We recently connected with Alexis & Keith Stein and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Alexis & Keith thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One deeply underappreciated facet of being an entrepreneur or creative is the kind of crazy stuff that happens from time to time. It could be anything from a disgruntled client attacking an employee or waking up to find out a celebrity gave you a shoutout on TikTok – the sudden, unexpected hits (both positive and negative) make the profession both exhilarating and exhausting. Can you share one of your craziest stories?

Some people think you need to draw a line in the sand when it comes to the relationships you build with your clients, and that those relationships should be strictly professional. Since our industry is focused on such intimate events in peoples lives, we have decided to break down those walls and erase the line in the sand. We say that the most important part of the story that can help ease the pressure of such a monumental day is the relationship that you have with one another, but also the relationship with your hired professionals. In this case, photographer. So, we take the time to nurture these relationships and build friendships that last long beyond these personal events. In one case, seven years ago, we met with a couple named Liz & Mike. Mike found us online, like most couples do, and was really drawn to our style and wanted to meet with us. When we sat down in our studio/office with them, something amazing happened. The conversation flowed like a bunch of old friends catching up that have not seen one another for years and years. Well, shortly after the meeting, they alerted us that they wanted to invest in us as their photographers and sign a contract. Some time passed, and we got a phone call from Mike about a horror themed outing that they wanted to do in Chicago…CHICAGO!!! This means we would be driving from New York to Chicago in a car together and then sharing an AirBNB with a couple we barely knew, but felt so comfortable with. This friendship has proven to be a bright shining light in our lives and this is lifelong. We have been friends for several years now and have spent countless holidays together, and rescheduled events so that the other party could be a part of the event. They have become family to us, and this shows us, we are people just like everyone else and these relationships could and should be allowed. Today, we are separated by a whole country, since Liz & Mike live on the East Coast and we live in Washington state. We moved here a year and a half ago and when I go back to the East Coast I stay with them and they have already brought their family here to see us for Thanksgiving this past year. We feel accomplished for so many reasons, but this is one of those things in business that has been truly rewarding for us. Without these relationships, I am not sure we would embrace our business as much as we do. I use this story when we meet new couples all the time, and they are impressed, and often times, they invest in us and want to get to know us better.

Alexis & Keith, 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?

We have both been professional photographers for quite some time, even before meeting 13+ years ago. Alexis has degree in photography from RISD, Rhode Island School of Design, and I am self-taught. Alexis learned how to do wedding photography while residing in California some years ago. When I met Alexis she already had her business going, and I helped her push her business to Long Island when we met. At first I was not terribly interested in photographing weddings, but she convinced me to give it a try, and I loved it. It was way more rewarding than any other area of photography that I ever worked in. I had spent so many years working in the music industry as a photographer. I toured all over the world following bands/musicians while they graced stages for adoring fans, and I was there in the pits to capture all of it. Do not get me wrong, it was fun, but not like this. This is another level completely. Instead of having another shot on the next stage to get it right, you had this added pressure to get it right the first time. A wedding day for a couple comes and goes and they rely on you to capture these memories with finesse and get it right the first and only time. We fell in love with each other while photographing weddings, and shortly after we met we moved in together and decided we would put a lot of effort into our photography as a full-time business. We rebranded to Anchor & Lace Photography and decided to fully commit to one another by getting engaged and then married. We branded our business with the idea that the relationship comes first and then we capture it in the most artistic, romantic, and timeless way possible while also being as organic in the process as possible. We vowed to each other that we would be ourselves in business. This is the thing we are most proud of when it comes to our business. We love our work, and appreciate all of the amazing events we have been fortunate to capture for couples and families. However, the one thing we always remember the most are the relationships we have built as a result of our dedication.

How’d you meet your business partner?

Alexis and I met online through OK Cupid. We were both photographers before we met, and when we met we joined forces to be a couple photographing weddings together, harmoniously.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

First and foremost, the relationships, we keep coming back to this, since it is the most important detail of how we gained the love and respect of our couples, their families, and our peers. Without these relationships, the work doesn’t shine as bright. The smiles are bigger, the eyes are wider, and people can truly be themselves around us, all while feeling completely comfortable. If someone takes the time to read our reviews online, they would discover this for themselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.anchorandlace.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/anchorandlacephoto
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/anchorandlacephoto
• Other: https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/anchor-and-lace-photography-miller-place-carlsbad/64453236db1d3eea.html

Image Credits
All photos provided by Anchor & Lace Photography and taken by Keith Stein or Alexis Stein