it even more real. I had a sizable amount saved in my 401(k), so I planned to rely on some form of early withdrawal to get by initially while I increased bookings with a new level of focus. I had my automations set up, a solid online presence, and plenty of past clients frequently sending referrals. It was time. If I continued to let the fear of failure hold me back, I would never take the leap. I officially turned in my resignation in May, right before my 35th birthday.

Though I planned to hit the ground running, more loss and upheaval led me to focus on my husband and children this summer—something I had never been able to do. I made countless core memories with them as we traveled out of state several times for adventures. Despite the temporary redirection, I still gained podcast and magazine features by sharing my passion and my story. Though I love working one-on-one with my own clients, my ultimate goal is to share the power of self-love with everyone—even those who will never work with me.

Sales may have started slow this year, but I’m still expecting to triple my numbers from last year, and though it’s been a long journey since I first filed for my business name, it feels as though I am just getting started.

If you want to leave your day job to pursue your own passion full-time, I urge you to take at least a small step every day, or even weekly, toward your goal. You will be ready sooner than you think. Small efforts add up to big wins, so be your own loudest cheerleader, give yourself grace when you need it, and believe with all your heart that you can make your dreams come true.