Tanner Wages, a senior journalism and mass communication double major, is the founder of Tanner Wages Photography. Tanner Wages Photography is grounded in the belief that photography is more than images — it’s storytelling. The business centers on the power of a single photograph to capture emotion, preserve memories and communicate what words often cannot.
What is the story of your business? How did it start?
Six years ago, the Covid-19 Pandemic took over my life and the lives of many others around the world. We all had extra time on our hands, and it seemed like everyone was looking for a hobby or a project. Our first project as a family was to get a cavapoo puppy to help make the days more enjoyable for my siblings and me. I picked up my mom’s camera soon after Milo’s arrival and took photos of him exploring our house, wrestling with my brothers and pulling my older sister’s hair because I thought he was the cutest and funniest thing ever. I truly wanted to show my friends the story of our family growing by one little furry puppy through my photos. Gradually, the worst months of my life would provide the opportunity to turn my photography hobby into a passion and, ultimately, into a small business. Now, I specialize in capturing the “end of an era” photos for high school seniors and college graduates, the mundane moments of daily living for young families, updated Linkedin headshots for young professionals, and promotional content for various sororities on Samford’s campus. I have been the second shooter for multiple weddings since I began taking photography more seriously. Those experiences, plus numerous others, solidified my desire to do photography for the rest of my life. I am a local photographer in the Auburn and Birmingham area. Since coming to Samford, I have been able to expand my clientele to Birmingham families as well as the Samford community. While I am more established back in my hometown of Auburn, I am actively working to broaden my business in the Birmingham metro area. I have been able to work with sororities (Alpha Delta Pi, Phi Mu, Alpha Omicron Pi) and fraternities (Alpha Tau Omega) on Samford’s campus and would like to also be able to work with area high schools as well as UAB.
What has been the most challenging part of launching your business? How did you overcome this?
The most challenging part of my business is learning to manage the less hectic times while not getting overwhelmed during the busy season. Furthermore, I want to continue to learn how best to market my services and how to differentiate myself from the many photographers in this area. I believe I have gained insight into both of these challenging aspects of my business through the wisdom and instruction of more experienced small business owners in the Startup Program.
What is the goal behind your entrepreneurial pursuits? What do you envision for your business?
As a member of the Samford Startup student incubator program, I want to continue to learn how to combine my passion and talent with the skills necessary to run a sustainable business. Often, too many people get into business and have no idea how to run it and, thus, it fails or becomes more of a struggle than a joy. I want to be well-informed about the daily challenges and thrills of running a small business. Furthermore, I would like to make connections with established photographers in the Birmingham area and learn from other small business owners. Ultimately, being a photographer and capturing someone’s story is what I want to do with my life. As a member of the Samford Startup program, I would love to continue to learn how to make this a reality.
Does your business have a social mission or purpose? If so, explain how your business is redemptive in a Christlike manner?
In his book, The God of the Mundane, Matthew Redmond says, “There is a God delighting in the ordinary existence of the unknown faithful doing unknown work.” As a photographer, my role is behind the camera, capturing the stories of God’s children. Sometimes those moments are special, sometimes they are ordinary. However, they all weave together to make up our lives. We can look back on photographs and see how we have grown, remember those we have lost, and recognize God’s grace in the timeline of our lives. None of my photographs have my face in them. I am the unknown collector and distributor of the story. I believe that God uses me to help families preserve their story and reveal His glory.
How do you see your company having an impact on the Samford and/or Birmingham communities?
Samford has a story to tell, both here in Homewood and throughout the greater Birmingham community. Most of the impact that Samford has is through her students. I want to be able to show Birmingham, the state of Alabama, and the world how wonderful Samford students and families are. Furthermore, I would like to collaborate with established photographers in the Birmingham area to provide quality photography services for more people throughout the Iron City.
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