March 14, 2017

Meet Chrissy Swanson of Chrissy Noel Photography in Cumming

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chrissy Swanson.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Photography is something I have always had a passion for. Growing up my mom always had a camera in her hand. I mean literally we have thousands of picture of my family. So I guess you can say photography runs in the family.

The first time I thought about making a career in photography was probably when I was in middle school. I watched the movie Step Mom and Julia Roberts character with a photographer. I know it’s weird but I loved that movie and I loved how in the end her photography brought them all together. So when I was in High School I got a job at a photography studio at the mall. I really did love it, but thought I could never make money doing it.

After graduation, I decided I was going to go to school for Medical Assisting. I completed my degree, began my career and realized I was missing something.

In 2012 I started Chrissy Noel Photography on the side to see what I could do. It was hard but I made it work because I really loved it. In 2014 I quit my nursing job and started CNP full time and I’m the happiest I have ever been. The business is thriving and I’m gaining new skills everyday. Moral of the story “Never give up on your dream, follow your heart and take a leap of faith. You may surprise yourself.”

Has it been a smooth road?
I don’t think anyone that owns their own business really has a smooth road. There is always little bumps in the road and heck sometimes a couple detours.

Getting off the ground -The first struggle I had was actually taking the leap of faith to start my own business. As a young entrepreneur it’s scary to try to get a new business up and running, but what many people don’t realize is that the struggle never really ends. You have to continually reinvent yourself, change your go to market, make sure that you’re still in love with your craft and sometimes that changes. You can completely change your business model depending on the people, the events and the moments that you capture.

Maintaining your business -The next major struggle you have to realize when it comes to photography is that there is extreme seasonality to your sales. What I mean by that is during certain months or different parts of the year you have business rolling in with little effort; other parts of the year you have to scrape every ounce of energy that you have, every social forum that you use and every marketing tool at your disposal just to continue and maintain a busy schedule. Just because you had a great year doesn’t mean you’re going to have a good year next year. You end up starting over every year, while you hope to keep recurring business, photography is not cyclical it’s not a guarantee that they’re going to come back. It’s all about moments, celebrations and creating a referral network of friends/clients. The key is strong relationships and customer service.

Keeping the passion alive- Finally it’s important to maintain your passion and this is not as easy as it sounds. Weddings, newborns, lifestyle or family photos can become mundane if you do one of them too much. It can become routine and could just become about the money. You need to be open to changing things up, to keeping things creative, trying new things and learning new techniques. Changing, innovating, developing your craft and growing your photography style has to be front of mind. Sometimes it will take you down a completely different path but you need to follow that path and enter into the unknown with confidence.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
My business has grown with me as an individual. When I first started I was in the process of getting married so I really enjoyed shooting weddings. Once I got married I started on my path of starting a family. Which in turn I started shooting more newborns and families.

I really enjoy shooting families and couples in their own home. Everyone is relaxed and comfortable which really shows in their images. I love how I get natural, true smiles and laughs. A lot of people don’t offer these At Home Sessions which really sets me apart from other photographers in the area.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I think the Atlanta area is a wonderful place to start. There is so much opportunities and locations in the area to really grow and expand your business.

Pricing: