End of an Era

I handed in the keys to my Moorhead studio today. It was a bittersweet end to a significant chapter of my story as Britta the Photographer. For the last couple of weeks, my emotions have been all over the place, processing the end of this era of my business and welcoming what’s to come.

History in the making

I was first notified that MNDOT and the City of Moorhead were set on purchasing the building where my studio was located in 2021. But, honestly, I knew even before I moved into the Center Ave building, that this could be a possibility. There had been whispers that MNDOT had its eyes on the 11th street corridor to make way for a much-needed underpass, which would mean razing the blocks surrounding the road.

But, rent was cheap, the building was within walking distance of my house and I had someone willing to take over my downtown Fargo studio lease. I had been dreadfully unhappy with my beautiful but-flawed downtown Fargo studio, and I was ready to hit the reset button (even if it was in a less glamorous, smaller space). So, in December 2015, I moved into a tiny 800 sq foot office space at 1001 Center Ave, Moorhead.

This was when I was still a bright-eyed bushy-tailed wedding photographer with the energy of the Energizer Bunny (despite having two kids at home, including a one-year-old who never slept). The need for a big studio didn’t seem necessary at the time, but by 2017 when I signed the lease on the 1500 sq feet corner suite at the opposite end of the building, I was itching to make another change.

The Restless Period

This was the beginning of the “restless” period of my career. By this time I had been a wedding photographer for nearly a decade and that Energizer Bunny magic was starting to fade. Partially, I wanted to experience more weekends and our short summers with my family. But the more significant factor was the emotional toll years of photographing weddings (and creative self-doubt) had on my psyche. I knew I had to take fewer weddings, but I didn’t quite know how I could still bring home enough money to make it all work.

During this time, I took a bunch of photography business courses which told me that the only way forward was to be an in-sales portrait photographer. I raised my prices and adjusted my business model.

But, the thing is, that never quite felt right either. I loved photographing kids and family (still do!), but after being completely devasted because I lost a handful of clients due to a price hike, I knew that I was too emotionally attached to that kind of work too.

I went back to shooting weddings, this time with my friend Penny Burns with our business Here’s to the Hearts. But after one wedding season, we looked at each other and said, “that was fun, but nope.”

By 2018, I was ready to throw in the towel and move on to a new career - and was really, really, really close to taking another job. But, my gut said, “Nope, there is more for you here. You can figure this out.” And since I rarely say no to my gut (ask any pack of Oreos), I continued on this wild path.

Tip Toeing into Commerical Work

My adventure from an employee for someone else to a self-employed business owner actually began with freelance work from a creative agency. It was their confidence in my work that gave me the nudge to start my own thing.

As I was building my business as a wedding and portrait photographer, I was also slowly starting to build my commercial client roster. It went from helping creative agencies to taking headshots for small banks and dental offices. The 9-5 nature of working for businesses was appealing, and why the heck not? I could still meet cool and interesting humans and provide service that was really needed. Working for businesses was less emotional and everything could always be reshot if need be. If a client didn’t like my work (or my prices) they could find someone else that was a better fit, and I was totally okay with that.

And then the pandemic happened. By this time, I had officially quit weddings and had most of my eggs in the business basket. And it was a fortunate thing too. While my business did slow down during the pandemic, people needed headshots more than ever. So, I kept busy in the studio, photographing people and moving chins.

The lonely studio

After years of trying to find my path as a photographer, I really started to think I had it figured out. The business started going really well and I felt confident in the work I was providing.

But life in the studio had been lonely. While in quarantine, I moved my editing desk home and never really moved back. By the time I heard the news that my studio was to be on the chopping block, I was only using the studio for headshots and the occasional portrait session.

Luckily, the space was being used pretty frequently by my pal Abby Anderson, who had been a loyal renter for years and was growing her in-studio offerings. After telling her about the fate of Suite A, she was open about the idea of following me into a new studio space, which gave me the confidence to dream big.

A New Chapter

The one positive of being notified all the way back in 2021 that I would need to move is that I’ve had a bunch of time to think about what I was going to do next. For a hot minute, I considered leasing a hole in the wall again to “start over.” But after the conversation with Abby and with some cheerleading from my awesome biz consultants/accountants at Padgett Business Services, the idea of actually buying instead of leasing became a little more feasible.

It was a no-brainer that John Lillestol, a long-time client and all-around awesome human, would be my commercial real estate agent. The first thing he brought to my attention was these new shop condos going up near Thunder Road in Fargo.

At the time, I sorta scoffed at the idea. Weren’t those for contractors and guys who needed a glorified man shed? But after seeing what else was in the market in my price range and knowing how primo the location was (especially for my existing commercial clients), my mind started to consider it as an option. Once John showed me a similar style building, I realized it could be a great opportunity to create the perfect space.

In my next blog post, I’ll be digging a little deeper into what I envision for the new studio. The business plan is a work in progress, but I’m really excited about all the possibilities.

As for today, well… I feel a little more free having handed in my keys to Suite A. I felt very fortunate to have been in that humble office building all these years. It was affordable, safe and close to home. But, it’s time to move on to bigger and better things and I really can’t wait to get the party started.