Her Story
About Hannah
Hannah McMahon is the Owner and Lead Photographer of her studio in Dover, New Hampshire. She has been practicing boudoir photography for roughly 8 years and has been in the photographic world for about 17 years total. McMahon focuses primarily on boudoir sessions and her signature Unbranded offerings, which blend personal branding with boudoir for women seeking to embrace confidence. Her background as a registered nurse, where she worked almost a decade on surgical floors and in acute bedside care, informs her approach to client care, emphasizing safety, clear communication, and empathy. She is a member of the Professional Photographers of America since 2014 and serves as the sole photographer for Speak Boldly, an organization empowering women in public speaking, where she has also been a speaker. McMahon is a strong supporter of Soul Models, a Seacoast-based group empowering young women, for which she photographs annual events and donates directly. She attributes her success to grit, determination, and a willingness to pivot when needed, advice she credits to her mentor Kara Marie.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Hannah
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to grit, determination, and a little bit of positive delusion at times. There's so many ups and downs in business, and I've been really honest with people about the hard times. Even when it sucks the most, I figure something else out because I have that internal knowing that I can do this, even if it's really hard. My work is important, and I want every person that's supposed to be here to land here. Pivoting has been key too.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I received was from my mentor Kara Marie. She really talks a lot about the art of pivoting and being okay with noticing that things change all around us. It's okay for us to change directions in what we're currently working on, make complete pivots and 180s on the direction of our work, where we want to go with it, maybe the systems that we're using. Be okay with embracing the change that comes with that, because when you've owned a business for as long as I have, you see a lot of different circumstances and have to be willing to make a lot of adjustments to what you're doing and how you're doing it.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
For people just starting out in photography, I would tell them to be so willing to mess up a thousand times, because as an artist it is so subjective and there is no right and wrong way to enjoy a piece of art. As somebody who wants to be a business owner, I would recommend that they get a damn good bookkeeper ASAP, and that they learn how to make changes when they need to. You can be a really wonderful artist and a really crappy business person, and vice versa. The sweet spot is when you feel comfortable and confident in both of those abilities, because they're very separate.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Some of the biggest values are my connection to the people that are directly around me. Especially in today's day and age with so much technology, sometimes we forget that we are all just little humans on this planet trying to be connected. One of my favorite parts is being one-on-one with clients and having the opportunity to be so intentionally present with people. I love going a little bit deeper, not only hearing what somebody has to say but being willing to ask questions that might be a little uncomfortable, because they ask for the person across from me to show the same amount of vulnerability. From my nursing background, being willing to step in it with people and be empathetic to a point where you almost remove yourself from a situation while still being in it, with a radical understanding that we all have our own individual experiences.
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