Images by Drea
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New Ulm: Images By Drea
When Drea Budahn was age six, her grandfather occasionally took her and her sister to their parent’s apple orchard to be photographed. “And I thought it was the greatest thing ever,” said 27-year-old Budahn in a telephone interview. “He introduced me to photography.”
Later, in a high school photography class, Budahn’s classmates regularly commented on her images and she helped them improve theirs. She ended up spending “a lot” of time in the New Prague High School dark room, she said, and “just loved it.”
After high school graduation in 2002, she completed Ridgewater College’s professional photography program, where she learned a great deal on teacher-led trips to conventions. Her degree helped her land an internship with a New Prague photography studio, and eventually over more than four years became its head digital artist and studio manager.
She said, “I learned a lot at Rick Stidger Photography, including how to interact with clients and manage the business workflow.” After working for another studio three years, she decided to start her own business in New Ulm, where her husband owned Prairie’s Edge Landscape.
“We moved to New Ulm in February 2010, and then I had a baby in March,” she said. “Eventually, I had the opportunity to get my own studio, which opened in March 2011.”
She photographs newborn babies, high school seniors, children and family, and weddings and engagements. More than anything, she prefers photographing on locations special to the client.
About her business, she said, “I love the fact I get to meet so many different people and then capture who I feel they truly are on camera. I especially love capturing moments people might not remember later. I also like the flexibility through this business of being able to spend more time with my child. But above all, my favorite part is showing people their images and how excited they get while seeing them.”
Images By Drea
Telephone: 507-304-3401
Address: 20 North Minnesota
Web: imagesbydrea.com
