Meet Veronica Marley | Veronica Leigh Photography

We had the good fortune of connecting with Veronica Marley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Veronica, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I used to be very afraid of taking risks when it comes to my career. I liked having a 9-5 consistent job where I knew how much I’d be getting paid and when I’d be working. However, when I moved from New York and left my job, I realized there weren’t really many job opportunities where I was living that piqued my interest much. I decided to do freelance photography and social media marketing for a while which led me to realize how much I really liked working for myself. When Covid initially hit, I re-evaluated everything in terms of my career and decided to fully take the risk of starting my own business and working for myself. It is definitely challenging at times but I can’t imagine going back to the 9-5 lifestyle now.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I used to work in marketing and advertising, and through a series of life and circumstance changes, I made the decision to start a portrait photography business. In the last months I made a shift from focusing on a number of different types of portrait photography to focusing solely on senior portraits, as this is what I am most passionate about. Making this shift, while at the same time having just moved to a new state (Florida) where I didn’t know many people, has been a serious challenge. I am still in the process of overcoming that challenge I think, as I start to build my business here. The most valuable bit of advice that I try to remind myself of is to take every opportunity to make connections and say “yes” as much as possible. Networking in a new place is hard, but it always helps to get yourself out there in whatever ways you can.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well I live in Jupiter, but love going to Miami. I think if I had a week with my best friend in town we would probably spend half of the week in Jupiter at my house with my husband and pup, going to different beaches, restaurants, bars, and dog parks around Jupiter and West Palm. Specifically I’d take them to Beacon/Topside, the bars on Clematis, my local dog park, the beaches in Jupiter, as well as John D MacArthur Beach State Park. I’d bring them to Miami for the weekend where we would spend a lot of time at the beach/pool, maybe go out on a boat, and hit up the restaurants and bars in Wynwood.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people that I would like to shout out, but primarily my cousin Jessica Frankl. She is a sports photographer in New York and was immensely helpful when I decided to make this shift in my career. From her recommendations I decided to read the book “The Artist’s Way” which was also super inspiring and helped me in the process of working as an artist.

Additionally, I am currently taking part in a program led by Leslie Kerrigan to help launch my senior photography business and she has been beyond helpful!

Website: veronicaleighphoto.com

Instagram: @veronica.leigh.photo

Other: hello@veronicaleighphoto.com