We recently connected with Felipe Callado and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, FELIPE thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

As a wedding photographer, my mission is to create timeless, heartfelt images that capture the emotions and connections that make each wedding unique. This mission is deeply personal to me because I know firsthand how meaningful these moments are.

When my wife and I eloped in New York City, our wedding day was intimate, spontaneous, and full of emotions we never wanted to forget. Looking back, the photos from that day became more than just images, they became a window into one of the most important chapters of our lives. That experience shaped how I approach wedding photography.

I don’t just take pictures, I document feelings, relationships, and fleeting moments that couples will cherish for a lifetime. My goal is to provide every couple with images that bring them right back to the emotions they felt on their wedding day, whether it was a grand celebration or a quiet, personal ceremony.

That’s why my work is more than just photography. it’s about storytelling, preserving memories, and giving couples a way to relive their most cherished moments for years to come.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I never set out to be a wedding photographer. That wasn’t the plan. But if I’m honest, the best things in life usually aren’t planned, they just happen. My journey started in architecture, ten years of designing spaces, obsessing over light, composition, and the way people move through a place. It was about structure, but also about emotion. A well-designed space makes you feel something, and I realized photography does the same, just in a different way.

Then my wife and I eloped in New York City. No big production, no audience: just us, the city, and the weight of that moment. The photos from that day became everything. They weren’t just pictures. They were proof. Proof of how it felt. Proof that time stood still for us, even if just for a second. That changed everything for me.

Now, that’s what I chase. I shoot weddings, but not in the way you might expect. I don’t just snap pretty pictures. I build stories. My background in architecture trained me to see the world in layers: light, space, movement, emotion. That’s how I approach photography. I’m intentional with framing, with timing, with the way all the elements come together to create something lasting.

What sets me apart? I take this work seriously. It’s a job, yes! but not just any job. I thrive on structure, preparation, and making sure every detail is accounted for. I work with a plan, with checklists, with the kind of precision that comes from years of designing spaces where every line matters. But within that structure, I leave space for the unexpected, the real, raw moments that make a wedding day unforgettable.

Beyond weddings, I also shoot commercial and brand photography. Whether it’s capturing the essence of a business, telling the story of a product, or creating striking visuals for a brand’s identity, I bring the same intentionality to my commercial work. My experience in architecture helps me understand the importance of visual storytelling in branding, how strong imagery can shape perception, evoke emotion, and build trust with an audience. I work with businesses to create images that feel authentic, elevated, and purposeful.

I’m most proud of the trust my clients place in me. They invite me into their world, whether it’s their wedding day or their brand vision, and I don’t take that lightly. My goal is simple: to give them images that aren’t just beautiful, but meaningful. Photos that don’t just remind them of a moment, but take them back to how it felt.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Honestly, it’s simple: serve your clients. Like, really serve them. The wedding process is their day, their moment, it’s not about you. During a wedding, the couple is EVERYTHING. You have to be all in for them. You’ve gotta give everything you’ve got, your time, your energy, your attention. People can feel that.

You can’t just show up, snap a few photos, and call it a day. It’s about making them feel comfortable, heard, and seen. When you give them your full attention, when you show them that you care, they don’t just hire you, they trust you. And when they trust you, they share that experience with everyone they know.

Also, you’ve got to be authentic. People want real. So, I’m real with them. I’m transparent, I’m engaging, and I always bring my best self. The best marketing is when your clients become your biggest advocates, because when they feel like you gave them everything, they’ll tell their friends. And that’s when the magic happens. That’s how you build your base.

So, in the end, it’s about service. It’s about being fully invested in your clients, and it’s about making them feel like they matter. Do that, and the clients will come, and they’ll bring more clients with them.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

For ten years, I was an architect. That was the path I had built—countless hours of studying, designing, problem-solving. It was structured. Predictable. Safe. And then I walked away from it.

Photography had always been in the background, but I never saw it as a career—until I realized I couldn’t ignore it anymore. The way architecture taught me to see light, space, and composition naturally carried over into photography. I started shooting more, learning everything I could, and eventually, I had to make a choice: stay in a career I had spent a decade building or take a leap into something completely unknown.

I chose photography. It wasn’t easy. Pivoting meant rebuilding, redefining success on my own terms, and trusting that hard work would pay off. But looking back, I see how everything led me here. My background in architecture gave me an edge in photography—an ability to see structure in chaos, to anticipate moments, to frame stories with intention.

That pivot was the best decision I ever made. Now, I get to do work that feels meaningful—whether it’s capturing the emotion of a wedding day or helping brands tell their story visually. The risk was worth it. Every time I pick up my camera, I know I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be

Contact Info:

• Website: https://felipecallado.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/felipe.callado/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7YS1ryWPgTx4PNxCIU-T9A

Image Credits

felipe callado