Gina Cinardo: Building Ginici Studios and Leading the Way in Personal Brand Photography
Can you please share a brief history about your photography business? What motivated you to start this venture?
My interest in photography began with my father, Nicholas Cinardo, a 100% Sicilian, Jersey-born jokester who loved taking pictures. In the 1970s, he owned a black-and-white custom print shop in Hollywood, photographed stars like Liberace and Sammy Davis Jr., dabbled in acting, and was always the life of the party.
My mother was a fine artist, and my experience with photography truly began when she coordinated photoshoots to help illustrate stories for her paintings. She would arrange the costumes and props, and Dad would photograph them, bringing even more life to the stories captured on film. These photoshoots were educational and the most fun family bonding moments I experienced as a child.
Ten years later, I earned my degree in Fine Art Photography with a significant emphasis on portrait photography, printmaking, and mixed media. While in college, I was fortunate to work at a reprographics shop, honing my computer graphics and visual design skills. Soon after, I landed a job as a designer and pre-press artist for an offset printer, and within a few months, I was referred for my first commercial photo shoot for a men’s aftershave.
This became the most profound moment of my career as I was hit with the shocking death of my father while photographing the aftershave. I was navigating the serene waters of my profession, lens-focused and steady, when a rogue wave crashed into me, capsizing my world in the middle of a calm sea. I felt like I had lost control of everything. Without his support, I quit my job as a designer and instantly found a position as a portrait photographer. This was where I knew I needed to be to develop the experience and grow into the photographer I envisioned.
Within a year, I was promoted to manager of Headshots Photography, the original glamour studio and the first to utilize instant digital viewing after the session. I stayed there for almost 11 years, capturing portraits of thousands of women.
The next decade, I freelanced as a photographer while working as a designer. Eventually, I was hired to work with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) as a contractor with the Boeing Company as a Graphics III specialist and later as an outreach designer/photographer at Ball Aerospace. However, two years into my time with Ball, I learned that the division was relocating to Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio. Being a California girl at heart, I knew moving to Ohio wasn’t the right fit for me.
I decided to take a leap of faith. I relocated to the Central Coast of California, and in 2010, I started my own business, Ginici Studios.
What kind of challenges did you face when building up your portfolio or setting up your studio? How did you overcome these challenges?
My biggest challenge was deciding what my niche would be as a photographer. My experience was highly diverse. Working as a media support contractor with the AFRL gave me valuable experience in multiple mediums, which I loved about the job.
At Boeing, I could photograph headshots, special events, and technical exercises. I also designed logos, badges, and newsletters, and printed, mounted, and collated all the final products within the media department.
When I started Ginici Studios, I used that job as the model for my business plan. However, headshots and product photography were at the bottom of my service list because I had an outdated camera system and lacked confidence using my obsolete tech.
Three years later, I realized I had made a terrible mistake. I was marketing myself more as a designer and web developer, which was not what I had initially intended. I was very unhappy with my business, so I bought a new Canon system and rebranded myself as a photographer in 2014.
This new venture was challenging because I was essentially starting over. As a portrait photographer, I could focus on many things, including family, headshots, weddings, babies, and glamour/boudoir photography. Even so, I had to consider that for nearly four years, I had been building my brand and marketing myself to other businesses as a marketing studio.
During this time, I was asked by the local Women’s Business Center in my community to do a presentation on photo branding. This was the turning point I needed. After researching and developing my presentation, I uncovered my niche: personal brand photography.
Once I finally had a clear direction, I focused entirely on cultivating a portfolio of lifestyle imagery for businesses that went beyond simple headshots, family portraits, and senior portraits. It has been a long journey, with many iterations of my website along the way.
Could you describe the early days of your business? What were the initial reactions and feedback you received?
As I began sharing my niche with my audience, I felt inspired to create a process for developing an individual’s brand using my skills as a digital branding expert. I knew that once I had a broad understanding of what a brand stood for, what they did, and who they served, I could create a plan to capture the brand’s essence and story.
Every one of my brand photography clients has loved their portraits. I am confident that I have helped each of them leverage their businesses. However, in the beginning, clients were few and far between. During these early years, I provided a wide range of services just to pay the bills.
I realized most people I shared my services with didn’t fully understand personal branding or why they needed brand photography. Although brand and personal brand photography are becoming more common among entrepreneurs and influencers, educating my audience on what I do has taken a significant amount of time to refine.
How did you manage to grow and expand your business? What strategies did you use to attract more clients?
When I first rebranded myself, I didn’t get many brand clients unless they were headshots, so it’s taken me many years to combine what each had in common—uncovering the catalyst for why they needed to hire me. For me, this meant reaching out to people about to launch something new and significant—a new venture that they had a passion for so they could live out their purpose.
Knowing precisely who you’re serving is the key to success and expansion. Work diligently on messaging that speaks directly to your ideal customer, and be super consistent with it until it starts working. When you begin to understand how you serve others and how much it helps and supports them, you’ll start attracting the audience you’re meant to serve. I’ve built my audience by offering contests to grow my list and email marketing to develop leads. I’m also working with an SEO specialist on my website.
However, the online marketing platform is constantly evolving and changing. There are no norms. Keywords were essential for drawing traffic to your website, but AI is a huge proponent of why things have changed over the last year. I feel with any marketing strategy, you still have to experiment and diversify.
How has your business performed financially over the years? Can you share some milestones or achievements in terms of revenue?
I’ll be honest—this is not my favorite subject to discuss. After reading my history up to this point, you can probably guess that I’ve been on a financial roller coaster over the last 15 years.
With the onset of COVID-19, portrait photographers were considered gig workers, which essentially stopped business for months. It felt like I was starting over once again as we emerged from the hibernation fog.
The one good thing about the pandemic was the time it gave me to reflect on who I was and how I presented my brand to my audience. I realized I had to start showing up the same way I was asking my branding clients to show up.
I wanted to be more transparent and seen as authentic. In other words, I needed to allow myself to be vulnerable, which meant being okay with being seen as imperfect. This was the moment I refined my target audience and worked on myself to better understand my value and worth.
What are some key lessons you've learned along your entrepreneurial journey? Is there anything you would do differently if given a chance?
I still believe success comes from how we present ourselves as leaders. Being transparent and authentic in the way we run our businesses makes us more trustworthy to work with or associate with.
When I first started, I was conflicted and struggled a lot with Imposter Syndrome. This is not a good place to be. You don’t attract your ideal client; instead, you attract all the lessons meant to show you your true self. I’ve learned a lot along the way, but I wish I had focused on this more initially.
People love supporting brands they connect with and resonate with. But we need to recognize that we’re unique and don’t have to serve people who don’t understand us.
If you’re just starting out, I advise you to cultivate leadership skills and work on understanding your attitude toward life and how you present yourself to others.
Another thing I wish I had done differently was to not fully self-fund my business startup and to work with a good accountant.
Are there any tools or software that have been particularly useful in managing and growing your business? Give us a list of what you use in your kit.
I use 17Hats as my CRM, and I absolutely love it. It covers everything from invoicing and scheduling to project management, making it an indispensable tool for my business.
For managing online galleries, I rely on Shoot Proof, which keeps the process seamless for both me and my clients.
When it comes to virtual consultations, Zoom is my go-to platform. Additionally, I enjoy using Loom for providing video feedback, as it’s efficient and easy to use.
Google Workspace is another essential part of my workflow, helping me stay organized with tools like Gmail, Drive, and Calendar. For website building and management, I prefer WordPress combined with Visual Composer Builder.
Adobe Creative Suite remains irreplaceable as my creative tool. I regularly use applications such as Photoshop (which I’ve been using since its first version for Mac), InDesign, Illustrator, Rush, Bridge, Acrobat, and Express. These tools are critical for my creative projects.
Lastly, for innovation and creativity, I incorporate AI tools into my work. OpenAI, Gemini, and MidJourney have been particularly useful for brainstorming and enhancing my ideas.
Could you recommend any books, resources, or mentors that have significantly influenced your business journey?
Stand Like Mountain, Flow Like Water: By Brian Luke Seaward, PhD
Book Yourself Solid: By Michael Port
Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
By:Â Donald Miller
Clockwork: Design Your Business to Run Itself
By:Â Mike Michalowicz
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
By:Â Simon Sinek
I just recently took a writing class with Megan Barnhard (meganbarnhard.com) called Influential Storyteller, which was terrific.
Gina Cinardo is a California-based photographer and founder of Ginici Studios, specializing in personal brand photography. She blends creativity and strategy to empower clients, capturing their essence to build impactful brands.
About Gina
- Country: United States
Specializes in
- Advertising Photography, Commercial Photography, Corporate photography, Headshot photography, Portrait Photography
Quote
Knowing precisely who you're serving is the key to success and expansion.