Exploring Life & Business with Kara Cavalca

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kara Cavalca.

Hi Kara, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I have known that I wanted to be a photographer for as long as I can remember. Growing up I always had a camera with me but was initially only interested in landscape and nature photography. I became interested in photographing people when I landed a summer camp photographer job and fell in love with the energy photographing people had and the spark capturing candid moments gave me.

I ended up going to school in Philadelphia and got my BFA in Photography in 2014. I moved back to Colorado and fell in love with weddings, portraits, and boudoirs. I loved capturing emotions, memories, and the unique personalities and stories of my clients. I built my business on the back of word of mouth, giving my clients meaningful experiences as well as beautiful imagery, that had them referring me to their friends and family members.

I implemented a lot of systems to help me be able to continue running my business as a primary one-woman show, while still putting most of my focus on the things I really cared about. Capturing and creating beautiful moments for my clients and showing them the beauty within themselves is really what drives my passion and my business.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I always knew this is what I wanted to do, so I never let obstacles along the way deter me from my dream of making a living doing what I loved.

However, it was not always an easy journey. I ran up against other photographers trying to tear me down, telling me I wasn’t good enough, or that I wouldn’t make it. Photographers trying to stop me from succeeding whether that be by suing me, talking trash about me, or just trying to destroy me emotionally.

It was definitely hard sometimes, but I just kept pushing through, and let that harassment fuel my fire to succeed.

I took courses, talked to other professionals, and just kept trying, learning, and improving myself, my art, and my business until I got to where I am today.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Kara Cavalca Photo + Video?
At this point in my business, I primarily focus on weddings and boudoirs. I like to focus on love, loving yourself, and loving each other.

When it comes to weddings, I want to capture the unique story of each of my clients. I don’t want to manufacture memories, I want to memorialize genuine moments from their day whether that be through photo, video, or a mixture of the two.

I try to create an authentic experience and representation of their story because every couple and every wedding is unique. I don’t want my clients to feel that their day is a series of photoshoots, or that they are surrounded by a swarm of camera people. I want them to feel like they’re with a friend who is just overly invested in illustrating their day to the best of their ability.

So even when I am shooting photos and videos at the same wedding, I don’t want to feel like the day is a huge production with tons of people with camera gear swarming about. My goal is to capture as much true content from their day, real moments of real people, for them to look back on and relive over and over, while not taking away from their day or adding any stress or pressure.

It is just as much about their experience working with me as it is about the final product. When it comes to the boudoir I feel much the same in that each client is unique and deserves to feel like they are in a comfortable environment with a friend. Boudoir is much more intimate and personal than a wedding, but it can take a similar amount of time and effort.

I want my boudoir clients to feel safe enough to step out of their comfort zone but never pressured to be anything they aren’t. I want them to discover more about themselves and see their beauty inside and out the way it is meant to be seen.

It is not just about the final product, the images, but about the experience of taking the images. Connecting with their own bodies, gaining confidence, and realizing their strength and worth! The photos are just a reminder of all that I hope they learn and feel about themselves during their shoot.

I know boudoirs and weddings are thought to have a very close relationship. Many people think that a boudoir is strictly “sexy” imagery that a bride has taken FOR her husband before the wedding day. And although I do offer bridal boudoirs, I always want the priority in my sessions to be my client, not their partner. If their partner happens to benefit from their imagery, that is just a PERK but not the POINT.

I want my boudoir experiences for my clients to be about THEM. I want them to cut out society, or any other external judgments and focus solely on themselves, who they are, and how they feel.

So in all aspects of my business, I want to focus on the REAL, the TRUE, and the GENUINE, emotions, moments, and personalities so we can capture authentic memories to look back on time and time again.

I am a memory insurance agent, here to help not only capture but create beautiful memories.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love Colorado because it is such a diverse place of natural beauty. In my area of Colorado, we have mountains, valleys, deserts, and even some areas of lush green forests.

Colorado attracts such interesting and adventurous people. Even before I moved away for school, I knew I would end up back in Colorado. I would say the only downfall is that it is so big, that it takes a while to get to all the cool places.

Pricing:

• Weekend Wedding Packages start at $4000
• Boudoir Day Experiences start at $1500

Contact Info:

• Website: www.karacavalca.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/karacavalca
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/karacavalca
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/ktron10
• Other: www.bohochicboudoir.com

Image Credits
Kara Cavalca Photo+Video