We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cassell Archinuk a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Cassell, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I have always liked the outdoors and my dad was the one to have that influence on me at an early age from hiking to fishing and even rock hunting. But it wasn’t until 10 years ago that I found the photography bug. I discovered that I could be creative on my hikes and capture the beauty of nature , rock formations and sunsets. I started on my phone and within a year took the plunge to buy my first proffesional camera . I spent a lot of time outside and going on road trips to explore and document with my camera the variety of landscapes that Arizona and a good part of the U. S has to offer. I decided to take some online classes, tutorials and learned everything about natural light photography. There were a lot of hits and misses trying different techniques with what kind of style and niche I fit into , but it was a great way to learn. After a few years, I had a few people here and there that asked me to take their photo in Sedona. I love this part of Arizona , so was always willing. I booked my first wedding shortly after that and started to upgrade my camera gear. Things took off from their where I was able to expand to elopements, family and other type of portrait sessions. I found my niche was to take photos of people in a beautiful scenic place. What started out as a fun way to be creative, I am now busy doing what I love and spending a good amount of time exploring nature and the outdoors and capturing memories with loved ones.

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 worked as a cosmetologist for many years even having my own business and when I moved to Arizona , I decided to retire the scissors. I knew I wanted to remain in the creative field and after discovering photography by accident, I new I had found something I became passionate about. When I decide on something, I put all my effort into making things work. had the opportunity to showcase my work at two galleries in Tempe and from then on decided to start selling my work. I have an Etsy store and sell my work locally in Gilbert and Queen Creek. As time went on I got into outdoor portrait work and getting more experience by giving free mini sessions. I did Grad , maternity, couples, engagement and family sessions which then helped me to feel confident and ask for a good price for my sessions. Fast forward a couple years I had agreed to do a wedding in Sedona and even though I was nervous, I put all my effort into studying wedding photography and looking at poses online through Pinterest, Instagram and Youtube. I even took an in person 2 day workshop which really helped having that hands on instruction . I think it is really good to keep learning and looking at new ways to improve . I was pretty busy and fast forward to 2020 when Covid hit and everything came to a stop with wedding venues having to close, it caused for a big change of plans for everyone especially those that were getting married. There was a solution to this though. It was Elopements which became very popular in 2021 and I did my first Elopement at Saguaro National park. I continued with quite a few Elopements that year in Sedona, Utah and Colorado. Couples discovered that they can go somewhere very scenic, have a few family members and make their day special. When my clients arent sure what time of day, what area at their location would be best for their ceremony, Bride and Groom photos, that is where I come in and scout out these locations to get the best possible light. Most places Golden hour works well and is such a pretty light so I give the info to them and we can plan their day around the best light. Sometimes I am like a wedding planner with making their timeline work. Being able to go to all these different places, I made sure to plan some time to explore the areas and work on some landscape photography as it is something I still love to do when I hike or travel , so it was a win win situation.
On one trip through Nevada, we were driving on the open road with mountains surrounding us and there was an incredible sunset as we came around the bend. I knew I had to stop and take a photo. As it turns out, Travel Nevada decided to buy full rights to this photo and it is now on the cover on their 2023 Travel state road map. I would say one of the most important things with this work wether it be posting on social media or having a product such as prints like me, is to be consistent. I get a lot of my purchases and inquiries just from continually posting my work and making it known.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Instagram is where I get a lot of my business. I started on there approximately 9 years ago, a few months after I got into landscape photography. There I could post my photos and look at other people’s outdoor adventures and photos. I was so excited when I got 20 likes on a photo and 100 followers at the beginning along with positive comments. So this motivated me to keep posting. After a couple years I reached almost 15k followers . I discovered that using hashtags was a good way to get your photos noticed. I ended up getting quite a lot of accounts sharing and featuring my photos including the local news stations and this was a big key to building up my followers base and getting my work out there. The key for me was and still is being consistent and having a connection with my audience by commenting, responding to comments and now with stories and reels that are very popular on Instagram, its easier than ever to let people into your world. Instagram is very much based on interaction. I have now over 52k followers and this interaction and consistencey has brought a good amount of wedding and portrait work to me which is like free advertising! I have had many good opportunties from photographing events, products and most recent my photo was chosen to be on Nevada’s state map for 2023 and all because they found a photo they wanted to use on my Instagram. One struggle I have found is the ever evolving algorithim on Instagram which is always changing. It can be frustrating and confusing for those starting out trying to build up a following. I also enjoy having a Facebook page specifically for my photography.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Early on in my photography career , I did not know a single photographer, so I would watch youtube videos, take some online classes and go out to try what I learned. I made mistakes along the way , but never gave up. So I would continue to learn by trial and error. Looking back, I do wish I had a mentor or asked a couple photographers to help me with certain areas I struggled with for example learning all the manual settings on the camera would have been alot faster if I had someone who showed me in person because I feel like I learn faster that way. I also wish I did not compare myself to others as much as I did. I needed to remember that everyone has their niche, is on their own journey and I was creating my own style. Comparison doesn’t do a person good, it only hinders progress.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: @cassyarchphotography
• Facebook: Cassy Arch Photography
• Linkedin: Cassell Archinuk