Meet Nathalia Frykman of Nathalia Frykman Photography in Cobb County

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nathalia Frykman.

Nathalia, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It is difficult to recall when I started photography in fact. I have dabbled in photography for as long as I can remember. I’m original from Brazil and recall playing with old film cameras and digital ones throughout my life, then learning film photography and videography in college back in South America. I have interned in international production companies and worked as an associate photographer for different businesses on and off for over a decade now. However, I have only actively pursued the dream of being a full time photographer and business owner in the last couple of years. Before that, any creative career seemed to be just an unreachable dream to me.

Once my daughters were born, specially my youngest one, Athena, everything changed. I almost lost Athena during the pregnancy due to CMV (Cytomegalovirus), a very common virus but not well known by the general population. CMV is usually harmless to the average person, but can be fatal to unborn children. Currently, there is no vaccine or cure for CMV. As a result, Athena was born deaf, with microcephaly and other complications and has received early intervention services since birth. There was no way, I could keep a 9 to 5 traditional job and although I am studying to become an educator, our daily routine made it harder to achieve such career goal.

The solution was to try to make ends meet by combining my creative skills and business accumen to finally leave the “ramen diet” days behind. I started by offering family portraits just to be able to pay a bill or two while still having the flexibility to care for my children, but I quickly evolved into a wedding photographer by investing in workshops in order to improve my skills and catch up with what’s best in the photography industry. Things caught up quickly and photography has been a true blessing in my life!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not been a smooth road. As I mentioned, before it was “all or nothing”, I never even dreamed that I could make a living as a creative professional. Well, let me rephrase it. I definitely dreamt of a creative career my entire life, but could never ever imagine it was an actual option. I`m a very independent person and have always been concerned about supporting myself and now, along my husband, supporting our family. And in our minds, there was no other way to do it, other than signing our lives away working a regular office job.

So I would say, the first challenge was to conquer fear of failure. Then the fear of being judged for my choice and for my skills. I managed the fear, decided to be resilient and nevertheless persisted. There is still a lot to learn and I recognize that. Being humble enough to hear criticism but also be able to filter it is important. I was blessed to quickly build a great network with fellow creatives that support community over competition which is imperative to survive in a saturated market.

Another huge struggle is to balance work and family, specially considering the additional responsibilities that come with parenting a differently abled child. I’m yet to overcome this challenge, but I have learned to recognize and respect my limits when it comes to it.

Nathalia Frykman Photography LLC – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Nathalia Frykman Photography’s motto is “dare to be yourself”. Although, I am a wedding photographer, I often photograph families and do editorial work as well. And it is highly important to me that my work reflect my values. I believe the concept of beauty is not what we are force-fed on the daily basis. I believe photographers, as influencers, have the social duty to bring true representation of minority groups and different abled people to social media. I believe there is beauty in every body shape, hair type, skin color and ethnic group. I’m proud of having collaborated with businesses and people who are advocating to make this world a better place and not just earning their money and walking away.

In the wedding industry, I am glad to be the safe place for couples who value tradition as well as those who want to disrupt it without guilt. Your wedding, your portrait session, your editorial should reflect who you are and not make you look like another smiley compliant face in your social media feed. I believe giving my clients the freedom to talk about their likes and dislikes and actually learning about who they are without judging, incorporating a little bit of their souls into their portrait is what sets my business apart.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success would be making sure my family and my clients are equally happy. Success to me is being able to make a difference. Am I successful yet? No. But I’m happy enough knowing that I am better today than I was yesterday. And that is a good compromise. Success is having a peaceful life. My life is chaotic right now, so I guess, once I reach somewhat of a balance, I will consider myself successful.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.NathaliaFrykman.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/frykmanphotography
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/frykmanphotography

Image Credit:
Nathalia Frykman Photography LLC

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