Conversations with the Inspiring Taylor Fisher

Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Fisher.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Taylor. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
In 2011, I packed up my little Corolla and drove 1,500 miles from West Virginia to Colorado! Only knowing one other person and with about $100 in my bank account, I had a huge dream to be a Rocky Mountain wedding photographer. For part of my first summer here, I lived in a tent in Buena Vista as I worked as a whitewater photographer, and couldn’t wait to finally start my life out here!

In 2012, I met my now husband, Mike, who encouraged me to quit my corporate job, which I quickly learned I was not cutout for and start my photography business. We were camping one weekend and he asked what I wanted to be doing when I was 30. At the time, I was 23 and said, overconfidently, “Obviously, I want to be a wedding photographer.” He’s a fountain of knowledge when it comes to business and marketing and indulged me on the ins and outs of running your own business. Two days later, I walked into my corporate job, quit, and we headed off for Telluride for a week of business brainstorming! I was sick to my stomach but also knew, my life was finally heading in the right direction.

It didn’t take long before we were shooting 40 weddings a year and decided to move to the mountains of Buena Vista. It’s here that we’ve bought our 43 acre ranch, got our herd of alpacas, two goats, and chickens. We welcomed our two boys into our life in 2017 and 2019 and shoot together as a husband and wife photography team.

Has it been a smooth road?
If you had told me that starting a business was like raising a child, I honestly don’t know that I would have pursued it. Luckily, I jumped in headfirst and learned a lot of big lessons along the way. The biggest lesson was finding my voice and trusting that my story was enough. My photography and the way that I told stories was enough and that talent deserved to be shared with others. It almost felt like this business was its own entity, and I was just the driving force. It seemed like a disservice to not share what I love most with others. Imagine if the Beatles thought they were just mediocre and their songs wouldn’t change someone’s life? Note: I’m definitely not comparing myself to John Lennon…but you see what I mean? We all have passions and talents that deserve to be shared.

The most important pieces of advice I can offer to like-minded women are:

1. YOU DO YOU. In every sense of the word. Your business should live and breathe its own life, but with your influence. Be proud of who you are, own your story, and the clientele and relationships will flock to you. Don’t copy others, tell those doubtful lies in your head to get gone, and be true to yourself. (Cheesiest advice, I know, but it’s so true.)

2. THERE’S NEVER A RIGHT TIME to start. Just like anything worth pursuing in life, there’s never a “good” time: never a good time to find love, never a good time to start saving money, never a good time to quit your cushy corporate job with health insurance, never a good time to have kids…you see where I’m going with this? You have to do it and trust that if you pursue your business with your whole heart, you will reap the benefits!

3. FIND YOUR PEOPLE. I’m talking call up a gal you admire and buy the woman a $2 coffee. She’s not your competition, she’s your support. We’re all dealing with insecurities, business stresses, money concerns, etc. Find your network, love on them, and amazing things will happen.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Taylor Jones Photography story. Tell us more about the business.
My husband, Mike, and I live and breathe the Rocky Mountains; that includes where we’ve chosen to live and raise our two boys, where we choose work, and where we love to play. We’ve been shooting Colorado mountain weddings together since we met in 2012 and have absolutely loved capturing the wedding days of so many like-minded couples. Our couples become some of our dearest friends, and we get to be a part of their life for a very long time. I would say that’s what sets us apart the most.

I wish I could say we’re changing the world with our photography and share some profound number with you about accomplishments we’ve made. The Huffington Post shared one of our wedding photos, so that was pretty epic. But truth be told, we’re insanely proud of the smaller things:

We’re proud that our job doesn’t feel like work, and we’ve worked very hard to get to a point where we only work with couples we truly adore and feel drawn to.

We never say, “We have to work today.” Instead we say, “We get to work today.” And that’s something we’re truly proud of.

We get to be a part of some of the most intimate moments on a couples wedding day that even their parents aren’t there for. Being trusted to play that role for so many people is something we’re proud of.

When one of our couples calls or messages us to let us know that we’re one of the first to know that they’re having a baby and want us to be a part of documenting that time for them, that’s something we’re insanely proud of. What’s more is when someone calls us to tell us that a loved one has passed away and the images we captured of them are some of the only ones they have, we are proud to have had a small influence in their life.

Who do you look up to? How have they inspired you?
Sounds cheesy, but my mama has been one of the biggest influencers in my life. I’m the oldest of six kids and that was a very defining role throughout my childhood, primarily because of the responsibility and freedom my parents gave me growing up. While my folks raised the six of us on one income, I watched my mother do everything in her power to make each of her kids feel loved, wanted, and cared for. All the while, she was pursuing her masters degree in counseling, second shooting with my dad in his videography business, working 40 hours a week as a career counselor at West Virginia University, taking care of my grandmother with Alzheimer’s, and there was a good chance she was pregnant and growing or breastfeeding a child at any given point the first 12 years of my life.

I largely owe who I am as a mother, wife, business owner, risk-taker, and adventurer to my mother. I’ve always had her support with any endeavors I’ve pursued and know I just would not be who I am today without her.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://taylorjonesphotography.com
• Phone: 720-412-7237
• Email: info@taylorjonesphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taylorjonesphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TaylorJonesPhotography/

Image Credit:
Taylor Jones Photography

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