We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Courtney Tokar a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Courtney, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My parents have always had so much courage, and this has forever impacted my life. I have learned the importance of taking risks from them in so many ways. Just before I was born, they immigrated from South Africa where they both were born and raised. When my brother was a couple of years old, they had the opportunity to move to the United States. I will never forget my dad telling me he was on his knees praying harder than ever to be able to move to America. When they were finally able to, it was such exciting news. They left everything behind, all the familiarity of home and family and friendships to start over completely in a whole new culture and life. They have always told me they never thought about this as what they were leaving behind, but moreso about all that awaited ahead. I know that this move couldn’t have been easy though. When my husband and I made the move from Colorado to Kentucky, just a few states away, I struggled to not miss the familiarity and comfort of home. This decision of theirs to transplant their roots across the world not only impacted my life forever but inspires me to truly press after and be grateful for every opportunity along the way. I can only imagine how different my life would have been not growing up in America. Though South Africa is such a beautiful country, the access to education and the flexibility of choosing or making your own career path in the USA is truly a gift. Beyond just this major move, my dad has always had an adventurous and risk-taking heart that then began his own business in the mattress industry after moving here. I know my entrepreneurial heart comes from him and is what inspired me to believe in myself in pursuing being a business owner. He taught me that truly any dream is possible if you believe enough, if you allow your passion to fuel you through the difficult moments and without lingering on the past. He taught me that there are amazing skies ahead if you have the patience and grit to keep going after it.

Courtney, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I found my husband’s camera sitting amongst some magazines on a bookshelf after a big move; I immediately felt intrigued by this elaborate contraption. I picked it up from that shelf and with its heavy weight in my hand, turned it from side to side not quite knowing where to start or the function of all the buttons and settings. This curiosity propelled me forward from practicing on flowers and my pets, to falling in love with photography to desiring to create meaningful stories with every picture I took to eventually getting to work with clients after a lot of learning. Every person I got to work with further fueled my love and happiness for creating. The business name Essentia arose after I came across this Latin word. It means essence or the unchanging and authentic nature of something. I want my photography and brand to center around revealing this about people, all that is so unique about every single individual, from their gifts, dreams and desires to their love story and family. I want my photography to reveal the heart and soul of people. Every time I get to work with someone, I feel so immeasurably blessed to not only have an opportunity to be a means in which they can see themselves from a whole new perspective, but also to document everything that makes them so exceptional. Photography is like getting to give someone a true to life painting of themselves and of a moment that will only exist once, and we can never get back. Getting to share these moments with people fills me with so much joy. When I first embarked on this journey, I began in pet portrait photography while at the time working as a veterinary technician. I knew I wanted to go further and work with people in a variety of situations and expanded Essentia Photography to cover all kinds of portraits from seniors to family sessions to newborns and engagements. Beyond this, I have a deep desire to add beauty and impact to the world. I was inspired to create Impactful Images in which a portion of every photo session goes to an organization in need. One organization Essentia supported in 2023 was David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, which is a conservation organization based in Kenya. I am most proud of the skills I have learned as a photographer from when I first began, aiming to perfect my style and always provide a consistent product to each client. I could not have done this without all the love and support from my loved ones and most especially that of my husband and for all of them I am so grateful. Ultimately, love for people and the beautiful things that surround us are important to me and continue to ignite my passion for the adventure that is photography.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One huge lesson I had to unlearn is that “you are what you do”. I believe you are so much more than that. I have been all over the place with my career, but my passion has remained the same- I want to help people and I want to make a positive impact in the world. I started my career journey in the science field and have my bachelor’s degree in biology. After graduating, I worked in the education department of a zoo, wanting to make an impact in conservation as this particular zoo had a primary focus on providing aid to endangered and threatened species internationally. When COVID hit, this job quickly slipped through my fingers. It was so difficult as I loved what I did and the people I worked with. To pass the time, I explored the veterinary medicine field, but it wasn’t filling my heart like I thought. I felt defeated and purposeless. The underlying truth that I was missing is that I can make a difference in the world no matter what I do, and I personally believe that God has good plans for every person. I found that doing photography and being creative makes me light up; to find something that gives me life fuels me to no end because it is a way to enliven others as well. I had always had a creative side to me, I played piano since I was five years old and would compose my own music. I felt that this part of me was lost a little bit in other fields. Photography was another creative outlet that I ended up falling in love with. I also love making people feel beautiful and it has taken a lot of time and work to get to a point where that is my focus instead of the pressure to implement my degree. Though I have always found science to be so interesting, it is not the only detail that composes me and that is ok. Nothing is ever wasted and beyond this, if one person can be positively impacted from entrusting me with their memories, then I feel my purpose is fulfilled.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Word of mouth has been the primary way that I have met a lot of my clients. I believe that building trust is such an important part of the beginnings of anything especially when you’re offering a certain quality of service. I feel so grateful when someone not only continues to entrust me with their precious moments but also feels happy about the end result and willing to refer me!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.essentiaphotographs.com/
• Instagram: @essentia.photography

Image Credits
Essentia Photography