Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrey Boltyansky
Hi Andrey, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My father was a photographer in the USSR – he shot on a Kiev 19 35mm film camera and developed the film in his bathtub. While in college, he traded one of his professors a family photo session in exchange for a passing grade in a class that he was definitely not passing. While he never made photography his career, my father always had a camera around. When I was young, he bought me a small point-and-shoot that started my own love of the art. When I graduated from high school, his gift to me was a Canon Rebel SL1 and that little camera kicked off my journey as a freelance photographer.
At first, I just shot with friends. I took my SL1 everywhere with me and that poor camera got soaked, frozen, and battered all over the continent. Over time, I occasionally got more and more paying clients before I realized I wanted to do this full-time. From there, it was just a matter of building up a client base while working all kinds of day jobs.
Now, I can proudly say this is what I do and I owe it to my friends for practicing with me, my wife for encouraging me, my mom and sister for supporting me, and my dad for sharing his passion.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Absolutely not – growing a business while working a job is never easy. Investing time and money in yourself while having other financial and work obligations is difficult! And when you’re growing your own business, it can be difficult to find resources to guide you through the challenges and unique problems that you will face. There was a huge learning curve and not much of a safety net!
I also struggle with some chronic health problems that made this process particularly challenging. I deal with ulcerative colitis and ADHD so the combination of chronic mental and physical fatigue made the early days absolutely brutal. Thankfully, I had good doctors who helped get those issues stabilized, which allowed me to refocus my efforts and get through the worst of it.
That’s not even mentioning my wife losing her job 6 months after I went full time, my mother almost dying due to a medical emergency, or the dozens of other crazy issues I dealt with right when I started. There were definitely times I felt like quitting and getting a regular job just for the stability.
But all of that said, overcoming those challenges and continuing to pursue my photography has taught me a great deal about resilience. I feel like at this point, any challenge that comes my way is manageable. If I survived the first year of absolute chaos, then I can survive anything!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am particularly proud of the relationships I’ve built with my clients! I try my best to make them comfortable when we shoot together and over time, I’ve built up some great friendships and connections. So many people are uncomfortable on camera and helping them feel at ease and relaxed can be a challenge but the reward is completely worth it. Capturing people’s honest feelings and moments in a way that they love is an absolute joy.
What makes you happy?
Cats, candles, and good books. Also mountains. And of course, photography. And a good margarita. Oh and tacos.
Pricing:
- Wedding packages start at $3,900
- Commercial day rates start at $2,500
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.swankyboltstudios.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swanky_bolt_studios/
