The Story of Natasha Kasim Photography: Why I Quit My 9-5 to Pursue Photography Full-time

I started out thinking that I was better than I really was in photography.

I still remember on my last day of secondary school, one of my best friends asked me to take a polaroid picture of her and a friend. When she saw the photo, she complained that I put too much headspace between her and the ceiling. I have to admit though she was right. It was a bad photo. 

But see even though I wasn't good at it - I loved it. And love and passion can drive you to do crazy things — like quitting a stable 9-5 job to pursue a freelance career in the midst of a pandemic. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s rewind back to the start of Covid, when I had recently graduated in June of 2020. 

It was a turbulent time to say the least. Everyone was forced to quarantine in our homes with fear and uncertainty consuming our lives. Some people coped by watching TikTok videos or taking up new hobbies, like knitting or painting. I remembered a distinct moment where everyone was suddenly a barista trying out their own version of Dalgona Coffee — whipped, frothy and velvety smooth. Personally, I had more free time on my hands while working-from-home for 6 months on an internship. I was well on my way to securing a full-time job in the e-commerce industry as a marketing manager but somehow I kept turning to photography. Photography, at that time, was something I loved doing — just picking up my camera and bringing it along for outings with friends or special events like birthdays or weddings. I even invited my friends out for casual fashion shoots, just dressing up in midi skirts and coats or dressing down in off beat 90’s wear having fun taking photos. I never thought that I would actually earn a living out of this.

It was only when a friend from university asked me to shoot her engagement and offered to pay did I finally consider actually charging money for my photography services. With all this extra time and a newfound purpose, I started focusing more on photography and marketing myself (something I seriously struggled with as I had no clue how to market myself as a photographer despite my background  in the social media field). I spent hours editing photos, designing a logo and branding deck, making a website, answering enquiries, posting and interacting on social media before my work started to be taken more seriously. After a year I was getting such a staggeringly steady stream of clients that I was working on weekday nights after work and on weekends to keep up with my side hustle. It wasn’t easy. But I tried to make it work because I love photography and also managing the business aspect of things — I love performing multiple roles, from design to marketing to customer service and leading a team (Finance isn't my favourite department but maybe we can get into that in a future blog post). 

I was editing a wedding set due to be submitted to a client on a weekend night when my partner asked the billion dollar question: why was I still working a full-time job when I was earning more from my side hustle? 

I knew the answer; I was scared. 

It’s always been something I’ve wanted to do but I never had the courage to just go all in because of all the fear. The fear of failing, the fear of instability, the fear of not being good enough, the fear stemming from imposter syndrome. It’s a narrative we all know too well; that little voice that makes you second-guess taking that plunge into doing something you’ve always wanted to do. But I knew I had to get over my limiting belief to see the opportunities that this could bring — I’d have more time to serve my clients, to give them better service, to spend more time with my partner and to also take care of my mental well-being. Of course, there’s always a risk that this won't work out — starting a business is always risky, especially during a pandemic, but that shouldn't stop us from pursuing our calling.

So that's how Natasha Kasim Photography came to be.

I hope my story has inspired you in some way. Do reach out if you have any questions for me about my story, photography or if you too are eager to take that leap of faith — just know that I am rooting for you and I hope that you create the life you want (and give me a chance to capture it on camera!).

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