Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Frieda Schweky. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Frieda, appreciate you joining us today. Can you share a customer success story with us?

I have one client in particular in mind while telling this story but it’s really a general thing I try to do for all my clients and i’ve seen success with it. Basically, 8 days after a Jewish baby boy is born, we hold a circumcision ceremony called a Brit Milah. Now, I’m sure back in the day this was meant to be a smaller event, but nowadays depending on your community it can be a full blown party in its own right. in my community its typically a large brunch where you invite 1-200 of your family and friends to celebrate the occasion. Now think about the mother, only 8 days after giving birth coming to this event. The morning of the party can be super stressful getting herself and her family members dressed, let alone preparing the baby for the procedure and all. that’s where I tend to swoop in and go above and beyond for my clients. As a photographer I like to go out of my way to anticipate what’s needed and make the whole experience as calm and smooth as possible. I assure both mom and dad that it’s my responsibility to make sure their older kids smile and participate for the pictures so they don’t have to worry about that, I help collect extended family members for larger family pictures, and overall assist with anything they may need. I let the immediate family know, my name is Frieda, if you want a picture or need something just get my attention at any point and I’ll be right there. A big part of my brand is the client experience. My photos are beautiful and unique to me, but I believe photography should go beyond that, who do you want beside you in your most happy and intimate family moments? anyway the feedback I’ve gotten in these kind of instances is “I expected this day to be super stressful but you were awesome, you managed actually to make it fun! and the pictures were beautiful!”
there’s a reason (beyond compassion) that I focus so much on client experience. I want people look at their beautiful pictures and associate it with good memories. Not “that day was a disaster but at least we got nice pictures!” your service should be enjoyable at every step!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was always drawn to photography. I was the HS kid with a DSLR camera strapped to her neck. I submitted pictures to the yearbook simply
because I had them to share. However, I took pictures simply because I
loved it.
I was always drawn to Vogue Magazine growing up. I thought it was the fashion that was drawing me in so I attended The Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan, after sometime I realized it wasn’t the clothing or accessories that I loved, it was the editorial photography. ultimately I re-connected with my camera and began my business. I started out taking family portraits for my aunt and her friends families, and slowly I grew via word of mouth and social media. Propel, a community organization that helps women get educated in their chosen career path, set me up with one on one photography classes because I was a young mom at the time and I didn’t have the hours to sit in school. I learned what I needed to from those classes and the rest online from Kelbyone.com.

Since the title of “photographer” is such high praise for me, it took me
years to confidently call myself a photographer and own it.

I shoot mainly in New Jersey and New York City/Brooklyn

my main focus to date is events and portrait photography with an emphasis on client experience. Additionally I write for a monthly Jewish magazine which is distributed around the world called, Community Magazine. I also review food on my instagram stories to promote small businesses. I call this segment Feeding Frieda.

I am my brand, and I always try to show up as my most authentic self on social media, specifically instagram. (that’s my main chosen social media platform, and luckily it has an option to automatically post all my content to Facebook so fortunately, I show up there as well.) a big part of who I am is my ADHD. it’s my super power and I know a lot of people in my community can relate to the struggles and advantages that come along with this diagnosis. I talk about it on my page to help people get to know me and what I go and grow through.

I asked my friends to describe me and this is what they said: they described me as warm, witty, fun, friendly, kind, positive, energetic, ambitious, flexible, and hard-working, easy-going, authentic, and comfortable in her own skin.. “She is brave in putting
herself out there in new social settings and has a young soul.”

I think what I’m most proud of is the clear growth you can see in my work. I love learning photography, there’s always something new to learn or improve. Seeing my photos evolve over the years is so satisfying and gratifying. I remember when I started out I could only dream of the pictures I am now able to produce. and still I’m eager to see what the future holds and how my work will change as my career progresses.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to ultimately shoot weddings. from what I’m understanding from listening to other photographers podcasts, in other circles it’s not so difficult to become a wedding photographer, you just have to call yourself a wedding photographer and brand yourself as such. in my community the wedding photography market is cornered by men, exclusively. they are the same few men that have been servicing the community for years. the majority of weddings in my circle are considered luxury weddings so I have to be nothing short of excellent to be hired for such an event. I think my now six years of education, experience, and growth has prepared me to finally start shooting large weddings. the roadblock that I feel is in front of me is my lack of wedding pictures on my portfolio. to remedy that I am organizing two cross-promotional shoots with other vendors (floral, hair, makeup, video, dressmaker) to create opportunities for me to shoot bridal portraits and have examples to show potential brides and clients. I did shoot a small covid wedding in 2021 and the client was so happy, and I was too with the results of the photos, but since I’ve only gotten better and I’m eager to do more.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I’ve been listening to Passion with a Purpose podcast by Nathan Chanski, he’s a photographer and he gives practical advice and mid set tips that have really helped me grow my business. I could not recommend it enough to anyone with a creative business. a lot of episodes aren’t photographer-specific they can apply to any creative entrepreneurs looking to grow their passion in the form of a business.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @friedaschwekyphoto

Image Credits
Frieda Schweky