We were honored when we were asked to be featured in the June issue of our Westhaven Community publication! Interview day came around and Amy Bailey came out to our office to collect information. We had a great time with her and absolutely love how the article turned out! Thank you Amy, and Westhaven for asking us to be a part of your publication! Read the full article below!
Walking into the office of Photographix, I’m greeted by two girls with smiles so big I think they should be in front of the camera, not behind it. But moments into our conversation, it’s apparent that the smiles Ann Carroll and Jen Cook wear so well come from their passion for photography and the success they seem to have so effortlessly achieved fairly early in life.
As with all success stories, there is a beginning. Some are hard-fought battles, some are so simple that you knew a person’s fate from the moment they picked up their first guitar, drew their first picture, or took their first photograph. For Ann, her artistic ability shone through the moment she took a crayon to a coloring book. Ever the artist, Ann found herself at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville with a goal of becoming an art teacher. But as many plans go, that changed after taking an elective black & white photography class. Photography quickly became her passion and off to Watkins Design & Art she went.
Jen’s passion was evident from the moment her uncle gave her he first camera. From an 8-year old running around yelling “say cheese” to her Union University college dorm room wallpapered in various magazine photo shoots, Jen thought “I can do that”, packed her bags and went back to Nashville telling her parents “college just wasn’t for me.” Without hesitation, Jen’s parents supported her passion and enrolled her in Watkins Art & Design the next semester, albeit admitted on academic probation, a story her mother loves to tell to this day considering the success Jen has achieved.
So how did the dream of two young, ambitious girls become a reality? Most of us have heard the stories time and again about how our parents trekked miles and miles in the snow everyday to get to school or work, but for this dynamic duo, that is quite literally the case. What is now a successful photography company located right here in our beloved Westhaven, Photographix is the product of an 8-hour car ride that should have taken a mere 20 minutes during one of Nashville’s worst snow storms almost 10 years ago. Acquaintances’ but not yet friends and both students at Watkins Art & Design, Ann & Jen opted to brave the storm together and head home to Franklin, TN. It was during this what-seemed-to-be-never-ending car ride that Ann & Jen discovered their shared passion for photography and the dream of what that passion could become.
And so the plan was in motion as Ann & Jen worked together to sharpen their skills, hone their craft and turn words into action. Initially doing family photographs separately, they both credit CJ’s off the Square with helping them break into the wedding world nine years ago where they have been working side-by-side ever since.
As their experience grew, so did their client list. With names like Rascal Flatts, Ronnie Dunn, Marsha Blackburn, Little Big Town and Sheryl Crow, it’s safe to say Ann Carroll and Jen Cook have made it to the big leagues. But when was the moment they knew they had “made it?”
“I was good friends with local party planner Traci Phillips who was good friends with country superstar Sara Evans,” says Jen. “Traci hired me to do a few private events for Sara, one of them being Sheryl Crows baby shower. That was the moment I freaked out and knew I had made it!”
For Ann, the Sheryl Crow baby shower led to her most memorable moment. “After the shower, Sara Evans got engaged and hired us to do her wedding. I was 8 months pregnant and almost fell in a hole. We were published in People magazine the next week. We both ran through Target like giddy fools and bought 20 copies. We were so excited!”
Clearly pros at capturing that special moment between a bride and groom or that moment when your crying 2-year old suddenly flashes that sweet smile, Ann & Jen found, quite by accident, their latest talent – boudoir photography.
“A fellow photographer asked us to do boudoir shots for her husband,” recalls Ann. “Then we shot a couple of our friends to expand our boudoir portfolio and we just kept getting requests even though we didn’t advertise this part of our business for about a year.”
“We found ourselves constantly driving from one place to another photographing women in a boudoir setting then it finally hit us, we need to open our own boudoir studio and have them come to us. We are just as surprised as anyone that this part of our business has blown up,” admits Jen.
And as if phenomenal success in photography isn’t enough, Ann recently had another brilliant idea with the inception of their newly launched computer frames, {Framed} by the Photographix. “We would take our computers to bridal shows so we could show off our photos and I just thought we needed something prettier to showcase our work, so I thought we should make our computer look like a picture frame. We got so many compliments on it, we thought we’d just start making them and selling them on our website,” says Ann.
So what’s in their future, besides inevitably more success? “We are in the process of expanding and renovating our boudoir studio and continuing to hopefully get our name out there and expand the business,” says Jen. In the more immediate future, Ann & Jen are happy to fill up their days capturing all the moments that define a family in the beautiful setting that is Westhaven. Personally, I will take advantage of the talent of these self-proclaimed “triers” who took an idea that came from a shared passion – and lots and lots of snow – and turned it into what has quickly become a picture-perfect career.
To schedule your family photo shoot, or ladies, to book your boudoir session, email Photographix at info@thephotographix.com or call Ann Carroll, 615.519.5458 or Jen Cook, 615.828.5100.
To check out the beautifully designed computer frames, visit their website.
” and be all sad and discouraged when you look at them? I say, do it NOW. In the body that you’re most likely going to have for awhile. That way, when you look at them, you can say “Wow! I am gorgeous just the way I am, and HERE IS THE PROOF!!” At least that’s what I think
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