We recently connected with Vitaliy And Mike Shpenyk and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Vitaliy and Mike, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by sharing your thoughts about the pros and cons of family businesses.
We launched our business as brothers in 2008, aware that there is always a fine line between family relationships and professional ones. At times, it can be challenging to maintain that balance, and emotions may overlap. However, with the right communication model, work remains work, and personal life remains personal—both deserving the opportunity to grow and flourish.
No one is more invested in your development than your closest relatives, who are deeply involved in every aspect of the business and reveal their best qualities throughout the process. In our case, this has also meant sharing work-related travels to over 24 countries, bringing us closer together and strengthening our bonds. Most importantly, it reinforces the idea that our results are truly the outcome of a family effort.
When it comes to the partnership between us brothers, trust lies at the core. We share identical goals, uphold complete financial transparency, and provide steadfast support in challenging times. There are no hidden agendas or competing desires—only a unified vision for continued growth and success.
Vitaliy and Mike, 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?
MONROphotography was born in 2008 out of a heartfelt desire to capture the kind of love that moves people — the quiet glances, the unstoppable laughter, the tearful hugs between generations. What started as two brothers with cameras and a dream has grown into an internationally recognized wedding photography studio, trusted by couples across the U.S., Europe, and beyond.
We believe weddings aren’t about perfection — they’re about connection. That’s why every image we create is built on emotion, storytelling, and soul. Our signature style combines refined elegance with real, unscripted moments. We’ve photographed mountaintop elopements, candlelit receptions, and rain-soaked kisses — always searching for the truth of a moment rather than just its beauty.
Over the years, MONROphotography has been honored with international awards from organizations like Fearless Photographers and ISPWP, and featured in publications such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and HuffPost. But what we value most is the trust of the couples who invite us into their most sacred days.
We’re more than photographers — we’re memory-keepers. Visual poets. And above all, we’re human beings who deeply care about preserving the stories that matter most.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
At MONROphotography, our story didn’t begin in a studio — it began in childhood, with a dream, a roll of film, and a deep fascination with the power of images.
Vitaliy, one of our co-founders, still remembers saving every penny he could as a schoolboy to buy his first film camera and the tools needed to process photos in the darkroom. He even joined a school photography club — long before photography would become his life’s calling. Like many creative souls, his path wasn’t straightforward. He pursued a degree in engineering, stepping far from the world of art, but that quiet passion never faded. When the moment came to choose a path with purpose, it was photography that called him back — even though the equipment he needed cost nearly as much as a small apartment in our home country. Still, when you have a clear vision, the resources will follow. And so, the journey began.
A few years later, his brother Mykhailo joined the vision. Together, they built MONROphotography — not just as a business, but as a shared purpose. Coming from a small Ukrainian city, we faced skepticism and limits. But we believed in growth, and we believed in beauty. Every investment — especially in education and mentorship — became a stepping stone toward something greater.
Little by little, we grew beyond our hometown. We began photographing well-known figures, top political leaders, and high-profile clients across Ukraine. Then came the next leap — expanding into Europe. With bold investments in marketing, relationship-building with planners, and consistent client care, our presence across the European wedding scene flourished. At one point, nearly 40% of our bookings came from Europe.
Those years were filled with travel, new cultures, unforgettable couples, and the thrill of creating beauty in places we’d once only dreamed of.
Our team grew too — with another lead photographer, second shooters, and a full post-production team of talented retouchers who share our vision for excellence.
Now, we’ve set our sights on the U.S. market. It feels, in many ways, like starting over. But this isn’t our first chapter — and it won’t be our last. We carry with us everything we’ve learned: resilience, artistry, connection, and an unwavering belief that meaningful work always finds its place.
MONROphotography is more than a studio. It’s a story of grit, vision, and love — told one frame at a time.
Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?
One of the most difficult chapters in our journey as a studio came during a nationwide charity tour across Ukraine. We had committed ourselves — not just creatively, but personally — to a social cause we believed in. We packed every piece of equipment we owned, loaded it into our car, and hit the road to offer free photoshoots and raise support for communities in need.
But in one of the cities, during a short lunch break, everything was stolen from our vehicle. Tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of gear — gone in an instant.
It was the most devastating moment we had ever experienced as artists and as people. We felt exposed, stripped bare, and heartbroken. Our tools were not just devices — they were extensions of our vision, our means to tell stories, and our only way to keep working.
With no equipment left, we had no choice but to take out loans just to rebuild. It took us years to pay them off.
Many people expected us to give up — to let grief and despair end our journey. But we didn’t.
Instead, we poured that pain into purpose. That moment became the fire that pushed us harder — to grow, to rise, and to reach further than we ever had before. It led us to build stronger relationships, to fight for our craft, and to eventually become recognized among the top photographers in our country.
Out of loss, we found grit. Out of hardship, we found clarity. And out of that experience, MONROphotography became more than a studio — it became a symbol of resilience and purpose.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.monro.photography/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monro.photography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myMONROphotography
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MONROphotography
Image Credits
Vitaliy Shpenyk, Mykhailo Shpenyk