Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer McCarren.
Jennifer, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Who do you want to be when you grow up? That endless question. I finished college and even obtained my MBA still uncertain of the answer. I’ve always loved photography, even as a small child, but after my first son was born, I experienced first-hand how powerful an image could be in evoking emotions I thought were fleeting. Each photo I took of my son was a memory I could revisit whenever I wanted to experience those emotions again. I knew then that this was my passion – preserving these memories for myself and for others.
And even before this, as a child, my mother was always taking pictures of our family and was an artist, an oil painter. She inspired that instinct to see all of the beauty in your surroundings, the scents in the air, the flowers, trees and other foliage you see, the water, the light, the breeze against your face, the laughter in the air, the company you surround yourself with. All of the things we sometimes too quickly take for granite. And then I realized and appreciated that a photograph, what may appear to be a simple image, can leave you with a taste of those perfect memories forever.
What truly grew my business though, was a mom who loved my work and recommended me to a local daycare, the Young Life Academy here in Roswell. From there, I began photographing a few additional schools and doing private sessions for many of my clients at these schools.
When I am not out on the field at sessions or editing, a lot of time is spent on marketing.
Freckled Flower Photography has been named one of the Best Family Photographers in Atlanta by Expertise.com. We’ve been featured more than once on Beyond the Wanderlust, Mozi Magazine, Inspire- Digital or Not Fine Art Photography Magazine, Photo Artistry, Pretty Forum and many others.
Freckled Flower Photography has also been published in CHIC Critique Magazine: The Vintage Issue, Fashion Kids Magazine, Posh Child Magazine and Petite Magnifique Magazine.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road has been mostly smooth. The main struggle is just time management which certainly isn’t a new phenomenon. Photographing families is by far the most fun and easiest part of my job. All of the back-end stuff is so overwhelming and was truly a struggle before I was able to afford help. Taxes, IT, marketing, editing … and the list goes on and on all done by one person when this company was founded. Now I have help in some areas and couldn’t be more thankful. We could still use an additional 5-10 hours each day though!!! I’m sure you can relate.
Please tell us about Freckled Flower Photography.
Freckled Flower Photography specializes in newborn, child and family photography in North Atlanta, Georgia locations such as Alpharetta, Milton, Roswell, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Marietta and Canton.
I find natural-light photography, set in unique locations around North Atlanta, to be the best way to put families at ease and create an experience that is both magical and memorable. A professional photo session with me will be fun and even a little bit silly – it’s not a time for stress! To ensure this is the case, I offer consulting prior to the session to learn about your family and discuss expectations. After the session, I can help you design tasteful galleries for your home so you can enjoy the memories every day. (Rather than tucking them away on your hard-drive!)
As a company, I am most proud of the fact that families trust me to capture their precious and fleeting memories. There’s nothing I enjoy more than the giggles, cuddles, tickles, and even tears I share with my husband and our three boys. I’m driven by a need to preserve these moments – to capture them with my camera so I can revisit the images and feel those emotions once again. I’m inspired to preserve these moments for my own family – and for other families as well. I also think this is what sets us apart from other photographers.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Wow, what a loaded question! If I had to start over, I would have bought less gear, hired help sooner and taken some photoshop courses.
At first, I thought gear would make me a great photographer and the fact is it really has little impact on how you capture an image.
Sometimes it is hard to believe, but if you invest money in your business, you typically make more. I realized this the hard way when I finally hired some help about two years ago.
And photoshop is an incredibly amazing tool that I have spent hours and hours fighting with. It’s not an intuitive software if you aren’t familiar with it so it really takes a serious time investment to learn how to use it.
Pricing:
- Full Session Sitting Fees begin at $225 (Product purchases are made separately.)
- Full Session Digital Packages begin at $685.
- Mini-session Sitting Fees run $395 and include 5 edited digital images.
- Clients typically plan to invest around $1000.00.
Contact Info:
- Address: Skyland Drive, Roswell, GA
- Website: https://freckledflower.com
- Phone: 812-212-3089
- Email: jennifer@freckledflower.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freckledflowerphotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freckledflowerphotographyanddesign/
- Other: https://plus.google.com/+FreckledFlowerPhotographyRoswell
Image Credit:
Freckled Flower Photography
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