Today we’d like to introduce you to Chrissy Berry.
Hi Chrissy, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My Love for Photography started at 13 when I met a friend of my fathers. To see the joy she brought her clients was something I wanted to do. My Junior prom is when she made me feel like the prettiest girl in the world when she took my pictures. She kept me calm and didn’t make me feel awkward. When I saw the images, I knew this was something I wanted to do. Fast forward, I get my first phone at 16 and I begin to take pictures of everything attempting to recreate the same style/type of images she took but with my phone lol. Needless to say, they never came out any good. As time went on, I still tried to recreate her style of shooting all with a cell phone, I did finally purchase a Point shoot Camera but didn’t like that there wasn’t a lot of editing that I could do to the images. Finally, I graduated high school. I begin my college journey but at the time, I was just register for course and class for a career that I didn’t want to do because it wasn’t my passion. It started off with being a teacher, I loved kids but soon learned after having my first kid that I couldn’t tolerate anyone else’s kid EVERY DAY, lol. Then Nursing and I don’t like blood or to see someone hurt brings this feeling over my body and makes me cringe. Next, it was computer technology and at the time, I was thinking this is kind of cool I can make a lot of money in the Tech field. So in 2013, I enrolled to Gwinnett Tech for an Associate’s Degree in computer technology and I learned so much I even became a certified PC Repair Technician and learned to build and repair my own machine no need for Greek Squad but then the classes got harder. I begin to repeat classes because I would drop them before I failed. It started to seem like I wasn’t getting it and I realized that doing this and the other course I had taken wasn’t my passion.
In 2014 while sitting in my Sequel Class, I logged on to my school’s portal and requested a change of degrees to Photography and one would say the rest was history, well that wasn’t the case. Through the next few years, I get ridiculed about wanting to be a photographer and that it wasn’t a career and others discouraged me. I also was a young mom and I worked full time and attempting school full time. It took a long time, I had to pause a year change schedule and take classes during the day making my work days longer but I was dedicated because I wanted to prove to those that I could do it and complete it and actually make a career out of my passion. Jumping to 2020 pandemic begins and I’m a literally on my last class after so many trials and tribulations. Well, I completed that class with a D and that was a blow. Dealing with finding out my dad was sick and going through times that to most of my generation was very foreign, I just gave up. But January 2021 came and broke my heart, I lost my dad. I was lost but I knew he wouldn’t want me to quit and I really wanted to prove to the naysayers that I could complete this and show then that for me photography wasn’t just a hobby it was going to be my career. In July 2021, I finally did it. I received my degree in photography and I’m not done yet. I’m going back for my marketing degree to only add more to my business and also provide services to others business just starting out.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Ha! No at all. Negative comments and even the President of my college closing the photography degree program only because he deemed it as a hobby. I’d say this to him ‘who took that lovely headshot that you have on the schools website because I’m sure it wasn’t just some hobbyist. Now that’s not to say a hobbyist couldn’t create the same image I just knew personally that our program took every administrator and other programs head shots.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I started my business PureMoments by ChrissyB LLC in 2014 while still in college because I believed in myself. I specialize in Portrait photography (Life events, i.e., Weddings, maternity, engagement, etc., and I work with new models exclusively to help them
Build their portfolio). What makes me most proud is the looks on a client’s face when they first see their images and they become a repeat customer. Also I feel
what sets me apart is my authenticity and ability to make all my clients comfortable. I’m addition when I started this Journey I make it a point to tell my clients that I’m a not magician with promised to make them look like someone they are not but I do strive for perfection straight out of the camera. This can be executed by continued practice on your lighting, honing on your editing skills and believing in yourself that you will get better.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Honestly, luck has been good and bad sometimes more bad but because I love this so much, I just take it as lesson. I believe that if this is my passion, I’m going to learn from the errors made.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@pmcbimages.com
- Website: www.pmcbimages.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/puremomentsbychrissyb/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/pg/PureMomentsByChrissyB/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1892069224348302
