Back Home Photography

Patricia Heather and Kelly Heather Pfarr

An Artistic Approach to Memories

By Sarah Brown

Memories are vital to our lives. Looking at cherished photographsof events, people, and places that are significant to us can bring about thesame positive feelings that we had when we were in those places and withthose people. Back Home Photography captures these meaningful imagesfor their clients through their fine art prints and event photography.

Made up of mother-and-daughter business partners Patricia Heather and Kelly Heather Pfarr, Back Home Photography’s approach is guided by the philosophy that art makes a difference to people. “The power of aesthetics and the power of art are not to be minimized,” Patricia notes. Back Home Photography is a small operation, and their focus reflects that. Instead of pushing to cover the highest possible volume of events, they focus on creating the highest quality experience and product for their clients. That business model is rewarding for them and leads to an exceptional level of customer satisfaction. “When our art makes a difference to somebody—when it makes a client remember something or someone who was very dear—that’s when we know we’ve done a good job,” Patricia says.

Patricia grew up on a farm in southeastern Nebraska, where she was educated in a one-room schoolhouse through the 8th grade. She was heavily involved in 4-H, which is where she first learned about photography. “I’ve been a photographer my whole life,” she states. She graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with a degree in what is now called Family and Consumer Sciences. She also took classes in the College of Journalism, where she learned to develop film.

Patricia enjoyed the developing process so much that she set up a darkroom in her home, and her children started to take an interest, as well. “I was a 4-H group leader. In the 4-H club my kids were in, they would take pictures and then we would do darkroom work, where I would help them process prints,” Patricia recalls. “The kids all really had a good time. They still talk about it now, as adults.”

Even though Patricia lives in Nebraska and Kelly resides in Minnesota, the event photography duo unites as a cohesive artistic team whenever and wherever their services are commissioned. Patricia and Kelly go above and beyond expectations, especially with weddings, where they are known for coming to the event having already learned the names of each person who will be a part of the photo shoot.

Patricia and Kelly find their inspiration in their clients. “We are constantly looking for ways to take moments that might seem just ordinary and photograph them in a way that will turn the image into something the client is going to end up loving, both as art and as

a memory,” explains Patricia. They provide clients with their finished photographs in whatever format the clients prefer: traditional prints or digital files on a flash drive, CD, or DVD.

Art is at the very essence of Back Home Photography. Most unique, however, is how Patricia and Kelly offer their fine art services to provide meaningful images for people who may not be looking to photograph the most joyful times in their lives. An example of this would be custom art in a rehabilitation facility, explains Patricia. “If you get a farmer who’s in a room with pictures of ballerinas and flowers on the wall—well, that’s nice, but why not go out and take some custom photos of his farm that he misses so much and then put those on the wall for him?” Patricia firmly believes that theimages that surround a person can enhance recovery and overall well-being…if the images are simply given some thoughtful consideration. Back Home Photography art prints are available for sale in a variety of media, from traditional prints to canvases and even metal. You can check out some of the art prints they have for sale on their website, backhomephotography.com.

Photography is an emotional business, and Patricia and Kelly believe that the best outcomes can only happen when the photographer and the client “click” with each other. “This isn’t just a job for us,” Patricia shares. “It’s a venture in helping people celebrate life events and in giving people something unique.” What she and Kelly do is perhaps best summed up by this lyric from “This One’s For You,” the opening number of the 2018 Tony Awards: “In a world that is scary and hard to endure, if you make art at all, you’re part of the cure.”

Back Home Photography can be reached by emailing backhomephotography12@gmail.com.