Good Neighbor Podcast: Bergen
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Bergen County
Good Neighbor Podcast: Bergen
Ep. # 94 Behind the Lens: How a Film Industry Pro Built a Thriving Photography Business
What makes a truly memorable family photograph? According to photographer Christine De Savino, it's capturing authentic moments that reveal the essence of a person - whether peaceful, playful, or pensive.
Christine joins us to share her fascinating journey from 1990s film industry stills photographer to award-winning family portrait artist. Working alongside lighting technicians (including her future husband) on movie sets gave her a masterful understanding of composition and visual storytelling that now defines her distinctive photographic style.
When Christine launched her business in 2008, she approached it with both artistic vision and business acumen, taking specialized courses in photography entrepreneurship. This preparation has served her well, resulting in an extraordinary 85% client retention rate built primarily on referrals and repeat family celebrations.
The secret to Christine's success with photographing children? Creating a relaxed, playful environment where kids can be themselves rather than forcing unnatural poses. "The more you try to grip tight, the worse it is," she explains. "Just don't stress and let children do what they're doing." This philosophy extends to her event photography, where she captures authentic moments of celebration when subjects are too busy enjoying themselves to feel self-conscious.
Beyond technical skill, Christine emphasizes that exceptional customer service drives her longevity in a competitive industry. From answering calls personally to ensuring stress-free sessions, she's built a reputation that keeps families coming back for each milestone. Whether shooting at her recommended Davis Johnson Gardens in Tenafly or traveling to the Jersey Shore, Christine's commitment to authenticity shines through every image.
Ready to document your family's special moments? Visit ChristineDeSavino.com or call 917-697-1835 to schedule a session that captures not just how you look, but who you truly are.
Christine De Savino Photography
Christine De Savino
917.697.1835
chris@christinedesavino.com
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Doug Drohan.
Speaker 2:Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast brought to you by the Bergen Neighbors Media Group. Coming to you live from Bergen County, from Harrington Park, new Jersey, and right down the road is our guest Christine De Savino. I'm sorry I always mess up people's names Anyway. Christine De Savino Photography. Hey, how are you?
Speaker 3:I'm good, Doug. Thanks very much for having me.
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. It's Christine De Savino Photography, based out of Rivervale, new Jersey, and you do a lot of, I guess, family shoots and portraits and things like that. Is that your specialty? Based out of Rivervale, new Jersey, and you do a lot of, I guess, family, you know, shoots and portraits and things like that. Is that your specialty?
Speaker 3:Yeah, my focus is children and families and family celebrations, you know an event.
Speaker 2:Yep, yep. So you'll do well, you do weddings, or it's more family events like bar mitzvahs and communions and family reunions.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I don't do weddings, but I do, do you know? Bar mitzvahs, milestone birthdays, graduation parties, any celebration you know that the family's having yeah just short of what I'm actually. I am shooting a wedding the end of april, but it's a small wedding okay, generally I don't do the full day yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:That is a long process, absolutely you know, having been in a wedding myself. Yeah, plenty of wedding parties. Yeah, it's, you know, we got to take the photos. That is a big part of the of the day. So how did you become a photographer? Like? When did you start your own business and when did this journey start for you?
Speaker 3:Well, I guess it's a two-part answer. My first job in photography actually was as a stills photographer in the film business, and this was in New York in the 1990s and that's how I met my husband. My husband was a gaffer who's the head lighting tech, and so this was back in the days of film. So I used to have to go to him every morning and say you know, what kind of film are they shooting, what lights are they using? And that would determine what kind of film I put in my camera.
Speaker 2:So what did they use the still photos for?
Speaker 3:To promote the movie basically.
Speaker 2:All right, so more for PR right.
Speaker 3:Okay, uh, to promote the movie basically more for pr right okay, yeah, or behind the scenes shots. You know the director talking.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's stuff like that. So it's interesting. I've always wondered what a gaffer is, because you see the credits roll by.
Speaker 3:You know a gaffer, or bet, or best boy right exactly that's why I say he's the head lighting tech, because no one really knows what a gaffer is but you can imagine as a photographer. You know we, you know we. We uh became fast friends. Let's put it that way.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah, so what? Any? Any shows or movies that I'd recognize that you worked on?
Speaker 3:they were all low budget films. It was non-union work, so they were mostly things you've never heard of. But you know, the, the biggest one probably. Uh, you probably still haven't heard of it, but it was a movie called dummy, with adrian brody and mila jovovich and jessica walters, and he plays a ventriloquist in it um you know he was great. He just won his second oscar as you I know it's funny, um uh.
Speaker 2:During the golden globes um nikki glazer, her stand-up joke about him was I don't think she actually said it, because she said this on Howard Stern. She's, like you know, adrian Brody's won two Oscars for playing a Holocaust victim. I guess he should thank the Nazis for his career.
Speaker 1:Nikki Glaser.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know she was great, but there's certain things. She, like Howard, said were there any jokes? You didn't tell, and so that was one of them.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It was funny I was telling my son. I worked in Manhattan for 25 years. I worked in the music industry on 55th and Madison, and then I get out at Port Authority and walk across usually, and then I worked at MTV and Nickelodeon and there were so many times you walk in the streets and you run into a film crew somewhere, whether it was Law Order or it was some movie. I remember a long time ago when I lived in Manhattan, I saw them setting up a scene for a Godzilla movie. I saw Prince of Tides. They were filming with Barbra Streisand and Nick Nolte down on Prince Street yeah, you know and down Soho. So you always ran into some kind of production. If you saw the trucks, you know. If you saw the food trucks and the makeup truck, you knew something was going on.
Speaker 3:Causing traffic.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. But you know, working in Times Square, I remember when I was on 44th Street and the marquee for one of the theaters changed and there was Michael Keaton's face out front and said Birdman or something. I'm like that's an interesting play. And then it wasn't a play, they were using that for the movie. That was an amazing movie. So you're shooting stills and you meet your husband and then I'll cue the music now and then the dramatic strings come in and you guys you got to fast forward a few years.
Speaker 3:We have two kids together. Um, I eventually quit the film business because the hours are too long and someone's got to raise the kids.
Speaker 3:So you know I stayed home with the kids and as you might imagine, they became my new favorite subject to photograph. So, um. So my husband said to me one day you know, know, you're really good at this, you should start a business. But what's funny is that if you ask him this question, he'll say that it was my idea to start the business. So, whoever's idea it was, I thought it was a good idea. So I went about. You know the next few steps were, you know, making that dream come true. So I took several workshops in. You know how to start a children's photography business?
Speaker 3:I took a business course in how to run a photography business.
Speaker 2:Okay, and this was.
Speaker 3:I was going to say this was back before. You know, if you wanted to create a website, it wasn't like now where you have, you know, a template that makes it very easy. My husband taught himself html and you know we basically built a website from scratch wow I photographed a bunch of friends, kids, and you know just kind of put it together like that and and then launched it in 2008 wow, that great.
Speaker 2:It's interesting that you took some classes and you know business classes, because a lot of people that I talked to that are on their own business. They didn't. You know they know what they know, whether they're a doctor, a physical therapist or you know dog groomer but they didn't take any business classes. So it's you know. Kudos to you for you know, knowing what you don't know and saying you know, I have to educate myself on this if I'm going to do it. And certainly running a photography business and a children's photography business is different than starting a yoga studio or starting a, you know, a doctor's functional wellness practice, you know. So there's nuances, but certainly there's overlap in a lot of different things.
Speaker 3:I mean there's a lot to know. There's a lot to think about, you know, aside from the photography itself.
Speaker 2:So well, you know, there's one thing I find with with new you know, new business owners is that they pay for their equipment and they get their inventory, they got their rent or whatever it is, but they don't buy their customers, in other words, they don't market themselves. In other words, they don't market themselves and it's like, well, how are people going to find you Nowadays you know you're talking 2008, but nowadays, oh, I have an Instagram page and they think that that's going to be enough. So, you know, one of the bigger issues I think that we all run into is okay, I've studied, I went through these courses and went to these classes, but now I got to market myself, and that's not easy to do because a lot of us are not comfortable putting ourselves out there. So, what have you found in terms of, you know, over the last, you know, 15, 17 years?
Speaker 3:that's changed for you in terms of how you've acquired customers or clients and how you market yourself.
Speaker 3:Well, in the beginning, we found that SEO is very important, so my husband and I worked a lot on that you know, trying to make sure that we were on the top of the Google search when people were Googling you know children's photographer or family photographer, and so you know children's photographer or family photographer, and so you know we did. That involves keywords and we did press releases, things like that, anything to kind of get the name out there. Um, and then what's happened in subsequent years and we've been very fortunate in this is that I've had a lot of repeat customers.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:So you know it can start with a family having a newborn, and then you know the one year shoot and the you know communion, and then they have a second baby and it's just, you know, and I have about an 80 to 85% retention rate. So it's, it's really, it's made the marketing and the SEO a little bit less critical because, I have so many returning clients and referrals. Which word of mouth is the best? That's the best you know. Advertising you can get.
Speaker 2:Yep, yep. I heard somebody say the word of mouth is not a strategy. You're hoped for word of mouth. Heard somebody say that word of mouth is not a strategy, your hope for word of mouth. But once you've built, like you're saying, if you have 85% like renewal and retention, where people hire you again for another event in their family's lives, that's amazing.
Speaker 3:It's amazing.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So what do you?
Speaker 2:mean you have different types of like. You know, if you go into your portfolio you have peaceful, playful, pensive. Is that intentional to have that type of, I guess, approach and emotion? So you tell somebody, I don't know if you tell a kid, give me a pensive. Look, they'd be like what I do not.
Speaker 3:I love that you looked at that. So I have galleries. I have them divided up into categories, like you know newborns, maternity, cake smash but I also have my portfolio and I'm so glad that you looked at that one because that's really the one that's closest to my heart and the reason is because I feel like all three of those emotions are authentic and that's really what I'm aiming for of those emotions are authentic, and that's really what I'm aiming for.
Speaker 3:I'm aiming to capture authenticity and I want you to look back years, years from now. You know, I want them to stand the test of time, the photograph I take. I want you to think that I captured the essence of your child, and the child isn't always happy and he's not always you know and he's not always, you know, elated. They can, they can run through the whole gamut of emotions.
Speaker 2:So what do you tell a 10 year old? When you want them to be pensive, you just say don't smile.
Speaker 3:Or just I don't ever, no, I don't ever tell them how to pose.
Speaker 2:I just.
Speaker 3:I just engage them and talk to them and then just kind of capture the moments that I you know, that I see and that I like.
Speaker 2:You know, I think, as a parent, when you look at some of these photos and you know you know your child, but then you don't know your child and you're like you're wondering what are they thinking of? Like what's going on in their head right there? Like what?
Speaker 2:you know I wonder what they were thinking at that moment, or that you know you look back 10 years later when they're graduating, whatever, and you look back at that photo and then maybe you look at one 10 years later and you know present day. And it's interesting because you can, you know, stare deeply into their eyes and feel something, even without knowing this kid at all or this person at all, and I think that's really powerful and different. You know, I talk and meet with a lot of photographers in my line of work and one thing I've learned is that there's certain industries where people pick up a camera or decorate a pillow and then start a business and call themselves a photographer or a decorator, yet they don't really have any back. You know any education or really know the craft or have the when it comes to photography, even have the proper equipment.
Speaker 2:You know lighting, I've noticed you know so so important to capture, you know, not only for online. Everything looks better on your computer with the lighting. But you know, I work in the print world and there's such a huge difference between how your characters are lit or backlit, even if they're in natural daylight, versus when somebody just grabs their Canon or their Sony or their Nikon, and you know, takes photos. So now, having worked in film and I mean working on movies and independent movies you're watching actors become these characters. Did that help you when you were taking stills of them in those moments?
Speaker 3:that help you in what you do today and how you approach your, your principles I mean, you know, I I feel like there is a certain amount of, you know, artistic expression that I aim to capture, and that's certainly something that I saw a lot of in the film industry yeah um, you know what, your choice for composition and your choice for background and things like that, you know those were things that obviously when you have a whole film crew helping you to achieve the vision, yeah.
Speaker 3:You know that's an inspiring thing to be a part of and to see. Yeah, and that's, you know, that's something that I've carried through with me to to the work that I do, you know, in my own business right but really so much of what I love about photographing children is, um, you know, they just have. They have like a spontaneity and they have a it's like a lack of consciousness, or in front of the camera.
Speaker 3:You know what I mean, and as adults, we, I don't know, somewhere along the way we kind of lose that freedom and we just become self-conscious, at least more so than kids so that's like that's one of the things that I really love about what I do, and even you know it's funny because when I first started, it was, you know, children and families.
Speaker 3:And then, a few years in, I decided to kind of fill in the cracks, like, especially during the winter months when I didn't have work, I decided to start shooting events, and the common thread with how I started to really love photographing events is that when people are celebrating, you know, when they're celebrating at a bar mitzvah or a birthday party or whatnot, there's a freedom there. Also, there's a lack of self-consciousness there because they're too busy celebrating to think about being photographed right now. So I think that's kind of like a common thread through what I like to photograph, what I enjoy and it's and it's an authenticity you know keeps coming back to that theme.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think we, as we get older, we get more self-conscious when we, especially nowadays, so many photos of yourself taken and put up on social media immediately, right, I tell my wife sometimes I'm like you know I shouldn't have write a first refusal photos of, put your photos of me up because she looks good, I look like crap she. And my son is like can you please let me look at these things before they go up there?
Speaker 3:I hear you.
Speaker 2:And then there's a certain way that I have to hold the camera or my phone when I'm photographing her and her sister.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you get to learn the good angles photographing her and her sister.
Speaker 2:And you know, yeah, you get to learn the good angles and they're, and they're like, uh, oh, these kids say they all know how to pose the right way. You know, because we're not, you know, we're a little bit older and it's not about the pose, but, um, yeah, it is funny and yeah, I hear, I hear what you're saying with kids is like they're just free, yeah, worrying about what they look like, and that. Yeah, like you said, there's an authenticity to that and an innocence to it and that's great.
Speaker 2:So, you know it's been, it's been. You know years that you've you've had this business. Have you grown to hire other photographers, or is it just you?
Speaker 3:No. I think, I'm too much of a control freak. I mean, I'm not a control freak, but no, I just I'm happy this way.
Speaker 2:I don't know, I mean.
Speaker 3:I have a second shooter if I'm doing a big event, like if I'm doing a big, I've done some big bar mitzvahs and then obviously I need help. So, I have a second shooter that I work with, but you have a gaffer need help, so I have a second shooter that I work with, but do you have a gaffer? I do have a gaffer at the ready. Um now, my husband does definitely help me if like, if I'm setting up for a headshot or something like that you know he's a talented lighting tech, so he's still in the industry he's not actually.
Speaker 3:He's moved on to a different industry, but he you know he worked in it for a while.
Speaker 2:Yeah, nice yeah what they always say and I say they um, so don't ask me who they are, but they say that shooting children and pets are some of the most challenging uh subjects to shoot. Obviously you love shooting children, but you know I've been on a lot of shoots with kids and the younger ones can be pretty tough to look at the camera, to calm down, not be distracted. So is that, I mean, is that your experience as well?
Speaker 3:It's definitely true. I find that the key is not to you know like the more you try to grip tight you know, the worse it is. Just don't stress and just kind of let the child do what they're doing and be what they're being, and just try to engage them in again an authentic way, you know. Try to joke around with them or ask them questions. Engage with them, ask them what they like what they don't like.
Speaker 3:I'm always joking around, you know, always just telling them to name their favorite animal and I'll make the noise, and then I make the wrong animal noise and that gets them to laugh. Just just doing things to kind of engage them and make them interested in you, and then they'll give you the expressions that you need. But if you tell them hey, come over here and sit down and don't move, that's certainly not going to work.
Speaker 2:I think I just recognized somebody from your portfolio. I think it was a New York Giant, but I'm a Jet fan. But I recall there's somebody else I know in your shoot here. They're an Ulta Pan and my son used to play soccer with him and we play against them in sports. One of the kids' name is Elijah. Oh nice, yeah, all their kids have like biblical names. They're Korean, right right. But anyway. So all right, you have different categories children, families. I don't see a separate section for pets, which upsets me.
Speaker 3:Okay, so let me tell you a little something about pets. I don't do strictly pets, although I've thought about it, because I love animals, but I will tell you one thing about pets okay I love when people bring them on the shoots, and here's why, as soon as a child is posing with their pet, they just light up. Is posing with their pet? They just light up.
Speaker 3:It's so cute and lovely to see how happy they are to pose with their pet If you tell them to just pose by themselves and this is especially teenagers teenagers start to become maybe a little bit more self-conscious.
Speaker 2:But if you ask, them to pose with their pet.
Speaker 3:They're so happy to do it. It's adorable. So I always say bring the pet, don't do it twice. It adds to the chaos. But it also adds an element of I don't know of loveliness.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's true. So now you're in Bergen County and if somebody wants to do a shoot, do they sometimes say, hey, can we go upstate, can we go to the river, can we go to Manhattan, can we go? Um you will. Okay, I don't mind.
Speaker 3:I, I love. I'm a road warrior. I drive out with my husband in Indiana. You know a couple of times a year. That's where he's from. Um, but I love. The Jersey shore is one of my favorite places to shoot, so I will hop in the car and drive down there anytime. I have a lot of clients in Connecticut, I'll drive up there and Westchester County and the city I'll go wherever.
Speaker 2:Do you have any favorite spots around here in our vicinity, let's say between here and Nyack, and you know Bergen County.
Speaker 3:I do. Davis Johnson Gardens in Tenafly is a lovely little park.
Speaker 2:I don't know that, wow Okay.
Speaker 3:Oh, it's a beautiful little park. It's funny because it's so small, but it's very diverse. It's got a little rose garden, it's got a gazebo, it's got all different looks a stone wall. You know you don't have to walk too far to get to everywhere well and then in by contrast, there's the new jersey botanical gardens in ringwood. It's not bergen county, but right right but they're beautiful and diverse, but it's a lot of walking to get from one place to another okay, I've been to the New York botanical garden, but never Jersey, go figure.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's nice.
Speaker 2:I'm a New York originally so maybe that's why I don't you know. I've lived in New Jersey for 25 years or more, but I don't know all of Jersey Long Island, huntington.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 2:Huntington, long Island. Yeah, so now you know I I I always say you know, I interview business owners and entrepreneurs from every walk of life and I think you're the first photographer who's been on my show and I've had 90 guests so far and there's usually a common theme that goes through that everyone is kind of experienced as an entrepreneur, as a business owner, and one word people have described is roller coaster. You have been through the financial crisis when you started. You've been through COVID, so what has and certainly COVID, being a photographer, had to have a huge impact initially. So what has been your experience and what is you could say has been the reason for your success over all these years? If there was one, maybe it's tough to say one- it's tough to say one.
Speaker 3:Customer service certainly is a, you know, a primary. It's. One of my number one objectives is to make sure that people find the process to be easy to be, pleasant to be professional, to deliver on their expectations and if, for whatever reason, they're not happy, I will make good on it. You know it's unfortunate that it hasn't happened very often, but you know, just to make sure that they're completely happy and that and that the experience was a pleasant one, that it wasn't stressful, you know.
Speaker 3:I've had people say you know, my husband won't work with any other photographer, but you and it's, it's, you know. And I said well, what? What happened? You know, I try to fish for what happened in the other shoots, but it's, you know the way that we're spoken to and that's all a part of it. You want to tell people how to pose, but you also want to put them at ease, because that's how you're going to get a natural.
Speaker 3:You know you don't want a stiff pose shot. You want something that's natural, where they're feeling comfortable. A lot of it is customer relations, relations, you know, and and personality and and a lot of hard work. I mean, I'm not gonna lie, it's been, it's. It's a lot more hours than someone might guess. I I can, you know. A friend of mine said how many hours do you work a week? And I said I can always be working.
Speaker 2:I can always, always be working yeah, that's a good point.
Speaker 2:I think the other thing, though, is your quality and the talent, because it is an artistic form and not everybody has the. Just. Like I said, I own a camera. It doesn't make me a photographer, and there's a certain way that you capture the moment but also the way you, you know the focus, whether the background is blurred, how you, you know, bring the faces up to the forefront, the different types of poses. I'd say there's a lot of talent and artistic artistry in what you do. That, I would say, is probably one of the reasons why you're successful as well, because this is not, you know, you're not selling widgets, so I would give yourself a pat on the back for that too. But yeah, I mean, nothing's nothing. You know you can have all the talent in the world, but if you don't work and if you don't have that grind as the shark tank will say, you know what's your grind? Yeah, if you're not willing to live it and grind it out, then it's not going to. It's going to be a hobby, not a career.
Speaker 3:It's very true that you know there you can be a very talented photographer, but not successful in a business and vice versa.
Speaker 2:So yeah, yeah. Well, Christine, let's. Let's just talk about how people would reach you. What's the best way to contact you?
Speaker 3:Well, my you can, you know, view my work on my website, which is basically my name. It's www. ChristineDeSavino. com. You can reach out anytime by text or call. You know I still answer the phone. I know a lot of people just don't prefer phone calls, but I'm happy to answer and it's 917-697-1835. And yeah, so you can email me. My email is on my website.
Speaker 2:And you're on Instagram as well.
Speaker 3:Yep, All the socials Instagram, Facebook, not Twitter. I let my Twitter account go because it was just too many.
Speaker 2:you know, I'm on LinkedIn and I'm on.
Speaker 3:YouTube, and so I just I let one of them go, and that was the one.
Speaker 2:I was never on Twitter I'm a dinosaur but anyway, Christine, this is great. I really appreciate you sharing this with with our audience, and we're going to have Chuck close us out and you and I will be right back.
Speaker 3:Thanks, doug, it was a lot of fun.
Speaker 1:Thank you Thanks. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpbergen. com. That's gnpbergen. com, or call 201-298-8325.