Who knew her old career would come into play for a new venture down the road. Abby Flanagan’s first job was in Sun Valley, Idaho as a photo shoot coordinator on commercial photography shoots for products such as Jeep. From there she moved into TV commercials handling all aspects from casting to styling to editing. So she had been involved in photography of some sort for a long time. It has always been a love and when she began to photograph her family, her passion for the craft was reignited.
Abby began photographing her own family and when friends asked her to photograph their families, how could she say no. Another use of her craft came into play when her mother in law asked her to photograph homes for sale for the real estate firm she worked for. “I couldn’t believe I was actually being paid to do something I love. I began to invest in more equipment and lighting.”
But it was a random discovery that led to the biggest boost in her new found venture. “I began to play around with landscape photographs on the computer. I loved how I could take a photograph and make it look like a painting.” Abby felt she was blending art with photography. On a Caribbean golfing trip with her family, Abby was not golfing but went along for the ride and took photographs. “My first artistic piece was taken from a golf course. I blew it up to 40″ by 50″ and mounted it on Plexiglas.”
“I wanted to do more of this so I began taking various photos to large scale pieces of art.” Mounting photos on clear plastic gives her work a modern feel. “My work is blurred rather than macro detail and I feel the large scale makes my pieces more impactful.” Others did too and wanted Abby’s art for their homes.
So word of mouth has begun to bring in friends and friends of friends who covet Abby’s art. She even has some shops in various parts of the country asking to showcase her work. Creating art that is one of a kind is important to Abby, “Using the editing process, I won’t recreate two of the same pieces; I guarantee my clients that each photograph that I sell is unique.”
What does her family say about her new career? “My husband thinks it’s cool but wants to see the payoff. He’s the first person I go to for feedback on my work.” Sometimes her kids tell her she likes photography more than them, “But I like to show my kids that I’m doing something more than being a mommy.”
Abby is a master at capturing a family’s personality, “I love to bring out the best of family togetherness through photographs.” When you look at Abby’s artistic work, you get a serene feeling and Abby says that is the goal of her work, “I work to create a mood through the art.” With one look you know what she means.
Look for Abby’s shop in the VentureMom Marketplace.
VentureMom Tip
Look to a past career to develop a new venture.
