Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Charlotte Brooks. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Charlotte, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

I love the freedom that comes along with being a business owner and being my own boss. I set my own schedule and run things the way I like, but there are definitely hard days. With wedding photography, there are slow seasons and times when booking jobs isn’t consistent. It can be stressful when it comes to making money and there are days when it feels like I’m failing because business is slow. On the low days, I’ve thought about the stability that comes with having a regular job and sometimes it’s tempting to find one. But at the end of the day, I wouldn’t give up doing what I love and the freedom I have in running my own business. It’s worth the stress when I get to do what I’m passionate about, and I know I’m lucky to be able to.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I studied photography at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena with plans of going into food, travel, and lifestyle photography. I never thought I’d be a wedding photographer. I graduated at the end of 2019 and then the pandemic hit, so my photo plans were put on hold. When things slowly started opening up again, a friend asked me to be her second shooter at a wedding. I had a blast doing it and went on to shoot more weddings with her, usually traveling to do so. I would always spend time exploring whatever area we were in and it was then that I realized I could combine weddings with my love of travel photography and decided to become a destination wedding photographer. Since then, I’ve traveled all over the west coast for engagements, elopements, and weddings and have seen beautiful places.

The main goal I have when shooting a wedding is to make it all about the couple, and not about having a photoshoot. I’m always trying to keep the mood fun and natural with as little stress as possible and I end up capturing more authentic and candid photos this way. I love helping couples with planning, whether it’s wedding day timelines, finding an amazing location for their elopement, or coming up with creative themes for engagement photos. I’ve been able to share my love of exploring new places with so many couples and it’s been a very rewarding career so far!

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

When I first started my business, I was still working full time in a restaurant while I built up my portfolio and grew my business. Honestly, it took a long time to get to the point where photo jobs felt consistent enough for me to take the jump into doing it full-time. When I started giving up most of my shifts at the restaurant for photo jobs, I knew it was time to go all in. I’m still not as busy as I’d like to be, but I’m constantly working to continue growing my business and wouldn’t have had the time if I hadn’t quit my other job.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

It’s so rewarding to use what I’m good at and passionate about to make other people happy. Knowing that people are trusting me with to take photos of the most important days of their life is a huge honor. It’s a great feeling to know that they’ll be remembering those days through my work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://volaviastudio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/volaviastudio/