We were lucky to catch up with Carissa Marie recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Carissa , thanks for joining us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

I love this question, because the root of my entire business is doing things different from the industry standard. I am a wedding photographer, specializing in shooting adventurous elopements, which are all about breaking traditions and doing things different from what the standard is.

I started out photographing larger, more traditional weddings, but overtime I started to realized that these big weddings weren’t fulfilling my passion for storytelling. I decided to ditch the industry standard, rebranded my entire business to specialize in adventure elopements, and never looked back. Instead of getting married at traditional venues, I help couples get married in incredible, remote landscapes all across the world – from Jeeping into the San Juan mountains of Colorado, to exploring the Moab desert, and everything in between. Instead of creating strict photography timelines and heavily posed imagery, I’m helping couples plan spontaneous, adventurous experiences, and simply documenting them having the best day of their lives. By doing things different from the traditional wedding industry, I’ve been able to heavily niche my business to serve a highly targeted market of adventurous couples. Doing things differently has been one of the best decisions I have ever made for my business, and one of the biggest factors to my success.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am a destination elopement photographer. I document intimate, connected wedding experiences, in the most breathtaking landscapes on earth. I started out photographing larger, more traditional weddings, but overtime I realized that these weddings felt more like a big production for other people. When the focus of the day is on entertaining hundreds of guests, it becomes impossible to remember what you are even celebrating in the first place. Elopements represent everything a wedding is truly about. After I shot my first elopement, I was hooked. I rebranded my entire business to specialize solely in elopements, and never looked back.

The service I provide for my clients is actually so much more than just photography. Eloping gives couples so much freedom to do things their way, but all that freedom can feel overwhelming to them. I provide the guidance they need to plan their elopement day from start to finish. I create a customized experience for each of my couples, providing incredible location recommendations, vendor suggestions, timeline creation, permit assistance, and so much more. I believe that if a couple is having the best day of their life, then their photos will be amazing, so helping couples plan their day is an integral part of my job.

I think what truly sets me apart is my passion. The wedding photography industry is very saturated with photographers, because it’s truly a dream job – you get to own your own business, travel the world, and charge thousands of dollars for your service. There are a lot of people that want to do this kind of work, because it’s such a “dream job,” but not everyone is truly passionate about storytelling and creating art. There are tons of perks being a destination elopement photographer, but that’s not why I do what I do. Being able to document a couple’s story in an authentic, and artistic way is so creatively fulfilling to me, it is my greatest passion in life. I have put my blood, sweat and tears into perfecting my craft, and I think it sets me apart in an industry that can feel very saturated.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

When I first started my photography business, I had just graduated from college, and didn’t really have much direction, or understanding of how I was going to turn it into a full time business. I got a job working as a nanny, and pretty much spent all my free time outside of my job working on building my business. I spent hours perfecting my craft as a photographer, invested thousands of dollars in gear, education workshops, traveling the world for portfolio content, designing (and redesigning) my website, and building a following on social media. I finally got to a point where I realized that I was stagnant. I knew I couldn’t continue to grow unless I poured everything I had into my business. It was a scary leap to make, but I knew I needed to take that risk. I quit my job as a nanny and became a full time adventure elopement photographer.

It definitely was not an overnight process for me, but each year I hit new milestones as my business grows, whether it be booking more weddings, raising my prices, or getting to work with couples that fully align with my values and passions as an artist. It’s been amazing to watch my business grow, and see the progression over the years.

How did you build your audience on social media?

As an artist, using social media to showcase your work, as well as market your services can be draining. You can start to feel like your value as an artist comes only from the amount of likes you receive on an image. I’ve always tried to look at social media as a business tool, and nothing more, which can help it not feel so draining. I try to use it strategically, for the sole purpose of attracting my target audience. When you can separate the emotional aspects of social media, I think that’s when you will find the most success.

My best tips are to stay consistent. Create a consistent schedule, that you can stick to, and follow that. Create engaging content: use hooks, offer helpful advice, tell interesting stories, be controversial, etc.. If you are a small business owner, show people who you are! You want followers to connect with you, your story, and your passion, so you can foster that trust.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://carissamarie.photo/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carissamariephotography/

Image Credits
All images are taken by me!