Meet Emily Ferguson of Happy Photo TX

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Ferguson.

Emily, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Last April I stumbled across a VW bus at a local event and caught the bus bug. It wasn’t even a month later when I came across this 1978 VW Vanagon on Craigslist. It was in rough shape and had “bus cancer” (what our body shop called rust.) But it was still running, so I bought it on the spot and drove it home.

It took about a month to finally decide on a color then sent it to the shop! Honestly, picking up the bus from the body shop was one of the happiest days of my life. The bodywork expense was more than I had expected and it took a month to complete. Then panic happened when I realized the shop I used didn’t take credit cards, so I made a few sacrifices, selling half of my closet online and to Plato’s Closet. I even popped into a pawn shop and sold one of my vintage cameras trying to scrape enough money up to cover the extra thousand I hadn’t prepared for, and you know what I DID it!

Relieved, I finally headed to the shop and as crazy as it sounds I cried a little when I pulled up. To most people, this is just a bus, but to me, this was all of my work over the past years. Scrimping and saving, the overnight shifts at Whataburger as a teenager, my 9 to 5 personal assistant position and all the holidays I worked at my hotel job. I spent hours and hours editing wedding photos, all of the times I said no to going out to eat, or no to the cute pair of shoes, like this bus embodied everything I’d ever done and it was perfect.

I started the Instagram for the business before I had even bought the bus and it has grown so much since then. We’ve done so many awesome styled photo shoots and last August Pier 1 shot the bus for their spring catalog! Now it is also a mobile photo booth for weddings and events!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Definitely not, I think the biggest challenge is the mechanical issues that come with a vehicle that is 40 years old. There are parts and equipment that are no longer available, or expensive to replace. Like anything, it is sometimes difficult to start and it’s a manual transmission, so having to learn to drive a stick was an adventure in itself.

The day of the Pier 1 shoot was wild, it was my 1st big brand shoot and I was so excited I didn’t sleep the night before! When I went to pick up the bus it did not want to start and I had to call a tow truck. Of course, the tow truck was super late so I sat waiting for this guy and had an hour to get to drive to Ft. Worth for the shoot. On top of that, I was still in college and it was also my 1st day of classes, which started at noon. It all worked out though! The tow truck guy finally showed up, I dropped the bus off, blasted back to Plano and ran into my class literally at the last minute.

The pictures turned out awesome and everyone there was super sweet and understanding. They even made some adorable curtains for us and I’m still so grateful!

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Happy Photo TX story. Tell us more about the business.
Happy Photo TX is a peach 1978 VW photo bus! We are a prop for styled shoots and a mobile photo booth for weddings, parties, and events. The motto is “Making memories and spreading happiness” and that’s what we do. Whether you book us for a photo shoot or as a photo booth we bring a good time also leave you and your guest with photos and an experience you’ll remember.

I think the industry is changing drastically, with the introduction of unique settings and props, that people are starting to think out of the ordinary for how they want their memories documented. The bus offers just this, I think I have captured a niche because of everyone associated with the VW bus, its hippies, love, the sixties, beaches, it just embodies that spirit.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Honestly, I think the photography industry is already changing considerably, it sort of follows along with what is trending with weddings. We have seen such a dramatic shift from traditional, stock wedding photos, senior picture photos etc., that people are wanting something new. Rustic wedding themes, photo booths, and backdrops that are not cheesy props, engagement pictures in random funny ways, these are the thing I see growing in the future.

To me casual fun pictures that evoke a specific feeling in the subject and well capturing that forever on film and allows people to be themselves and shine through their true personas. I think the unique trends will continue and expand and people will be more open to being different in capturing their memories, think about it this way… one day not too long ago someone had the brilliant idea to allow families to do silly faces to ease the pressure of the traditional family photo. Nowadays they are the norm, they are what is fun and often some of the best photos a family will take.

Contact Info:

• Address: 208 E Louisiana St.
• Website: www.happyphototx.com
• Phone: 9724002915
• Email: emily@happyphototx.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/happyphototx
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/happyphototx/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/happy-photo-mckinney?osq=happy+photo
• Other: https://www.theknot.com/marketplace/happy-photo-tx-mckinney-tx-1085739

Image Credit:
Studio Niwa, Alec Hilliard, Cassie Loree Photography, Pier 1 Imports, Emily Rae Photo, Ellerman Studio

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