Daily Inspiration: Meet Cara Elizabeth

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cara Elizabeth. 

Hi Cara, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Photography has always been a passion of mine, as have been other forms of art as well such as drawing and painting. As far back as I can remember I have always had a love for taking photos or creating something. As a kid, my mom would buy me disposable cameras and I would literally take them everywhere with me. I was fascinated with it. It was in high school when I really discovered just how much I loved it. I took photography and art classes all through high school and ended up working for a camera store as soon as I was old enough to get a job. Photography is really what stuck and became a hobby of mine during that time and throughout college. My college degree is actually in Rehabilitation studies and Psychology, and at the time, I had no plans to make my hobby of photography into a full-time career. I had gone off to school in Colorado, but ultimately finished my degree in Dallas which is where I had grown up. Soon after I graduated with my bachelor’s degree, I ended up moving down to Austin for a job at a psychiatric hospital. While working full time, I was trying to think of ways to save up some money as I wanted to move back to Colorado as soon as possible. I loved it there and just knew that’s where I wanted to end up. Since photography was something I knew, I thought I should look into photographing weddings on the side for extra income. Wedding photography kind of became this side hustle that I just fell in absolute love with. I did everything in my power to market myself to couples while also working full-time overnight shifts at the hospital. I eventually ended up just focusing on photography after about a year of juggling both. Wedding photography was fun and exciting and when you find something you are so utterly passionate about you just have to go after it. So, I decided to leave my job in the mental health field to really pursue this as a Career. I started to reach out to Colorado photographers and planners. I wanted to network with as many vendors as possible before I got there. They were all so kind and welcoming and honestly the strength of the community that we have in Colorado within the wedding industry really helped me get to where I am today. I moved to Colorado Springs in 2015 and eventually made my way up to the Denver area soon after where my business really took off. Since moving up to Colorado, I have photographed over 250 weddings and elopements. Now I focus more so on smaller weddings and elopements and not only do these in Colorado but travel throughout the country photographing couples all over the United States. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Nothing about owning a small business and getting to a point of success comes easy. It was a lot of hard work and dedication to my business to make sure it got to where it is today. So much personal time is given up. Weekends aren’t your weekends during wedding season and during the week when you aren’t shooting there is so much other back work that has to be done. Throughout my time building up my business I have personally been through so much so I wouldn’t really say it was the smoothest road. I think as creatives we all struggle a bit with imposter syndrome. Sometimes it’s easy to doubt your ability to be successful in this field especially when you live in an area that is so saturated with incredibly talented wedding photographers. I have spent many moments over my time as a photographer comparing myself to others in this industry and worrying about what the next season of weddings will bring. And then of course the things we deal with on a personal level while also trying to maintain a business that fully runs on you and you alone to keep it going can be hard to handle. Over the past 4 years, I have seen both of my parents fall ill and pass away which was probably the hardest thing I have ever experienced while also running a business full time with no other employees. When it comes to working for yourself in a company that is comprised of just you, you are not able to just call in sick or get the time off you need. So personal struggles can really be a difficult thing to navigate while also running a business full time alone. And then of course simultaneously dealing with the struggles and hardships put on small businesses throughout this pandemic has made it even harder. There was a time in 2020 when I think everyone in this field was kind of in a state of worry about what would happen to our businesses with so many events being cancelled and with us being limited on what work we could do that year. We spent a good 2-3 months where personal services weren’t even allowed to open here in Colorado and so many of our weddings and events were affected by it and still are today. It has definitely not been the easiest last few years when it came to working in the wedding industry. Even with all that has happened though, being able to pull through it and come out on top really is a testament to the amount of dedication it took to get there. 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My business is Cara Eliz Photo and I am a Wedding and Elopement Photographer that specializes more so in smaller weddings and intimate gatherings throughout the United States. I absolutely love to travel so being able to incorporate that into my work has been amazing. When it comes to my work, I really strive to capture the true essence of my couples on their wedding day or during their session. I want to provide them with images that curate their love story and their day. With portrait sessions, I take an approach that is more in the moment and less classically posed. I want my images to really tell my subject matter’s story. And give them photos that when they look at them, makes them feel like they are reliving those moments. I also believe that love is love and it should be celebrated as such regardless of their gender identity, sexual orientation, or their race or ethnicity. I think diversity is beautiful and I am so very proud that I have built up a business that supports diversity and gets to share it with the world. I think what sets me apart from others in the wedding industry is my approach to shooting and the creativity I put into my work, as well as the experience that my clients get when they hire me. I like to call myself ‘your bestie with a camera’ on my clients’ wedding days. Because I am not there to get the best photos for my website or just to shoot at the coolest venue. I am full-on there for them 100%. From the moment they inquire with me until I deliver their gallery. And honestly even after that. So many clients have become amazing friends of mine after their wedding was over. My work has introduced me to some amazing people and allows me to get to know everyone’s unique individualities and portray that into their wedding photos or portraits which is just the coolest thing. 

What matters most to you? Why?
Are we talking in general or in business? In general, I think that what matters most in life is just doing things that make you happy and experiencing life in the fullest. As for business…this is a kind of a hard question to answer because I want everything to be at its utmost importance. I don’t think there’s any one thing that is more important than another when it comes to the experience that I provide for my clients. It would probably come down to what I provide as a whole to my clients and making sure they are happy as my job is to make their session or wedding day easier and give them something at the end of the day that they will love for years to come. 

Pricing:

• Elopements start at $1600
• Wedding collections start at $3600
• Portrait sessions start at $700

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.caraelizphoto.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caraelizphoto/