How did you get started in wedding photography and videography?
We've been asked this question in nearly every potential client meeting we have ever been at. We share a little bit about the why behind our business on our About page, but thought we'd share the full story here! We're going to do it interview style to share it from both of our perspectives in an easy to read way.
Let's start by rewinding to the first time we held cameras...do you have any distinct early memories about photography or cameras from when you were younger?
T: My parents had a green polaroid camera. They would bring it along to the park when I was a kid and I thought it was the coolest little thing. I wonder where those pictures went...
E: Definitely. I remember we got my dad a little point and shoot camera for (I think) Father's Day one year. We went on a family trip to Chicago and my dad used the camera for the entire trip. My parents wanted their picture taken in front of Shedd Aquarium so they asked me to take it and I thought it was so cool. I got my own point and shoot camera a few years later, replacing the purple film camera I had grown to love.
As a child, Did you have any desire to work with cameras or photography when you grew up?
T: Not really. I wanted to design roller coasters thanks to Roller Coaster Tycoon. I also wanted to be a detective for a time. Then, I wanted to be a musician and I stuck with that for a while.
E: Yes! As a freshman in high school, I took a keyboard typing class. We had to write and type a paper about what we wanted to be when we grew up. I wanted to write about being a photographer, but after doing a little research, I didn't think they'd make enough money for me to do it as a career - so I wrote about wanting to be a physical therapist instead.
How did you transition from hobby photography to what you do now?
T: My freshman year of college, there was no one doing photography at my school and I needed pictures of myself. I bought a camera ended up photographing musicians and shifted to doing more photography than music. I ended up doing my first photography business focused on musicians.
E: I was always the friend in high school and college that had a camera (that cute little point and shoot) or phone on hand and snapped pictures of random moments. After Trevor & I started dating, he wanted to teach me the technical side of my hobby. I started by asking a lot of friends to be my test subjects while I got better and more familiar with a DSLR. I started my first photography business focused on family and couples photography.
How did you shift into wedding photography?
T: It just happened. We were asked by our first couple - Jess & Kevin. I didn't know we'd enjoy it. I had done a lot of other elements of photography, but I felt confident jumping into the first wedding right away.
E: After our first wedding, we booked a couple of weddings (still as our separate businesses) for the following year. I wanted to build a lot more experience because I was a lot less confident than Trevor. We second shot for each other for the weddings we booked through our businesses which helped us figure out which roles we liked and what our strengths/weaknesses were. Ultimately, I knew I wanted to shift out of families and make weddings the top priority based on our own wedding! A lot of our business model and experience is developed around what we did not have.
Why did you shift from your separate businesses to your current business?
T: Because we're married and it made sense. We were working together all of the time so why not just be one business?
E: I officially decided to remove families from my photography business, which didn't leave much left to it at that point. So, we developed Trevor & Elisebeth officially! I liked the model of being a husband and wife team. I didn't see much of that when we searched for a wedding photographer back in 2015. I liked that we were able to play off of each other's strengths and weaknesses that we learned in that first official wedding season. I think we still do that well! We also added videography into the mix which we didn't have in our original business models.
Which do you like better and why? Photography or Videography?
T: It's really close for me. A photo encapsulates memories, but with a video, each moment can be relived so much easier.
E: I work more with the photography side of the business, so I like that better. I like being able to deliver images to couples that they can print and have in their homes forever. We don't have any printed photos from our own wedding in our house because we don't love them. I want to give our couples pictures they can put everywhere!
What moment(s) are you most proud of in your business?
T: I'm really proud of how we've been able to give all of our couples great attention and an awesome experience, regardless of how many weddings are booked for that year.
E: For me, it's hands down transitioning our business from Minnesota to California. We moved during mid-2020 and so much was in the air because of Covid. We worked our asses off to have things run as smoothly as possible for our midwest couples while simultaneously reaching a whole new market in the San Francisco Bay Area. It's still a work in progress, but I'm proud of it so far.
