Here at Professional Detours, we recognize that not everyone takes a winding path to career happiness. Some people discover their vocational passion at a young age, and they follow that dream in a relatively straight line – even when it leads them off the beaten path. Heather Swanner, a successful wedding and portrait photographer based in Cary, NC, is one such person, and she found time to sit down with me during a rare break in her busy schedule.
While most teenagers (and adults, for that matter) consider photography an art form and a hobby, Heather beat the odds and has been successful in this very competitive, non-traditional field. So if you’ve ever thought you might like to turn a creative hobby into a career, but weren’t sure how to start or if it’s even possible, read on.
When Heather was little, like many young girls, she wanted to be a veterinarian because she loved animals. However, when she was nine years old, she says, “I found out you had to deal with snakes, and I said, ‘Uh, no.’ And then I picked up a camera when I was sixteen and that was the end of that.”
Heather’s father bought a pair of Nikon 6006 film cameras for Heather and her brother for Christmas the year she turned sixteen. “I went and photographed a big green grasshopper on a red poinsettia leaf with raindrops on it -- I still have the picture -- and I fell in love with photography.” Heather started taking photography classes at her high school the following year, and during her senior year she joined a work program that allowed her to take four hours of photography classes at school and then spend the rest of the afternoon working at a frame shop.
After high school, Heather got a job at a well-known portrait studio associated with a chain department store. Besides taking photos in a professional setting for the first time, Heather learned the sales skills that would serve her well later in life. “I had to sell these chintzy little necklaces, you’ve probably seen them, the little portrait necklaces that are cheesy, but it taught me how to sell and how to believe in the stuff you’re selling.”
Heather then spent some time studying at several art and design schools before finally settling in at the Art Institute of Atlanta, where she met her husband, Matt, a graphic designer and animator. Several years later, after having of two children, relocating twice (from Atlanta to Palm City, Florida and then Cary, North Carolina), Matt and Heather launched their own business, Coastal Creative, Inc. As a team, Matt offered web design and consulting services so their business customers could make the most of Heather’s photography skills to highlight their products and services online. Heather also branched out into wedding photography, a service she continues to offer and enjoy, but her true love, she found, is portraits – especially of families and children.
In 2008, after a close friend’s child was diagnosed with autism, Heather became the first photographer in North Carolina to be certified by Special Kids Photography of America (SKPA), a non-profit organization that trains photographers to work with special needs children. Heather has since photographed dozens of children with autism and other disabilities, both in private sessions and in her role as the official school photographer for The Mariposa School in Cary, N.C. She has also recently started teaching photography classes to amateurs and hobbyists on Saturdays, which she thoroughly enjoys even though she was initially nervous about it.
There’s no doubt Heather is busy. The week before we spoke, she had photo shoots every day Monday through Friday and taught two classes on Saturday. But she manages to find enough balance to manage three kids, two dogs, and a house. Her photography business now works independently from Coastal Creative, but she still gets lots of support from Matt. “I can tell you that my husband knows when I get to the stress level where I can’t handle any more, and he helps me out.” Being self-employed and able to set her own schedule helps, too. “I stop at three o’clock every day, when my kids get home from school. I go outside and I play with them...That’s not to say I don’t have to leave them on Saturdays to go shoot a wedding or teach two classes, but I don’t work Sundays any more – though that came later in my career.”
So what does an aspiring photographer need to succeed? Although a degree isn’t required to hang up your shingle as a photographer, Heather strongly recommends taking some classes. “You really need to focus in on learning your skills on the camera and what the camera can do,” she says. But there’s more to photography than understanding shutter speeds and apertures. “You have to be able to see a photograph without even having a camera in your hand, when a photographer starts training their brain you start seeing things differently.”
Besides the technical skills you’ll need, Heather also thinks that successful photographers are usually extroverts. “You need to like people if you’re going to photograph people.” Additionally, she says that “You have to be patient, not just with working with people, but for the light to be right to photograph something.” And you have to have the passion for it. She says, “Don’t do something you don’t love. ‘Love what you do, and money will follow.’ I’ve heard that so many times in my life, and it’s so true.”
So even though she gets to do what she loves, be her own boss, and set her own schedule, none of these are Heather's favorite thing about her job. So what is the best thing about being a professional photographer? “I get to watch people smile," Heather says. "It’s the best job in the world.”
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