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

Megan, appreciate you joining us today. Can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi there! I’m Megan VanDoran, an elopement and wedding photographer capturing love all over Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii.

My favorite part of this one wild, wonderful life we get to live is the experiences we have and the memories we make. I’m passionate about preserving and protecting memories so we can cherish milestones and important moments in all the seasons of our lives.

I believe your photos should highlight the real you and feel current and fresh for years to come. My photography style is timeless, true-to-life and natural, filled with joy and romance. I edit true-to-color and prefer a light-touch so you still look like you. I capture events naturally as they unfold in a documentary, candid style with time for prompts added in. I’m passionate about the natural beauty of our surroundings and love to highlight scenery as a part of the story.

My biggest goal is to ensure this is a fun, easy experience that makes you feel comfortable in front of the camera. I’ll guide you with enough direction so that you know what to do and don’t feel lost throughout our time together. We’ll make sure you get the best images possible through each prompt but I’ll also give you the freedom to be yourself as a couple by interacting with each other and your surroundings and experiencing the day.

A little about me and my background.

When I’m not photographing elopements and weddings, I’m working as a marketer. I’ve been a part of or led teams at Fortune 500 companies, global brands, and startups for more than a dozen years. I’m a hard-working, detail-obsessed perfectionist but I also thrive on having the most fun possible. I’m simultaneously a very serious and very not serious person!

I’m married to the best person I know, Matt, and we have a mini-golden doodle named Biscuit who I am obsessed with. We’re originally from Atlanta and lived in Denver before landing in Oregon. We also spend as much time as we can in Hawaii (I have family in Oahu)!

I love getting outside and exploring and enjoying nature. I’ve never felt more at peace than when I’m at the Oregon Coast! I can chat for days about where we’re traveling next, the best restaurants in any city, interior design and all things home, style and shopping, and the best books to read in basically any genre. You can find me wandering at Powell’s on a rainy Sunday.

I’m a big fan of live music so we go to a lot of shows (indie rock for me and Matt’s a total metalhead, haha). I’m trying to learn more about wine other than just being like, “Ok, this one is ALSO delicious”! Italy and France are at the top of my travel bucket list (primarily for the food, let’s be honest!). I’ve also recently taken up oil painting to be creative through a new medium.

Awesome – before we get into the rest of our questions, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

My idea to become an entrepreneur was born out of having the time and space to evaluate my life and work after a layoff.

I have spent 13+ years working as a marketing professional at Fortune 500 companies, global brands, a startup and a non-profit. I worked hard in every role I’ve had and was promoted several times, but sometimes layoffs are inevitable.

I was laid off during COVID-19 and was so burnt out and overwhelmed with everything going on in work and the world that I decided to truly take some time to figure out what was next for me.

Meanwhile, my husband and I had been traveling across the country on a months-long road trip, staying at different rental houses since we had both been working from home. With the newfound free time I had, I really fell in love with photographing landscapes and cities. I decided that I could add to my marketing skill set by taking some photography courses while I was looking for my next role.

I had been on-site at photo and video shoots my entire marketing career and had always worked with creatives to plan and produce content. I even captured some photos to use on our social media channels when I worked at smaller companies. So I knew I liked photography and had a good eye for creative concepts and design.

In the back of my mind, I knew my business and marketing knowledge could help me launch a photography career later on if I wanted, but that all felt very unrealistic given that I was used to a traditional 9-5 role with a corporate salary and benefits.

Our travels came to an end and we moved from Denver to Portland for my husband’s work. I started a digital photography certificate program through Parsons School of Design at The New School. As I was simultaneously searching for a new marketing role, I started to question the concept of work. What do I even like doing? Does that even matter? How can I be happier at work? Should I derive any of my happiness from my work or workplace? What does work even mean to me? What is its place in my life?

While contemplating life/having somewhat of an existential crisis, I was also considering the ebbs and flows of the economy and how vulnerable my role was if a company wasn’t generating enough revenue. I was also so replaceable as a marketer with the same skill set as many other people.

I thought about how I could create an opportunity for myself that served me and my family’s needs vs. just making other people richer. I was desperate for some control over my career and the ability to positively influence my income based on how hard I worked, not just to be mercy to someone else’s whims or a company’s agenda. I also genuinely wanted to feel creatively fulfilled.

I was also thinking about how I could serve others and what impact I wanted to have on the world. I wanted to cement my legacy. I wondered, what do I want to leave behind when I’m gone? After grappling with some of these questions, I decided to just go for it and start my photography business, while also starting a new day job.

The first step in going from idea to reality with my photography business was sharpening my foundational skills with formal and informal education (I joked that YouTube was another one of my professors). I dove into learning everything I could about composition, editing, and my gear. I wanted to be extremely technically proficient and also cultivate an artist’s eye.

While completing my program, I honed in on what kind of photography I wanted to pursue. I love people and human connection and interaction. I’m also a sucker for love stories (a true hopeless romantic!). I’m interested in fashion, flowers, food and beverages, parties, fun and beautiful places. It didn’t take long to become laser-focused on weddings and elopements since they can involve all of those things!

I searched social media to learn from wedding and elopement photographers in my area. I saw what they shared online, how they positioned themselves with the value of working with them, what their offerings looked like, and of course, their art.

One day I came across the concept of a styled shoot or content day — a learning opportunity where photographers of all skill levels came together to practice different equipment, ideas, ways of photographing, etc. and get portfolio content with a real couple or models who are in a styled scene, complete with wedding attire and sometimes florals, cake, a table scape and more design elements. There was one being hosted by a photographer I really admired in the area and I bought a ticket.

I met some incredible people and learned so much from watching how others posed the models, captured detail shots, set up creative shots, and worked with tough lighting situations. I was hooked – it was SO fun and incorporated so many elements I was interested in at one time. It was also VERY challenging. I loved having to make decisions in the moment to lead to good results and reviewing the photos after and learning how to edit them to enhance them. Were my photos I took at this event great? Not really. But, I saw the potential in myself and was willing to keep investing in my growth and development.

I read advice that to book work, you had to start identifying as a photographer and sharing that you did this kind of work in interactions with people. I knew absolutely NO ONE when we moved to Portland, but during any interaction of substance I had, I mentioned I was a photographer. I created a very basic website myself and started an instagram handle and posted my work regularly.

Our apartment complex at the time wanted to host a family fall photos event and because I had started telling people I was a photographer, I was asked to photograph it. That was my first paid booking, and I booked my first couples session from a couple I met during the event.

There also happened to be a very established and well-known wedding and elopement photographer who lived in our apartment complex. She saw my work of the couple who hired me for my first session since we were all neighbors, and reached out to ask me if I wanted to serve as a second photographer with her for an upcoming wedding. I learned so much from her and am eternally grateful for that first opportunity to shoot alongside a pro. I continued to work with her throughout that year’s wedding season.

Many lead photographers will also let you edit and share the photos you take at the wedding you worked with them as well, so working as a second photographer for my neighbor and others I met helped me build my portfolio. I also kept attending styled shoots and content days, as well as reaching out to local couples with the offer of a free session, to build my portfolio and continue learning. It’s hard to get hired to take wedding and elopement photos without evidence that you are capable of capturing these types of photos, so it was so important to have a lot of work to showcase. With every session, I grew in my confidence and abilities.

I set up my bookkeeping for taxes and ensured my LLC and insurance and contracts were all dialed in. I learned what editing style I was drawn to and how to achieve that look in my own work, how to edit efficiently, how to backup my photos, and other workflow elements. I set up a CRM to help with invoicing, contracts, accepting payments, a calendar, and communication with my clients. I set up a premium photo delivery and print ordering service. I decided what kind of welcome gifts I wanted to send and what to gift at the end of my time working with couples.

I tapped into my digital marketing background to create social media and Google advertisements targeted to the areas I wanted to photograph weddings and elopements in and described my style and approach with examples. I also requested reviews from some couples I worked with to help with SEO and third party validation to build trust with couples.

I priced myself very low and with each engagement session/elopement/wedding booked, I raised the price slightly since I had more experience and expertise and needed to eventually get to a point where I could not operate at a loss for the business. I was transparent about my experience with couples and built trust by sharing more about my professional background and how it related to the wedding and elopement photography process. I also consistently over-delivered in terms of the service I provided so my clients would see the value in working with me and recommend me to others. Having a business is not easy and anyone who says it is probably isn’t being truthful. I had some steep learning curves and near misses, but persevered.

As I gained more experience, I refined my website to include more FAQs and created guides for photography planning for sessions, elopements and weddings to share my knowledge with couples to help them better prepare and plan to get the kinds of photos that will show their interaction as a couple and love they have for their family and friends attending their weddings.

After the first full year, with start-up expenses and ongoing costs, I barely broke even. But the next year, my business made more revenue than several full-time corporate jobs I had at a big company earlier in my career.

The next steps to grow my business even more were understanding how to book out my schedule more reliably with the kind of clients who valued photography as an investment and were having the kinds of celebrations that resonated with me. I invested in business branding and a better website, and started networking with industry professionals like wedding planners. I jumped at the opportunity to photograph other vendors’ creative concepts, headshots — anything, really. My day job gave me the security to do photography work for free when it could benefit me, and to pay for portfolio-building opportunities.

I also embraced self-promotion, which was really uncomfortable for me. It took me so long to get real branding photos of myself and to start sharing more about my personal life on social media. I always wanted the focus to be on the work itself and the amazing couples I got to capture. But so much of choosing a wedding and elopement photographer is their personality, not just their skills. So many people have told me that seeing my travels with my husband, our cute dog, where we’re exploring in Oregon, and the inner workings of how I operate my business have influenced their decision to work with me.

Having the perspective that self-promotion is necessary also made me eager to jump on opportunities like Oregon’s primary wedding magazine reaching out to share my work in two digital features and accepting invites to industry events and collaborations.

Now I’m keeping up with the changing desires of couples getting married, like by learning to shoot film and incorporating it into my workflow, and leaning into a more documentary/candid style of photographing. I’m continuing to grow my presence in the local Oregon market, and also expanding to capturing weddings and elopements in Hawaii and Washington.

I feel so lucky to have the chance to work with some incredible people on one of the most important days of their lives. I recognize the significance of the moments I’m capturing and how meaningful they’ll be to couples today, tomorrow, and many years in the future.

I’m not quitting my day job quite yet, and likely never will, because I love the balance of the different kinds of work and being able to have the ability to pursue what I love with photography. There are also natural high and low points with the volume of people getting married each year, and having two income streams allows for a sense of security.

With two jobs, I can say “yes” to the opportunities that inspire me and don’t have to take on every single photography job. I have the creative freedom to plan my own styled concepts to shape the content I share for marketing and I have the financial stability to continue my photography education to better serve my clients.

I would encourage anyone who can’t get an idea out of their head to research what it takes to get started and just go for it. Following your interests and turning them into a business can have such a positive effect on your overall well-being and help you evolve into the best version of yourself!

I am excited to see where my business will take me in the coming years and I am honored to play a part in documenting my clients’ legacy, while also building my own.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn the idea that “perfect” photos = the best photos. An imperfect photo of one partner’s grandmother holding their hand and laughing means so much, even if the light was bad or the angle could have been better. Candid, imperfect photos are often my couples’ favorites (and mine!).

The couples I want to work with want to showcase their true selves and all the emotions of their wedding and elopement days. They want to capture the tears of joy, wide grins, heads rolled back with laughter, dancing freely, enjoying every second with their closest friends and family.

They’re OK with everything not going exactly as planned because they know at the end of the day, they’ll be married to their love and celebrated in a way that is authentic to who they are as a couple.

Along those lines, I’ve also learned that unfavorable conditions with light and weather are unavoidable and you have to roll with it (while also having a backup plan b and c…and maybe d).

Being able to anticipate or predict when memorable interactions will happen and capturing fleeting moments is what makes a wedding and elopement photographer truly valuable.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://meganvandoranphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganvandoranphoto