Meet Grace Gatto

Today we’d like to introduce you to Grace Gatto.

Grace, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I got really into taking photos after I took my first photography class in high school. After that class, I bought my first DSLR camera and started photographing everything. Fast forward to college when my boss at the time hired me to take her maternity photos – my first “official” shoot. I thought I loved taking pictures before, but it wasn’t until that shoot I realized how much I actually loved photographing people. After that shoot, I targeted towards weddings, events, engagement shoots, senior shoots – basically all things people. I was hooked!

In 2015, I met a friend who asked me if I had any interest in second shooting weddings with him. Of course, I said yes and I absolutely fell in love with photographing love! I started posting pictures to my Facebook and things started to really take off. At the time, I was working three jobs and going to school full time but knew I loved taking photos and always made time for it.

In October of 2016, a yoga company I worked for at the time offered me a management position to open a new yoga studio in Boston. Within two weeks, I dropped everything (including photography), uprooted my entire life and moved to Boston. Four months into my move, I couldn’t have hated it more. I hated living on the east coast, I hated my job, and I missed taking pictures! I decided life was too short to not follow your heart, so I promptly moved back to Colorado, decided “I’m going to do this” and started my business in February of 2017!

If you would have told me five years ago that I would be booking weddings all over the world, spending time with the most amazing people, and doing something that literally gives me life every day, I wouldn’t have believed you. Discovering this career and becoming a photographer is the biggest gift I’ve ever been given. There’s nothing better than meeting new friends + connecting with the best people and capturing the messy, happy, life-changing moments.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I must say, I’ve been extremely lucky with my career. I just feel so, so blessed to be doing what I’m doing every single day. I think it’s very rare to find a job that completely brings out your best self, but mine does and I’m forever grateful for that. However, I definitely struggled the most when I first moved back from Boston. Mentally, I was in a very bad place and it was super hard trying to start a business. So many people told me I needed to get another job because my business wasn’t going to take off. Needless to say, even on the rough days, I’m happy I didn’t give up on my daydream. If I wouldn’t have given this my all then, I know, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

Starting and operating a business so young is a scary thing. It’s frightening not knowing next steps or if you’re going to be able to pay your bills that month. However, I truly believe that if you want something bad enough and work hard enough for it, it will pay off. And I’m so happy I fought through the struggles along the way!

Grace Gatto Photography – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am a worldwide wedding and elopement photographer. I’m based out of Denver, Colorado and specialize in photographing the most adventurous, happiest, easy going, up for anything kind of people. More than anything else, I love creating connections with people. I believe a photographer should be so much more than someone who shows up to your wedding, leaves, and delivers your photos, and I want to be more than that. I want to be your best friend! I want to hear my couple’s stories and I want to capture the real, raw, authentic pieces of their love + all the messy, crazy, exciting moments in between. I also believe I have a very distinct warm, moody editing style that sets me apart from others. I’ve heard a lot of people say they’re able to tell when a photo is mine, due to the way it’s edited!

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I don’t know if there’s an exact moment I’m most proud of. I’m mostly just proud that I’m building my dream business and it’s actually working! I’m really proud that I’ve branded towards my dream clientele and I get to work with the most amazing people every single day!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gracegattophotography.com/
• Email: grace@gracegattophotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_gracegatto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gracegattophotography/

Image Credit:
All photos by Grace Gatto

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