Susi Franco, owner of Chispa Creative Studio. Photo by Marco Flores, JEFAS Magazine.
By Christina Fernández-Morrow
By handing cameras to former child soldiers in Colombian reintegration camps, photographer Susi Franco didn’t just teach technical skills—she gave participants the power to rewrite their own narratives. Franco channels that same empowerment philosophy into helping Latino business owners compete in an increasingly digital marketplace. Their video and photography marketing studio, Chispa Creative, shows how immigrant perspectives can identify market gaps others miss, and that social-impact experience translates directly into business success.
Susi Franco’s Love for Storytelling
Franco’s perspective developed as their family moved from Colombia to the United States to lead churches across Arkansas, Alabama, and Massachusetts. In college, Franco initially pursued classical music but was intrigued by communications students carrying cameras and interviewing classmates. “I switched majors, and after one photography and a videography class, I was completely in love with it.” That academic pivot led to something deeper.
Looking back, Franco realized their creative pull had been present since childhood. She remembers climbing among huge boulders in Medellín at age seven, envisioning whole worlds where insects lived a larger-than-life existence as astronauts and inventors exploring the galaxy. Those hours spent on the rocks became the foundation for their career as a photographer who narrates life through a camera. “I’ve always been drawn to stories,” says Franco. Photography became the perfect medium to capture them.
Teaching Photography as Empowerment in Colombia
That passion led Franco back to their native country to document the impact of the 2016 peace accord between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government. They worked within encampments on the outskirts of Medellín, where much of the violence had occurred. Franco’s goal was to start a dialogue between Christian churches in positions of power and youth who had fought in the war and ended up in reintegration camps.
“I went back with 10 cameras and taught something called Photovoice,” says Franco, describing the photography method used to train participants to document images that collectively told the story of their reality. Franco taught them how lighting, framing, angle, lens choice, and composition could illustrate how war had shaped their lives. “We created a gallery and brought it to stakeholder churches across the city so there would be a narrative countering what news reports said about what actually happened at the reintegration camps,” says Franco. The gallery remains exhibited in Colombia.
Upon returning to the United States, Franco and their wife moved from Boston to Nebraska to be closer to her family, who had settled in Omaha. As they made it their new home, Franco faced a difficult decision: find a job that offered financial stability or pursue her passion for photography, storytelling, and showcasing the human experience. “The biggest barrier I had to overcome was my own state of mind,” they said of those early doubts. “That little voice asking, ‘Can you actually eat and be an artist?’ was very present.” However, their pull toward what they love most was stronger than the impostor syndrome.
In October 2024, Franco used social media to secure a client. By 2025, Franco was fully committed to using their expertise in photography and entrepreneurship to help Spanish-speaking business owners turn social media followers into paying clients through Chispa Creative, a photo/video marketing studio.
Susi Franco, owner of Chispa Creative Studio. Photo by Marco Flores, JEFAS Magazine.
Honoring Identity Through Photography
The leap from humanitarian photography to business marketing might seem dramatic, but Franco sees clear connections. “I’ve been working closely with small businesses and realized how much I’ve learned from growing my own. I noticed that many of my American counterparts had strong systems in place, including ads, social media, and high-quality content, to grow quickly. Many Spanish-speaking and other underrepresented business owners were missing out on these tools. That gap means they’re also missing out on revenue.” Chispa Creative’s Spanish-language services build visibility and attract leads, illustrating Franco’s most powerful tool: seeing communities through the eyes of someone who’s always lived between worlds.
As an immigrant, pastor’s daughter, and queer creative with a master’s degree in theological studies and conflict transformation, Franco honors all their identities while building the business. Their approach, which utilizes visual storytelling to prioritize empowerment, extends beyond reels. Whether pointing a lens at a steaming cup of coffee in a new panadería or capturing a candid moment of laughter between an entrepreneur and happy customer, the work creates connection while crafting narratives.
Franco’s decision to bet on herself wasn’t just about career fulfillment. It honored a storytelling instinct developed in childhood, shaped by war, and refined through navigation between Colombian and American cultures. Franco is building bridges while creating a profitable business based on authentic connections, where their multifaceted identity is not just an asset, it’s a competitive advantage.
Keep reading about more JEFAS and discover all the stories that inspire us!