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Meet Stacy and Trent Gillespie of Gillespie Photography in Silverthorne

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacy and Trent Gillespie.

Stacy and Trent, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Trent and I are a husband and wife photography team and our love story is tied directly to our business. On our third date, Trent handed me a camera. We spent the evening photographing a lighting storm together. Trent had already had a passion for photography and just starting photographing some friends wedding. Fast forward a year and we were photographing those weddings together and celebrating our dating anniversary. My (Stacy) passion for photography continued to grow. I quickly fell in love with capturing the emotions of people and Trent at the same time. After five years of working together, we got married. From here, we saw a lot of change in us as photographers as we personally knew how important each moment, hug and relationship was at the wedding. This year, we will be celebrating ten years of business for Gillespie Photography.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The wedding industry is constantly changing. Picking out a wedding photographer is so much of an emotional decision for the customer. We have definitely had our share of struggles along the way but we have found that being honest, open and always overdelivering to your client will get you on top.

One of our biggest struggles was finding the perfect clients for us. Because we are so different in the way we shoot it is important that we work with clients who also appreciate true moments versus staged and more traditional photos. The wedding industry is saturated with what weddings should look like and we really strive to work with couples that want to do what fits them and be true to themselves. That can mean throwing some traditions out the door that doesn’t fit into their believes or views. It took a while for us to really ‘reach’ our ideal client. We have now figured out a way to target this audience and interview our potential wedding couples to make sure that it is a good fit for both of us. Couples will spend more time with their photographer than anyone else on their wedding day, so we feel it is very important for us to invest the time upfront to make sure all parties are comfortable and mesh well together.

Please tell us more about Gillespie Photography – what should we know?
We are wedding photographers who specialize in telling the complete story and providing dynamic images to our clients. First and foremost, we believe in all of the in-between moments and the complexity of weddings. We love the offbeat stuff and highlighting the uniqueness of each couple. We are different in the fact that we provide unlimited day-of coverage and two primary photographers. Something that also sets us apart is our ability to use flash. We primarily shoot up in the mountains which can lead to some tricky lighting and harsh settings for photography. But honestly, we love harsh light and pockets of shadows when most photographers run from it. We have a passion for using flash tastefully to make unique images that set ourselves apart from the rest of the pack.

In the last year, we have also started hosting workshops for our peers. The GP Shop is designed to teach wedding photographers how to see light differently and create those unique images for your clients. So many photographers get ‘burnt out’ after a few years of taking the same bouquet shot over and over. At our workshop, we invite photographers into our home in Silverthorne for two days of intense conversations about what we do and why. We push them to see the scene differently and get down to the technicals on how to use flash tastefully. There is just something about having a bunch of photographers around your dinner table eating a homecooked meal and having honest conversations about what we can all do to get better for our clients. It has been amazing to see these photographers take this information and excel in their own business. We will be hosting two more workshops this year.

To get a good feel of us, feel free to see the outtakes we post yearly to show a little behind the scenes: https://www.gillphotos.com/gillespie-photography/the-outtakes-our-2018-in-review/

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
We would have to say first and foremost, a huge thanks to our parents for supporting us not only in our crazy schedule but helping us with our young kids. We have two kids under four years old which put a whole new spin on running your own business from your home.

Over the last five years, we have also really learned the importance of having great photography peers. It is important for both personal and professional growth. We have a great group of local and national photographers that constantly push us to be better.

Pricing:

  • Wedding day coverage starts out at $4,800
  • Engagement Session $700

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
Personal photo was taken by Justin Edmonds Photography in Denver. – https://www.jcedmonds.com/

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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