We were lucky to catch up with Emily Capisciolto recently and have shared our conversation below.

Emily , appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with what makes profitability in your industry a challenge – what would you say is the biggest challenge?

Oof, this is a hard, but important question. As life continues to get more expensive, people inevitably make choices in their life regarding where they invest their money. For companies – this means possibly utilizing stock or tech to create marketing visuals. For what I lovingly call, “real people”, this can mean bypassing on investing in what many people consider “extras” in their budget. Photography, be it family, personal branding, boudoir, even weddings – becomes an area that people tend to try and cut costs. For established photographers, this can really hurt.

I’ve also encountered many conversations where it becomes very apparent to me that many don’t understand photography pricing. They see the ticketed price, get sticker shock, and don’t always step back to understand why that might be the asking price of that particular photographer. Years of experience, expertise, cost of doing business, equipment, taxes, insurance, cost of living, travel. etc. are all factors in establishing a package price. Photographers (and other artists) are also business owners and businesses cost money to run. Education and breaking this down every now and then can be helpful so people understand a photographer is not always making $800 an hour – after expenses and all the hours spent in prep and post – that margin shrinks significantly. That’s not always where people’s minds go though – and I get that.

While logistics are an important part of profitability – so is value. My biggest push over the last year has been to constantly share why photography is valuable. I truly believe that once people connect their core memories and people with the photos that hold them, they instantly agree that it is hard to put a price on that. Our minds only remember so much – visual documentation is such an incredible gift.

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’m Emily Capisciolto, a 31 year old midwest transplant now living in Washington. I started my business in 2011 when I was still in high school and have been doing it part-time/full time for 14 years now.

Photography is not something that fell into my lap or that I followed on a whim (not that there is anything wrong with finding your niche that way), but a practice that I did long before there was any entrepreneurship involved. I have always been an artist – with drawing being my first consistent practice. When I was 11, I was diagnosed with cancer and went through two and a half years of chemotherapy. This was before tablets and smart phones. I spent a lot of time doing art in the hospital. Make-a-wish contacted my family, and with the help of my siblings, I went from wanting an in-home art studio to a mobile one – and that’s when I got my first DSLR and laptop. Photos instantly became a form of art and way of seeing the world and that love has continued to only grow deeper.

Over the last decade+, I have upgraded cameras, studied art and photography, photographed hundreds of families and weddings, got my BSN and became a pediatric oncology nurse working at the bedside for 5 years, moved across the country, and stepped back to photography full time. It’s been a wild ride.

I have never niched down fully. I like to claim that my niche is people. Currently, I am really enjoying photographing music and creatives, surfing, families, boudoir, and weddings. I’d love to step into the lifestyle brand space as well.

I never set my camera down. And I don’t plan on ever doing so. After the heartbreak I have both experienced and witnessed in this life, I am all in on finding the magic to remind people that even though life can be really hard, it is also so good. And because photography is art that documents real life, it’s the best avenue I’ve got to accomplish this.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Art gets us through life. Even the most logical, analytical thinker utilizes art to get through their day. Whether it’s music, films, fashion – whatever. Creative thinking is at the core of innovation, connection, and healing. To be part of the world that fosters those areas is so incredible.

I have always had a art-supportive family, but I’ve also run into my fair share of people who view being a freelance artist/creative as a job that does not hold as much value as others. And while comparison is not what I’m going for, I think it’s so important to push back on that notion.

As a creative entrepreneur, I have the opportunity to connect with people deeply, bring joy and color to a world that often needs it, and foster really meaningful relationships through my work.

Poet Arthur O’Shaughnessy wrote:

“We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams.”

That sounds pretty freaking rewarding to me.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

I think it’s really easy for our egos as an artist to get in the way of allowing a project to reach its full potential. If you’re an artist, you’re probably a visual person. When planning a project, you’ve done the prep work and the dreaming. You may even have gaps in your portfolio you are trying to fill and have plans of how to do so.

And while all of this is valid, taking a moment to step back before each project and remind yourself what the actual goal of the project is from both your perspective as well as the client’s – who is investing both their trust and finances in you – is a really vital part of the process.

I think I’ve done a really good job of emphasizing over and over to my clients that I’m there to serve them. And while I bring my technical and creative expertise to the session, they are the subject. It’s all about them. They have a say in the final product. My goal is always to document as true to real life as possible and this is weaved through all my messaging throughout marketing, the planning process, and at the actual shoot. I meet people where they are. I send a custom deep dive questionnaire and collaborative mood board so that I connect with my clients both in words and visuals. I find it eases a lot of unknowns and fosters excitement – which let’s be honest, only leads to an overall better experience and final gallery.

I emphasize that I recognize they could have chosen anyone (there is no shortage of photographers), and that I promise to invest in them the same way they have in me. I think my empathic personality, with experience as a nurse, has allowed me to be incredibly observant and care for people in an honest way. Genuine gratitude goes a long way in making people feel really seen.

This job doesn’t exist without those that trust me to photograph them. It’s big time thankfulness over here.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.emilycapisciolto.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilycapisciolto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmilyCapiscioltoPhotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-capisciolto-88a68a98/
• Other: https://laundrybasketprayers.substack.com/

  email: [email protected]