Today we’d like to introduce you to Candice and Logan Conner.
Candice, Logan, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
It all started at the Homecoming dance.
Actually, that’s where our relationship started, but owning a business together is a challenging but rewarding facet of our relationship. We’ve both been into photography for a long time. Candice’s father is a professional photographer in his own right, and Logan developed a passion for photography while traveling before college.
During college, Candice studied Advertising and Logan studied Theatre. Doing headshots was a natural combination of our interests, but it really didn’t occur to us until Logan had a particularly bad experience getting headshots in Virginia. The communication was awkward and the result was dishonest. We knew we could do better. We started out by hanging a giant piece of felt in the corner of our tiny apartment.
We’ve come a long way since then, but we still focus on trying to make our clients as comfortable as possible so that they can open up and show us who they really are.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
We moved to Chicago in 2008 – the same week as the stock market crash. Needless to say that it was a little shaky for a while. We realized quickly that it was more important to build the book than to get paid. We used the few connections we had to scope out any opportunity. It became a reflex to say, do you need a theatre headshot and can I shoot your show?
We’re very grateful to three of our earliest clients. Adam brought us on to take photos for a cellist, our very first Chicago client, and his own album. Bryan came up with $50 theatre headshot parties – day long events in which actors would pay $50 for a headshot – and later brought us on for his book covers. And Diane introduced us to the world of Burlesque.
These three clients were the foundation of a great deal of clients and projects that we work on even today.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Oomphotography story. Tell us more about the business.
We take pictures of your face!
Headshots, Stage, Event, Portrait, Conceptual and Videography.
Our goal when working with our clients is to make sure that they are comfortable and having a great time. The number one priority is to make sure that when you are working with us, you are happy and feel like you can take on the world! When you feel good about yourself, the photos will naturally happen.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least about our city?
Candice’s Best: The insane amount of second-hand inventory at my fingertips. (Thrift stores, yard sales, flea markets, EVERYWHERE!)
Logan’s Best: So many different neighborhoods in one city, going from Logan Square to Devon Ave feels very different.
Logan’s Least: Political Corruption, that’s probably way too heavy for this article, but I chose to live here because this is a great city, and that really is the worst thing about it.
Candice’s Least: That camera on Foster that will ticket you at 41mph.
Pricing:
- Prices range from $150-$2500, depending on the scope of work.
Contact Info:
- Address: Albany Park, Chicago
- Website: http://www.oomphotography.com
- Phone: 703.477.5530
- Email: candice@oomphotography.com
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago 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.
