Meet Diana Sechrist of Diana Sechrist Photography

Today we’d like to introduce you to Diana Sechrist.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Diana. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Photography animates my soul; ever since I was little. After purchasing my first DSLR, I couldn’t put it down. I photographed nearly everything I encountered and taught myself the mechanics of the camera. Education grew out of my passion for photography. Inexplicably, I was drawn to newborns…. I think I was drawn to the purity, innocence and hope that they encapsulate.

Once I moved to Boston, I fell in love with the city and became so inspired by the strong artist community.

I began my photography business almost 10 years ago as an on-location travel photographer doing newborn shoots for anyone who would give me their baby!

The day I photographed my first 7-day-old newborn I realized that it was such a special type of session. What a gift. It is so humbling to be invited into such a special time in someone’s life. I try to use my lens to freeze the tiny details that will grow so fast. As the years went by, I began to receive more and more pregnancy portrait requests so the specialty of maternity photography just evolved.

There is nothing more special than honoring someone who is life-giving. And that is precisely my goal with my pregnancy photography imagery.

My maternity images are about seeing the beauty in all of these changes that bring on impending motherhood. Physical and emotional. I wanted to create images that freeze the feelings of anticipation, joy, calmness and fear of the unknown.

I wanted my images to exude elegance, yet carry a sophisticated element of how sexy a woman can also be during this time. I wanted to display the simple beauty of how love can be life-giving. We often capture a lot of this not only in maternity shoots, but with our parenthood imagery after the baby has arrived.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
BALANCE
It’s not just about staying inventive and creative in the craft (which is my absolute priority and passion) but we also have to be current with marketing, social media, studio product development, pricing and sales strategies, all of which optimize and fuel this type of work. Not to mention client relations, location scouting and prop sourcing… AH!

I am mother of two and a wife. I work hard to maintain a balance between my work and my home life. I love my family above all else so I make sure to not let the business overflow or compromise my quality family time. Even though I get strength and energy from my work, I did have to learn to delegate tasks to studio assistants, interns and accountants so that I can decompress at nights and weekends! There’s more paperwork than you can imagine with business ownership!

Every mother will tell you, finding a balance as woman business owner is always a creative challenge. While I do have a busy studio schedule, I am proud that I have built a business that allows me to have flexible work hours so that I can be home with my family when I need to be.

CLOTHING AND WARDROBE
Many of today’s maternity clothes are not always flattering in professional photos. We found it to be a challenge when clients would come in and feel nervous because they “couldn’t find anything to wear” for their photo shoot. To eliminate this issue, I started designing my own maternity & postpartum dress clothing line shortly after opening my studio, creating an exclusive wardrobe room for my clients to enjoy during their experience. I wanted every woman who came into the studio to wear something that makes them look and feel beautiful. Today, we have a selection of over 100 dresses and couture drape fabrics to select from here at the studio.

Please tell us about Diana Sechrist Photography.
I am a pregnancy & newborn photographer here in Boston.

My first studio space was a small 500 SF loft space in Seaport. Today, I have a studio team that includes assistants and makeup artists and we operate in a fully equipped 2,500 SF retail space with a 500SF room for props & wardrobe alone! I owe all of the growth and success to so many amazing clients throughout the years that believed in me and invited me into their lives to photograph such a special time. I still can’t believe how quickly time flies. I have photographed more than 400 newborns to date. That’s a lot of babies! Haha. My addiction for antique shopping resulted in our opening the DSP Prop Shop, an online prop shop available to newborn photographers worldwide, which is a fun little side business.

I have gained a true appreciation for all those around me who help elevate the quality of my work (i.e. my awesome assistant Sarah Cooper and my amazing team of makeup artists) and also for how much God’s hand has been a part of leading me down this path. A successful business does not exist without some sort of divine intervention in my mind, and a supportive ecosystem around it, no matter how determined one is to succeed, and I am blessed to realize that relatively early.

I think what I’ve learned is to just believe in yourself and let your passion lead you. I feel fortunate to have the strong support of my family, and my amazing husband, Michael, who has nurtured my passion from day 1.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory from childhood were trips to Hawaii with my parents. I am an only child and my parents have been my best friends since birth. As immigrants who became naturalized U.S. Citizens in the 80s, my mother and father worked very hard to provide for us and build what truly became the “American Dream” for our family.

I remember literally taking thousands of photographs during these trips and creating the cute photo collages as a child. It was nice to have the memories frozen in photo albums for us to reflect on. My dad always said to work hard and play hard, and I have to admit, I do love that advice 🙂

Pricing:

• Newborn Session Fee Starts at $995

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.dianasechrist.com
• Phone: 617-721-3390
• Email: info@dianasechrist.com

 
Image Credit:
All images copyright Diana Sechrist Photography 🙂