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

Hi Amy, thanks for joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

My first concert when I was 18 years old was Gone Baby Gone, and I fell in love with that band, always went to their shows all over Massachusetts (where I lived at the time). After a little while everyone started calling me superfan. “Here comes superfan”. So I just decided to go with Superfan Photography since a lot of people already knew me as superfan. But the name to me means that if I make a commitment to be somewhere I’m going to be there no matter what.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I always loved music, but I never went to my first concert until I was 18. And ever since then I knew I wanted to be involved in the industry. I make local bands look like rockstars, and working with the local scene they are very appreciative of the effort I put in because they’re working just as hard to promote their band. I make photoshoots fun, I have a sense of humor and a lot of bands like that because it helps them relax during photoshoots and allows me to get that relaxed fun picture, rather than the picture of them all tense and hands in their pockets not knowing what to do. When I moved to Maryland 7 years ago it really helped me sort of start over and meet a whole bunch of new bands and I don’t know what I would do with all the friends I met down here, it’s definitely more of a friendly scene down here, they’re like my second family.

With my pet photos, I started volunteering with animal shelters doing photos for them to help get the animals adopted from their website. I also do photo events (dog photos with Santa, easter bunny, etc). People pay what they want then the money goes to the animal shelter to help with food and vet costs. At these events we raised thousands of dollars that we wouldn’t have made without my photos, so it makes me feel good to give something back. Also nothing makes me feel better than hanging out with all the dogs.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I go to a few of my favorite venues a lot, even if I don’t know any of the bands playing, and I just hand out my card and say I’m going to be taking pictures tonight. If people say they already have a photographer, I still take pictures, 9 times out of 10 i’ll get paid anyway because they feel like I captured the moment better than their other photographer. It’s about taking a lot of pictures making sure you get that jump in the air shot, the tongue sticking out, the guitar pointed at the camera lens, etc. It’s definitely about getting my name out there, talking to everyone at the show, and making new friends along the way.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I first started out I would drive to my friend’s venue in Connecticut (138 miles each way from where I lived in Massachusetts). Back then I would charge $20 for pictures per band (now it’s $75). I would talk to the bands ahead of time and ask if they needed photos for the show, and they would be like “yeah, that sounds awesome $20 is good, we’ll see you there”. When I get there and after I took pictures they would be like “yeah our friend showed up and took free pictures so we’re not going to pay you”. That happened a lot, very depressing, especially after them saying they would pay me and couldn’t wait to work with me. It kind of gets to you after a while. But you really can’t let it affect you, just move on and meet more people. It’s all about networking and talking to random people, because you never know who you are going to meet, that one person could help you skyrocket your career, and if you are a shy person you are never going to take that chance.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: facebook.com/superfanphotography

Image Credits
All photos by Superfan Photography facebook.com/superfanphotography