MANAYUNK

By Rachel Jenkins

Photography by Susan Beard Design

How is it that we can pick up a camera and push a button, and with a flash, a special moment in time is frozen forever on film? It’s a little-understood process that feels very near to magic. Susan Beard, a native of Chestnut Hill and long-time Manayunk photographer, has spent her life capturing that magic.

As a teenager, Susan developed an eye for the visual arts, so it was no surprise when she decided to pursue photography early in her professional career. In her 20s, Susan worked for eight years in television behind the scenes, but not behind the lens. She collaborated with art directors in set design and wardrobe to craft the scene you see on screen, or “the other side of photography.” It laid the foundation for Susan to develop a well-rounded approach to the art form later in her career.

“[Photography] is not just being able to put a camera to your face and snap away,” Susan said. “It’s multiple layers of discipline, which I feel really lucky that I was able to have.”

Her experience in television eventually led Susan to work as a photo stylist for The Franklin Mint, a private company based outside of Philadelphia. But the structure of corporate life was never Susan’s end goal. A year into her new job, Susan began to feel stifled.

“I didn’t really fit in,” she said. “I was trying to go for the Senior Art Director position, but I was getting passed over because I was so young. So, I saved a lot of money and quit.”

Susan set a course to run her own fine arts studio, hoping to supplement her income with a freelance television job here and there. But the market had other plans, and the lack of opportunities in television gave Susan the final push to dive wholeheartedly into her own studio. Drawn to the charm of Manayunk as it was on the verge of a renaissance, Susan rented an old mill space on Leverington Avenue in 1990.

As a still-budding photographer trying to make it on her own, Susan’s early business consisted mostly of headshots. With every job, she was making connections and chasing a magic moment to let her know she was in the right place. One day, it came unexpectedly.

“I photographed a mother and a newborn, and it was so beautiful that the woman was crying,” she said. “I was literally capable of moving people to tears. And I said, ‘Wow. This is what I want to do.’”

With a new sense of purpose, Susan began advertising herself in the newspaper. She quickly gained clients in Manayunk and Chestnut Hill who kept her going strong for over a decade. As the new millennium emerged, public interest in photography was booming. Susan’s business grew beyond her wildest expectations, with multiple assistants and staff trips to New York becoming the norm. And then, by the late 2000s, everything changed. With the dawn of the iPhone and Instagram, everyone became their own photographers and photo editors. Anyone with a smartphone had the ability to snap a photo at a moment’s notice, then fix it up with an app or a filter.

“The consumer doesn’t need us the way they used to,” Susan explained. “The way we all knew it for an entire generation, if not two, had completely shifted. It caused me to rethink everything. My advice to young business owners is to know that things will never stay the same.”

Susan faced a challenge to recapture public interest in professional photography in more diverse ways than ever before. Today, her services fall under Susan Beard Design, an umbrella company for a variety of retail and interactive photography projects. There’s Regal Beagle, in which animal enthusiasts can send in their pet photos to be placed in historical portraits. There’s WaxWorks Photo, which uses the “encaustic” painting style of oil paint and beeswax to create unique works of fine art on top of photography. And of course, there’s her original photography studio, which shoots portraits, weddings, and corporate functions. What began as an industry challenge has turned into a lifestyle for Susan — and keeps her busier than she could have ever imagined.

“I really need three of me. One for WaxWorks, one for Regal Beagle, and one for Susan Beard Design,” she said. “It’s like having three husbands!”

When it comes to staying fresh in an unpredictable industry, Susan has continued to find success doing what she has always done: make it up as she goes along. Like a true artist, she’s dynamic. She evolves with her industry, and gives herself fully to each new project.

“I always ask myself, ‘How am I going to reinvent myself today?’” Susan said. “When I go into that studio to shoot whoever it is — a boy, a baby, a bride — I’m there and nowhere else. You have to be present for magic to happen.”

Susan has even more projects on the horizon, like a “legacy” service to honor terminally ill loved ones with a professional portrait, and regular “Wax and Wine” encaustic painting nights at her studio. This May, Susan also released a photography book featuring moving images and stories from noteworthy people in Philadelphia. It’s a project that has been among the most rewarding throughout her long career — a career that has always been inspired by people.

Years ago, photographing a tearful mother and her newborn was the magic moment when Susan knew she could make it. Today, that child has grown up and Susan’s life has changed. But Susan still keeps the early portrait hanging on her studio wall to remind her how it all started.

“Every career always has a lot of twists and turns, but when you look back there’s this beautiful line. You’re weaving this tapestry, and you don’t even know you’re doing it. It’s all about making good decisions, and looking back, I did.”