Check Out Olivia Reed’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Olivia Reed.

Hi Olivia, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – To start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I started my photography business back in 2016 after interning with a wedding photographer in high school. I then spent the next handful of years balancing my business, college, other jobs, and internships but always coming back to photography. My business became the one steady thing through the years.

I graduated college in December of 2019 to go full-time in 2020…but then 2020 happened and large weddings weren’t allowed. This led to a series of smaller, more intimate micro-weddings + elopements and I fell in love all over with these smaller, more intimate gatherings. Unfortunately, elopements and small weddings weren’t a big thing back in the Maryland/DC/Virginia area where I’m from so I started to feel a bit lost as larger weddings were allowed again.

Not sure what to do, and not loving going back to large weddings, I planned a trip in 2021 to visit a friend out in Keystone and was floored by the beauty of Summit County. I kept visiting her again and again that summer, not ready to go back to Maryland and leave the mountains. I booked a few shoots during those visits and met some incredible people, and it became harder and harder to go back to Maryland for my larger weddings.

Towards the end of my last trip, I got really lucky and found an amazing housing situation, saw the place, met the roommates, and signed a lease within two weeks of going home. I moved out to Summit in January of 2022 and have been here ever since! There’s something truly special about this area of the world, and I feel so lucky to get to exist here and work here. I love sharing the views and vibe of the county with my couples, who are both local and out-of-state visitors.

Since moving to Colorado, the vibe of the people I’ve gotten lucky enough to work with has been everything I’ve dreamed and more…which I know sounds cliché but it’s true. The couples here I’ve gotten to shoot + celebrate are down-to-earth, grateful to visit or live in this beautiful place, and truly a joy to work with.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It was tricky moving from Maryland where I knew so many people, vendors, and prospective clients alike, to a state 3/4 of the way across the country where I only knew a handful of people and was already stepping into a very saturated market. But after a year and a half of living in Colorado, I’ve been able to book out for this year, and also book out for the coming year!

There are so many people who want to come to the mountains to get married or take engagement photos, but there are also so many photographers eager to capture those couples’ love stories– there is room for all of us.

Thanks – So what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I shoot elopements, smaller intimate weddings, couple photos + engagement photos! I love all aspects of couple photography, especially those situations where I shoot a couple, take their proposal photos and then capture their wedding. Being part of so many aspects of someone’s life is so rewarding.

On the flip side, a number of my clients come from out of state to elope and I meet them on the day of their elopement and often it’s just the three of us. There’s something so uniquely rewarding and special about getting to shoot an elopement. You get to know the couple so intimately, and you share this incredible day where they get to do exactly what they want and ignore those typical traditions that are meaningless to them. There’s no drama from family or friends, just a relaxed and excited atmosphere.

Creatively, I love incorporating motion blur into my photos, playing with focus, and making my couples feel like models. I want to capture a couple of days exactly how they want and without any agenda on my end. I think that your day should be collaborative…you reached out to me for a reason, and you love aspects of my work, but it’s also YOUR day, so we’ll do whatever you want, and if I offer a pose or an idea and it’s not your vibe, then we don’t do it!

Your wedding or elopement photography should be fun, it should be easy, and that’s what I want my couples to feel when we’re together.

How do you think about luck?
I’ve been lucky enough to be able to move to such an incredible place that is hard to find housing, it’s very expensive, and it’s just not attainable for everyone. I feel so lucky every day to live where I do in the mountains and be able to continue making my passion into a business.

Pricing:

• One-hour couple sesh: $275
• Two-hour couple sesh: $400
• Elopement base-price: $2,000
• Full-length wedding day: $4,000

Contact Info:

• Website: https://oliviareedphoto.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oliviareedphoto/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@oliviiareed

Image Credits
Olivia Reed Photo