Today we’d like to introduce you to Paul Nguyen and Allie Richards.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I had been working as a full-time professional nature and landscape photographer since 2011. Traveling to destinations across the country and the world to make images, and then just selling prints of my work and teaching one-on-one lessons back in the Boston area.
I decided I wanted to do more with my business, to branch out and teach larger groups while making use of the location knowledge I’d gained over the years. I created my next business, BlueHour Photo Ventures, in 2014, with the intention of leading educational photography workshops in the incredible natural destinations that I’d become familiar with through my own work. I knew that I couldn’t, or wouldn’t, want to do this on my own, so I created the business as a partnership, with my first partner Lauren Chagaris. We started leading workshops in places like Acadia National Park, coastal Oregon, South Carolina, and other more local destinations, making mistakes along the way, learning at every turn, and, with every accomplishment, realizing how much more work we had to do.
As we evolved, we took on a third partner, Allie Richards. We also teamed up with a New England-based tour company to create travel packages to accompany our workshops, so that our photo workshops became “photo tours”, where our travelers no longer had to worry about their hotels and flights and other arrangements, and could just focus on having fun and learning.
Lauren eventually moved to Seattle to pursue other interests, so Allie became my sole business partner. Today, our offerings include a diverse mix of New England photo workshops and destination photo tours in North America and Europe. This year we are offering more destinations than we’ve ever had, and we hope to expand to include yet more destinations across the world. Our client focus has shifted from “photographers” to just “people who enjoy taking pictures”. This has enabled us to find a new audience of people interested in family-friendly, photography-focused vacations without the intimidation of a more serious photo workshop or the unfocused experiences that regular tours provide.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Learning that you can’t please everyone in every possible way is something that we, as many businesses, have had to learn. In the past, people signed up with us because we advertised that we could teach them how to make the best possible pictures they could. The problem with taking amazing pictures is that it requires a level of physical exertion, patience, and perseverance that most people do not possess, or at least do not wish to endure on their photo vacation.
Early on, we led workshops and tours that we hoped would show people how to create these images, emphasizing a work ethic that would come close to what we, as professionals, would put ourselves through. It turns out, this led to a lot of cranky travelers! So over time, we’ve dialed back our activity and exertion level required to please a wider range of registrants, not just the most die-hard and enthusiastic. While this means they might not make the best images they possibly could, it has created much happier groups for us overall, which we find is a more worthwhile goal.
While we started this business thinking our jobs would be to provide instruction and guidance in photography, we’ve found that the business aspect has brought on many challenges of its own. We spend a lot of time coordinating with other businesses like our tour provider to find the right hotels, flights, and arrangements on all of our tours to create the best experiences for our clients.
Additionally, working in natural environments requires flexibility, such as last-minute changes, etc. For example, we planned on offering a tour to the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon this year but decided to cancel due to the wildfires that decimated the area. Or sometimes, the hiking trail you planned on taking is closed due to washout from the week before, and we have to dig into our location knowledge to find an alternative nearby.
BlueHour Photo Ventures – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We create family-friendly photo tours for clients mostly from New England that allow them to take photography-focused vacations to incredible destinations across the country and the world, without the intimidation of a more serious photo workshop, or the unfocused experiences that regular tours provide.
We are proud that we can make complicated topics seem simple to people, whether they are 13 or 77 years old, and that we’ve inspired them to explore the world in a different way from what they’re used to. Thanks to our small groups and inclusive approach, our students build lasting relationships with one another, based on their shared interest in photography and travel.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
When our students take the time to thank us and tell us how much they learned and how much fun they all had with us, that’s when we feel the most successful.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bluehourboston.com
- Phone: 877-885-6553
- Email: info@bluehourphotoventures.com
- Instagram: @bluehourboston
- Facebook: /bluehourboston
- Other: Vimeo: www.vimeo.com/bluehourboston
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
