Today we’d like to introduce you to Maggy Wheeler.
Hi Maggy, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up taking pictures of everything. My dad was an incredible hobbyist photographer. When I was about 13 he gave me his old Nikon film camera that he used for everything. We went on photo taking adventures regularly. Once the film was used we would then take the film to get developed and he would give me feedback on the prints. After awhile, I started to have interest in taking portraits of my friends. I took my camera everywhere and probably annoyed the heck out of them always having a camera in their faces. Many years later when I had my first child my husband noticed I needed a hobby, something to call my own. He actually surprised me with my first DSLR camera. It definitely was a learning curve with all of those crazy menu items but it was just the medicine I needed. Holly Street Daycare started letting me take photos there and then from then on I knew this is exactly what I wanted to do. I actually taught at Holly Street when I first moved to Nashville. After that I taught about 14 years in MNPS. In May of 2026, I stepped away from teaching to pursue photography full time. I am now focusing on creating beautiful heirloom art for client’s walls or in albums from their sessions.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I’ve really enjoyed my journey in building my Photography career.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I used to only offer digital files to my clients. We would have our sessions, I would spend hours and hours editing them and then send them in an email. Sometimes I would have to wait days to hear a response. Thankfully I have always had happy clients but the wait killed me each time! I now am so much more involved. I talk through the session with everyone. We go over locations, clothing decisions, must have portraits and who all will be involved when planning the session.. We then have the session and it goes by much faster because we are all familiar with each other and I know exactly what they want. Once the photographs are edited I meet with them to have an ordering appointment. I show all of the portraits in a beautiful, heartfelt presentation and then we find all of the photographs they just can’t live without. I help find the perfect wall for that perfect portrait. I get to see their faces when they first see the pictures, no more waiting for a response and no more photos just living in the cloud forever. It is my favorite thing in the world! There is something about passing a portrait in the hallway or holding it in your hands that brings back all of the feelings and love from that moment.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
As I said before I just recently stepped away from teaching. This was such a huge leap for me and a really horrifying one. I do still have teaching in my heart so I have a home school student who I am teaching photography to. I also host a summer camp each summer in my studio and we go on field trips too to apply the concepts we learned. I knew that I would be leaving teaching at some point so I decided to have a “test pilot” summer where I taught a camp. Both dates sold out and all of the campers wanted to come back for a level up! I decided to add a level 2 camp this past summer along with beginners and then those all sold out. I wouldn’t say I am a “risk taker” but I plan ahead when I know I am about to take a risk so that I know I am safe if it doesn’t work. I like to test it out before going all in. I reached a point in my photography career that I couldn’t do both teaching and this. I couldn’t keep my business growing because I was literally maxed out on time and energy. So I decided to take the risk and I couldn’t be happier. I am able to provide my clients with the experience I have always wanted to provide them with. I knew if this didn’t work that teachers are always needed in schools so I could always go back but now that I have taken this leap I realized I can do this! It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
Pricing:
- Pricing is not a one size fits all package. It is based on what they want to order however big or small.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.maggywheelerphotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maggywheelerphotography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maggywheelerphotography
