Tovani Design & Photography
Tovani Design is creative strategy and brand photography studio located in Sacramento, California. Branding is so much more than a logo. I get to know you and help you turn your vision into beautiful images for your website, social media marketing. You can book me for photo sessions to give you a variety of headshots and photos for your marketing. I offer photography of bloggers and influencer marketing as well.
I'm Chrysti, and I help busy creatives, like you, who understand the importance of powerful imagery, tell their story through engaging visuals tailor-made for your unique brand.
Whether it's a styled photoshoot or capturing moments, I'm passionate about developing a one of a kind visual experience through beautifully engaging photographs.
How It All Began
It all began in my grandmother's closet. High heels and fancy dresses. I was very careful with her things and that earned the privilege of having access to all of it. As well as her Brownie Kodak Camera, which I inherited along with the costume jewelry we played with.
Staging photoshoots with my brother and sisters as models kept us entertained for hours. Film and processing were expensive so it was a special treat and the first thing I asked for whenever we visited grandmama's house.
Act 2/Photography
Photography and web design are my side hustle jobs.
Second to my career in Real Estate. My family owns a real estate business in the bay area, and that's where I got my start. It's an unwritten rule in my family that you get a real estate license. So I've had my real estate license since 1991 and in the process of getting my broker's license. I'm a realtor specializing in helping sellers in the town of Fair Oaks, which is a suburb of Sacramento. I'm also involved in some investment projects with my family in Vallejo. And, I'm a professional portrait photographer.
In 2010, after the housing market crashed, I enrolled at American River College to study web design and coding. After two semesters, I knew that coding wasn't for me. So I went on to get my certificates in graphic design, web design, and photography.
I took classes in marketing and business because I knew that I wanted to run my own freelance business. I hung out with the Startup community in Sacramento, was a volunteer with Startup Grind for a few years, and on the board of the Social Media Club in Sacramento when social media was a new thing.
Taking the break from Real Estate for a few years gave me a fresh perspective.
I met a whole new world of people like journalists, founders of tech companies, public relations, and advertising agency professionals. I had experiences like hanging out backstage with Mayor Darrel Steinberg at a TedxSacramento conference before he was Mayor.
Now I am back working in real estate with more tools than I ever had before. I'm a much better marketer because it's not about the selling, it's about being in touch with your community and the people you have relationships with that matters. When they know you and trust you, of course, you are going to be their first choice when they need the service you can provide.
I feel like my photography goes with my real estate business because I can keep in touch with my real estate clients by doing family portraits for them every year. It's a bonus for trusting me when they buy or sell their home.
I also LOVE LOVE LOVE taking portraits so I will always be a photographer. As a child, I would dress up my brother and sisters and take their photos. I never dreamed that I would become a real photographer.
I love my real estate clients too. I am making their dreams possible. Buying and selling properties can be stressful, and most first time home buyers don't even know where to begin. I'm always eager to answer questions and help guide them to prepare and purchase a home. I'm very fortunate to have this opportunity.
The stories of our lives. Who we are, what we're doing, where we want to go, how we arrived at where we are. We leave a bit of ourselves along the way. I want to document that for my clients.
So that, my friends, is my story of how I became a Realtor/Photographer.
Maria Folio would say, I'm a multipassionate entrepreneur.
Now, here we are. I am photographing portraits and helping my real estate clients buy and sell homes. You can find out about my real estate services by visiting my real estate website at TovaniRealEstate.com
View more of my photography at TovaniPhoto.com
