Meet Daphne Verzosa of Lathala Creative Studios!
Get excited… it’s time to meet an incredible local creative babe! Daphne is the Co-owner/Founder of Lathala Creative Studios, a commercial photography studio based in Clearwater, FL focusing on product photography and stop motion.
People may find it difficult to pinpoint Daphne with a single descriptor since she’s a Photographer and so much more! She’s been a book editor, blogger, influencer, social media strategist, marketing pro, and now runs a commercial studio with her husband and creative partner. Daphne loves to style sets and create original concepts for her product photography clients and can often be found spoiling her studio cat, Batman with lots of love. Enjoy getting to know Daphne through her words and photos below and hurry up + follow her on Instagram here!
Tell us about yourself and what you do!
I'm the co-founder of Lathala Creative Studios, a creative space dedicated to creating fun, whimsical imagery and stop motion videos. I'm the business manager and also 1/2 of the photography team.
How did your business begin?
My husband and I have always collaborated on creative projects. One day his best friend suggested we try product photography. Before that we thought that type of photography is only done by big-time marketing agencies. We didn't realize we can do it and make a living from it! And so we did try, and after having consistent clients we acquired a studio. We wanted to honor our Filipino ethnicity and country so we decided on Lathala Creative Studios. It means to publish and advertise in our native language. And so things started from there :)
What's 1 challenge you've faced and how has it effected your business? What did you do to overcome it?
We are non-confrontational people so when it comes to setting boundaries with clients, we were so bad at it, to the point that we feel taken advantage of. Our first year we were so overworked because we felt extremely uncomfortable saying no. Last year out of desperation, I came across this Facebook community of commercial photographers and realized it's not just us who encounter these issues. The community offered very insightful suggestions on how to handle such situations, so I as the business manager started implementing them and since then we've been better at setting boundaries.
What's 1 success you've had since you’ve created your business? How do you feel when you look back on it?
As a full-time photographer, one of my main goals when we started was to work with recognizable, international brands. This happened recently after acquiring Walmart as a client and a few months before that we also did some fun creative work for Stash Tea, SNOW Oral Cosmetics, Pretty Litter, and the viral Tampa-based brand Cirkul. When you're a commercial photographer, having recognizable brands in your portfolio helps boost your business's credibility so you can imagine how excited we were! These all happened after two years doing product photography.
What's the best piece of advice you could give someone looking to start a business?
You need to be patient and kind to yourself. Social media has over-glamorized entrepreneurship that as soon as business slows down we think we're doing a poor job. In reality, you're going to experience ups and downs, and that's totally normal. It doesn't mean you're a failure. Use this downtime to look at areas where your business needs improvements and ways you can diversify.
What's a pivot you've made in your business?
This year, we received so many client requests for stop-motion videos. There are a lot of amazing product photographers out there but we found that very few offer stop-motion videos. Now that social media is making a huge focus on video content, we thought that it's necessary for photographers to learn how to do this to expand their service portfolio. And so just last week, we launched a learning platform exclusively dedicated to creating stop-motion videos.
We shared all of our tricks, tools, and techniques in creating these fun videos. For a monthly membership of $9.95 ($7.95 for Early Birds!), we offer weekly tutorials, projects, sound effects, templates and a creative community forum to share work with other creatives and receive feedback. Apart from that, earlier this year we also released a guidebook called Products In Focus where we shared our entire creative workflow from start to finish. :)
When are you at your happiest?
I'm at my happiest when our clients love the work we've done for them. Creative work is very personal, so when a client appreciates all our time and effort, we're motivated to create more.
What do you tell yourself when things get difficult?
I still struggle with this once in a while, but I do remind myself that it's the reality of owning a business. It's not always sunshine and rainbows, and that's okay.
Whats 1 personal goal you've set for yourself this year?
Learn how to set boundaries! I used to haaaaaate saying no and disappointing people, to my detriment. Now I get to decide what I want to do and what my time and energy can allow.
What's 1 business goal you've set for yourself to accomplish this year?
This year, we set our sights on building our local community. Most of our clients are out of state and we know there are plenty of amazing brands in Florida that we can create relationships with.
What's the first thing you do on a Monday morning and why?
Make myself a warm cup of coffee! It gives me that big jolt of energy I need before a big week ahead.
Where can you be found + what will you typically be up to on a Friday night?
You will most likely find me rock climbing at Vertical Ventures with my husband! After a grueling week, it's our way to de-stress and socialize.
Finish these sentences:
My go to karaoke song is… “Close to You” by The Carpenters.
My signature drink is... coffee. lol
My favorite quote is… Believe you can, and you're halfway there.
Note: Daphne is a member of Babe Crafted.
