We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Valerie Burke. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Valerie below.

Hi Valerie, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Starting my own photography business was a risk. I went to school for photography and have always wanted to pursue it, and after graduating I was able to find photography jobs that I enjoyed doing and allowed me to travel. There was always work going on and I was constantly on the move. It was crazy and busy but it worked for me and I liked it. Fast forward several years to 2019 when Covid hit and like most people, my world was flipped upside down. My work immediately stopped and I had nothing to do. At that time, most of the work I was doing was event based and usually had groups of 50-100+ guests. Obviously that didn’t bode well for a global pandemic. I was nervous that in a blink of an eye all my work immediately shut down and was going to be gone for the unforeseeable future. I got a job at a local retail store in the meantime and I had to think about what I was going to do. I knew that this was going to change everything. I had to focus on myself. I had to figure out what the next steps in my career were going to be.

Although Covid was a tough time for everyone, I do think it was also the reset a lot of us needed. It forced us to stop (maybe longer than we wanted to) and really think about and look at our lives and decide if we liked the direction it was going. So, for weeks I tried to think of what I wanted my life to look like. My first thought was, I want to make sure I can control my work if this ever happens again. Funny enough, when I was in college, my Mom pushed me to take an entrepreneur class because as a photographer, more than likely I’d be working for myself and it would be super informative. I never wanted to work for myself. It was never a thought I had early on when I imagined what my career would look like. I took that one class and that was it. I wasn’t interested and didn’t think I needed to take additional coursework. Looking back, I wish I would’ve completed the whole certificate. Anyways, when I had all that time to think about what kind of life I wanted, what type of work I wanted to do, what made me happy, I was kind of stuck. I knew that I loved photography, traveling, meeting and connecting with people, and just exploring the outdoors. I also liked having flexibility with my life and work. That alone is a risk because having that type of schedule in a typical corporate environment is almost a stigma to talk about. A lot of people work themselves to death, staying late and working weekends. I’ve never felt that’s a good work/life balance. Many companies say they have a good balance, but I think that’s just “corporate speak” and it’s not something they really practice. Personally, I needed to take the risk. The work I was previously doing was still fun don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t exactly giving me joy. You know when you just get to spend a day doing something that you absolutely love and you get back home and you take a second, take a breath and go, “wow…my heart just feels so full right now!” That’s the feeling I was missing. And I really think that you should be enjoying the work that you do. Especially seeing that we spend most of our lives working.

I had some idea of those things I liked doing, but I didn’t know how to make a career out of them and how to combine them all together. I had been following a photographer online for a while and saw she was offering a coaching program to start your own photography business and I knew it was meant to be. With her help and some soul searching I was able to figure out that elopement photography was my calling. It’s the perfect combination of the outdoors, adventure, connecting with people and photography. Once I heard that, it all clicked. I started doing more research on elopements and everything you need to know about them. And my business took off from there. I had never really thought about elopements or knew much about them other than thinking that people just went to Vegas for them. But they’re so much more than that. It could be a whole article in and of itself.

I took a huge risk in starting my own business during Covid. I went into a niche that I didn’t really know too much about. But I learned along the way, and joined classes and looked for mentors that could help me be the best I could be. Covid was horrible and the whole world changed and went through a lot. But without it, I would have never been pushed to start my own business and I probably never would have. And I would be missing out on all the amazing people I get to work with and all the stunning places I get to visit. There’s a reason why people always say, “high risk, high reward.”

Valerie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Ever since I could remember I have loved taking pictures. As a kid, I remember having a bright red Nikon point and shoot camera that I brought everywhere! I loved capturing everything. I took film classes in high school and realized that photography was the one thing that I loved and wanted to pursue. I continued my education at the University of Iowa and got my BFA in photography. I started working at the college newspaper, covering sports, politics, and the arts. After graduating I got jobs photographing anything I could, which included newborns, dance competitions, and corporate events. I was gone traveling more than I was staying at my own home. Fast forward several years to 2019 when Covid hit and like most people, my world was flipped upside down. My work immediately stopped and I had nothing to do. I was nervous that in a blink of an eye all my work immediately shut down and was going to be gone for the unforeseeable future. I got a job at a local retail shop in the meantime and I had to think about what I was going to do. I knew that this was going to change everything. I had to figure out what the next steps in my career were going to be. I had been following a photographer online for a while and saw she was offering a coaching program to start your own photography business and I knew it was meant to be. With her help and some soul searching I was able to figure out that elopement photography was my calling. It’s the perfect combination of the outdoors, adventure, connecting with people and photography. All the things that I loved!

I love being able to help couples celebrate their love exactly how they want to. Weddings have turned into these huge parties where we’re trying to please everyone else and the focus can be lost on the couple, and that’s the whole point of having a wedding. Figuring out guests lists, food, decor, and everything else that goes into planning a big wedding can be really stressful. The great thing about eloping is that the couple can plan their day however they want. Making it super intentional of who’s going to be there, what activities to do and just enjoying the day and quality time spent together with friends and family. I help plan an amazing day with whatever my couple wants to do, help find a perfect location, create a smooth timeline and of course capture their special day. I’m fortunate to be included in such a special day and I want to make it the best it can be!

I don’t want to be just another vendor someone hires for their wedding. I want it to feel like their hiring and bringing along a longterm friend. I usually spend hours if not most of the day with people on one of their most memorable days. It’s important to be around someone you connect and feel comfortable with in order for them to capture your most authentic and vulnerable selves. You want someone you enjoy being with all day who’s going to be cheering you on and celebrating every step of the way. Photographs are great at capturing moments in time, and a lot of people can do that. But connecting with people and creating a great experience from the moment they book, to planning the day, to actually getting married is what people are going to remember. They’ll look back on a photo and remember the whole moment of when it was captured. All of this helps me create an amazing experience for my couples.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I have a love/hate relationship with social media. It is such a great tool and helps us connect with so many people. When I was getting ready to launch my business I was making so much content that I thought I needed. Finding the popular songs and trends and crazy dances to try and gain some attention. I got sucked in for a while trying to keep up with all of it, but it only lasted so long. It’s exhausting to be consistently posting and finding new trends. Only recently did I realize that people want to see an insight into your life and who you really are. I know when I scroll on Instagram and TikTok some of my favorite videos are behind the scenes or something simple happening in someone’s daily life. I knew I liked that sort of content but I could never get myself to do the same. It’s easier said than done. I was always trying to be perfect, posting only certain photos and if I was ever on camera I needed to have makeup on, hair done, etc. Not only was it exhausting but I didn’t like it. Now, I’ll take videos of my travels, my dogs, random things I do during the day, along with all my photography and business things. Your audience follows you because most likely, they want to get to know who you are. They want an inside look into your life like what hobbies you like doing or what you do with your free time. Especially as an elopement photographer working in such an intimate setting, I want to make sure my couple gets an idea of who I am to make sure we’re a good match. I’ve started to try and show more of my personality and day to day life online and hopefully that resonates with more people. Instead of following trends and trying to gain more followers, I just post what I want and try not to overthink it. It’s better to be consistent with what you can manage, whether that’s posting two times a week or five. For me, I like keeping it around twice a week so I’m not stressing about what to post or how much content I need. Social media is important, but I don’t want it taking over my life, so I try to keep a good balance where I’m not obsessive with what I post and not constantly looking and comparing myself to others. Just be yourself and your people will find you.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

There are some days where I still have to take a second and realize that this is my life. When I’m in the middle of the mountains capturing a couple saying their vows I sometimes have to pinch myself to remember that this is my job and I get to do this for a living! I get to capture people’s most important days and memories and be there to celebrate with them. That’s huge! I’m giving them physical moments in time that they can forever look back and remember and share with future generations. Some people spend their lives working a nine to five doing the same thing everyday. I get a new adventure every time. A new couple to meet and connect with and new places to see. But I think the most rewarding aspect is working with my couples. Seeing how appreciative they are of the photos and experience that were captured and moments they can share. I really just want to make sure that I can help the day and process go as smoothly as possible and make it fun of course! I love that I can still let my creative side out while I work and continue to grow and learn along the way.

Contact Info:

• Website: valerieraephotography.com
• Instagram: @ValerieRaePhotography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valerieraephoto

Image Credits
First photo of myself- Taylor Jones Photography Everything else: Valerie Rae Photography