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Meet Emily Foss of Sweet Justice Photography in Fort Collins

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Foss.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Emily. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
It’s all a beautiful accident that I’m a wedding photographer today. I’ve always known I wanted to be some kind of photographer, ever since middle school when I began taking photography classes, would pick up a camera + it always felt so natural.

My first year of college, I embarked on a service trip to Nepal, and during the fundraising process, a friend asked if I would shoot her wedding in exchange for a donation to my trip. I was equally ecstatic + terrified and decided to say yes to a new adventure. On their wedding day in 2013, I fell in love with photographing love stories–moreover, with connecting clients to my heart for social justice + capturing stories all over the world; with enabling weddings to give back to the community.

After graduating from Colorado State University in 2015 with a journalism degree, I jumped head first into my business. Through a mixture of learning things the hard way by figuring them out for myself + assisting other wedding photographers, I created a place for Sweet Justice in the wedding industry. My journalism background allows me to see the story in front of me wholesomely, and outside of myself. I am there as a fly-on-the-wall, to use my camera as a tool to put together the pieces of who my clients are.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
After three years of pursuing my own business, these very moments are the first in my entire career where I’ve felt that everything has worked out + I feel like a dignified business owner + I know I’m going to pay my bills every month + when people ask me what I do, I tell them I am a photographer (I used to say that I was “just a photographer” or that I didn’t have a “real job” or whatever I managed to say, I felt like I was full of it).

The truth is, this is probably one of the most mentally challenging things you’ll ever take on. Anyone could start their own business. It just takes literally everything you have. You have to be willing to risk it all + give everything else up to be a successful business owner, and not everyone can do that.

I’ve felt alone in it a lot, even though I work with people every day + I have an assistant, it’s me who started this thing, me whose whole heart is behind it all, me who did all the work to get to where I am, and me who will do all the work to get to where I want to be. No one else.

In the beginning, I spent so many days feeling in such a dark place because some of my people didn’t believe in me. But my belief in myself was stronger–and that’s what made it possible.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
My specialties reside in hoppin’ around the mountains as a Colorado wedding + portrait photographer and partnering with global nonprofits as a humanitarian photojournalist.

What sets me apart is that this is so much more than just wedding photography to me–it’s what the heart of life is made of. I want to dig deep into what my clients love most about each other, the meaning behind each detail chosen, and that story about the ring. I want those tears, I want the booming laughter; I want it all, as real as it comes.

Spending time learning about people before their wedding day is imperative to me–it opens my eyes up to the whole story going on behind all the tangible things.

Beyond weddings, I continue to travel, partnering with nonprofits who are doing incredible, yet sometimes unseen, work in all corners of the world. I do this because this is where my story began as a photographer when I boarded the plane to Nepal + fell in love with lands of all flavors. I also continue doing this work as a commitment to my couples; that their wedding day is going beyond themselves when Sweet Justice gives back to the community by donating 10% of all wedding profits to freeing children from human trafficking.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was a wild child! Living on a lake in Minnesota, I was always playing in the dirt or the lake + imagining other more magical worlds. Then, I moved to Chicago + fell in love with the speed of the city, developed my identity as an artist, and fell in love with photography. I’ve always loved diversity + getting to know people who live in very different ways from myself, allowing my own self to be textured by all these unique cultures.

Pricing:

  • Wedding Package: $3,600
  • Lifestyle Packages: $225 | $400 | $650
  • Nonprofit Package: $500

Contact Info:

Getting in touch: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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