FAGAN STUDIOS
Meet the Member
better time than the present to take the step from the edge of that proverbial cliff and leapt into fulfilling our dream of operating our own portrait studio! So with a four-month-old son, we left our full time jobs in Iowa, moved into Michelle’s dad’s basement in NW Rochester where she grew up, and both went full-time with starting Fagan Studios in Rochester! Q: Fagan Studios has been a member of the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce for 16 years. What do you find valuable in your membership to the organization? A: The personal connections we’ve created with other individuals is what we’ve found to be the most valuable part of our Chamber membership! We have met so many friends through the Chamber and those friendships then provide community and connection. And of course, people like to then do business with people they know, so there’s that benefit of course too. But we never go into a gathering thinking how can our business benefit from us as the main goal, the main goal is to connect with other people, and be a connection to others. The Chamber’s Leadership Greater Rochester has been the most valuable program we’ve been a part of through the Chamber. I was fortunate to be part of the class of 2016 (best class ever!), chaired the class of 2020 (that class is up there too!), and currently serve on the LGR steering committee. I can’t recommend LGR high enough to everyone, no matter your age or experience, you have something you can learn and contribute, so apply to be part of the next class if you’re interested in growing as a leader, learning more about Rochester, and connecting to your community! A: We’ve been part of shoots that took us literally around the world once…we’ve photographed nearly 1,000 weddings before “retiring” that part of the business…this is a tough one, I think I’m going to go with: We’ve had the pleasure of waking up every day for 20 years to do what we absolutely LOVE to do! So to see that passion and connection come full circle, to the point that we’re now doing senior portraits of brides’ and grooms’ kids that we photographed in our early years in Rochester along with seniors now that we photographed their new born portraits 17/18 years ago…it’s a privilege to have been a part of so many families’ lives, documenting momentous occasions for our clients! Q: What is a unique fact people should know about Fagan Studios?
Q: What is the outlook for your business and industry?
A: The photography landscape has certainly changed over the 20 years we’ve been operating our business in Rochester. People, especially our high school students, take an incredible number of photos every day of each other, of themselves. But families are having fewer and fewer actual prints of those photos, if at all. So their images live/die on a hard drive or the cloud, rarely to be seen. At Fagan Studios, we’re all about the tangible, having a print or Art Book to hold in your hands, a beautiful artful canvas hanging on the wall - that will be cherished for generations; that’s what we create for, that’s why we continue to hone our craft and serve our clients with incredible photography! It’s not just for the instant digital gratification of the now, but for the future value and enjoyment too.
To learn more about Fagan Studios, visit www.faganstudios.com
AUGUST 2023 — ROCHESTER AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ADVANTAGE MAGAZINE | 11
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