Photographer Spotlight: Suzy Brown 

Location: Chicago, IL

What's in your camera bag & what's your favorite lens? 

Contax 645, Nikon F5 - love the 50mm and the 24-70mm lens - plus lots of Kodak Portra 400 and Kodak Trix film. I use a Canon EOS Mark IV and a 24-70mm lens for my digital work.

Who inspires you?

Anyone who perseveres through difficult circumstances. Anyone who is going through something hard and chooses to still find joy and happiness in their life. Anyone who is willing to do things they're afraid of. People who are good listeners and ask great questions.

What is your favorite thing to do when you're not working?

Currently loving family walks where we let our girls aimlessly roam around a big open field, a park, forest preserve trail, etc. while my husband and I follow after with our coffees. It feels so peaceful to have an hour or so where we don't have to say no to the kids, and I can walk and think while enjoying coffee with my husband. 

What makes your brand unique?

This is such a great question because often times I struggle with imposter syndrome and ask myself this! Like, what IS different or unique about me? When it comes to my brand in relation to what I offer clients, I think I offer a very client-centered experience. I genuinely loooooove love love serving the people I work with. I offer my clients more than just a one-hour photo session to take pretty pictures of their family. When I'm working with clients who are willing to have this experience with me, a session with me can serve as a time of respite from the world to just be together with their spouse/children/loved ones, be super mushy and ridiculous, let go of formalities, get dirty, connect, have fun and create art together. 

What's your favorite aspect of your business?

I love most the direct contact and interaction I have with clients. So this occurs at two points - the zoom call I have with a client when they first book me. This is our brainstorming session where I get a better sense of who they are, I explain how I like to structure a shoot with examples of what we can do, and from there I let the client be inspired about what's personal and meaningful for their family and from there we start to come up with a plan. The second part is the actual session itself. 

What business advice would you give to someone overwhelmed with starting out?

I think that often when we first start out in this business, we're just so excited to take pictures of people and create beautiful photos that we get caught up in building a portfolio and finding our 'style'. Before we know it we're taking on clients, we have no idea what to charge, we have no process in place for how we serve our clients so things are often inconsistent, and if left totally unchecked we get overrun with more clients than we can handle, not making enough $ so we get burnt out. We either continue that up and down cycle or we give up the business. So if you're just starting out, my best advice is don't wait until you're charging a certain amount or think your work is a certain caliber to figure out the business end of things. It's so much more sustainable to master the business side and then master your craft as you build clients over the years.

What's your Starbucks drink?

Cafe au lait with steamed oat milk