Photographer Feature: Q&A with Kristen Swain

Photographer Feature: Kristen Swain

Hello! I’m Kristen – a family and newborn photographer based in Boston, Massachusetts. I’m also a huge nature and animal lover and feel at peace when I’m alone in the outdoors photographing wildlife and landscapes.

After six years working as a lawyer in New York City, I gave up that intense, high-profile career and course-corrected to find a path that was a better fit for me. (Life is short, after all!) That eventually led me back to my long-time passion of photography, and I decided to take the risk and go for it (by starting my own photo business). It was 100% the right move, and I’m grateful every day that I trusted my gut and listened to my heart.

When I’m not behind the camera you can find me playing board games, watching Jeopardy!, or birding with my husband Tim, and spending time with our two amazing golden retrievers who are the center of our world. My other hobbies include yoga, studying astrology, and I recently picked up tennis again (after many, many years).

Photographer Feature: Kristen Swain

What is a choice you’ve made that has had the greatest impact on your business, or your health/happiness as a business owner?

Simplifying. Being very intentional about how many sessions I take on, based on how much time I spend on each session. And opting for an all-inclusive pricing model to keep things simple (Hannah’s guidance helped me realize that this is a perfectly acceptable pricing structure, it’s way easier for me as a business-owner, AND clients love the ease of it, and getting all of their digitals, too).

What is a discouragement or challenge you have overcome, and how did you overcome it?

A slow start in the business, and moving to a new city as my biz was just getting off the ground. To overcome these challenges, I held onto my other job for the first five years of my photography business, donated sessions to school and charity auctions to get my name out in my new town, offered free sessions to friends and neighbors, and networked with other photographers.

Photographer Feature: Kristen Swain

What’s a habit or routine that has changed your life for the better?

Quitting alcohol (mostly), and working out first thing in the morning. My daily productivity has changed so much for the better with these two changes. I always loved that with a flexible, often home-based, job like photography, I could work out whenever it suited me. The problem was that the longer I put it off, the more it preoccupied me, and the less likely I was to actually do it. The combination of constantly worrying about when I was going to do it, and missing out on the mood and energy boost when I didn’t fit it in, slowed me down in ways I didn’t realize until I committed to making a change at the beginning of this year.

What is a mistake you’ve learned from?

Oh boy, too many to count, but one that sticks with me is my fear of connecting with other photographers in the early days of my photography journey due to imposter syndrome. I was so afraid of being judged for my inexperience that I held back on making valuable connections in the photography community. As soon as I started to overcome that fear and put myself out there anyway, seeking out connections in the industry, my business began to thrive.

What’s your proudest photography moment?

I’ve placed in the top ten in a couple of family photography competitions, which has been both humbling and incredibly motivating. But also, simply the fact that I have enough clients to keep me in the business makes me proud every day. This is an extremely saturated market and people have so many photographers to choose from. It’s not easy to make it, and the fact that I’m still here 8 years in is a huge blessing.

What is the hardest thing about being a photographer, and what is the best thing?

Hardest: Making time for mental white space, to stay creative and inspired. This is such an important part of the work, but as a business owner I have so many balls in the air and tasks I have to attend to. This very critical element is, unfortunately, too easy to neglect. Best: The pure joy of creating artwork that’s meaningful to my clients, puts a smile on their faces (and in their hearts), and shows them how very beautiful they are.

What photography task do you hate the most?

The administrative stuff. This is part of the work of any small business owner, and is not exclusive to photography, but I hate dealing with the ongoing administrative filings required to register a company and do business in a state. I’m horrible at keeping track of the various taxes and documents that need to be filed, and wish I could outsource this work and never have to worry about it myself.

Photographer Feature: Kristen Swain

What behind the scenes task do you love the most?

Might be a tie between editing and curating images for my website and marketing. That said, I’m an extremely slow editor, so I outsource a lot of that work after editing my own anchor images — as much as I enjoy it, I spend way too much time on it if I do it all myself.

What is a hidden talent or surprising fact about you?

I played the flute at a competitive level through college, including going away to orchestra camp every summer in junior high and high school. I missed my orientation at my new high school freshman year because school in Arizona started before camp ended in Michigan!

If you could share one piece of advice with a new photographer, what would you say?

Shoot as much as you can, make as many contacts as you can, raise your prices before you feel ready so you don’t get stuck, create healthy boundaries for yourself within the business, invest in education.

If you could go back in time and share one piece of advice with yourself as you were beginning photography, what would you say?

Take care of some of the foundational stuff first, like getting a solid contract and client management system in place, and learn how to take advantage of all of the automations that can help make running your business more efficient. And pay attention to your numbers. Your pricing needs to be based on how much you need to make and how much it costs to run your business. You won’t survive if you’re losing money.

What are the top three items on your photography bucket list?

Wow! I’m surprised this one is so hard — I’m not sure I’ve really thought about this before. I can name one: Another safari, ideally a private one. I’ve been on safari twice before, but my photography skills have evolved so much since my last one in 2016 (for my honeymoon). I’d love to get back to Africa and have the opportunity to spend hours and hours in the presence of these gorgeous creatures in their natural environment, photographing their majesty.

What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?

Believe in yourself. Mindset is everything. Accept help when it’s offered.

Is there a photography or business book, podcast, etc. that you wish everyone would read/listen to?

Ooh, another tough one. Honestly, Hannah’s Unbasic Creatives course and community has been an incredible resource for me, so that’s what comes to mind on this question. I actually need some suggestions for books! I’m in a major growth and learning phase right now and wanting to consume as much photography education as I can.

Photographer Feature: Kristen Swain

Untethered Family Photography Publication | Q&A with Kristen Swain | Education and encouragement for family and newborn photographers

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