We recently connected with Michi and Maya and have shared our conversation below.

Michi and Maya, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Our mission began as a personal goal, almost like a reward we promised ourselves. We were both working in demanding careers, feeling the weight of a life that didn’t quite align with the kind of freedom and purpose we were dreaming of. Photography started as our middle ground, something we both loved, and it slowly became our bridge toward a different life.. one filled with creativity, connection, and the hope of eventually building a new beginning in Hawaii

We started taking wedding photos to build a portfolio, but along the way, we realized something was missing. The industry often felt transactional, just show up, take photos, deliver the gallery, move on. But love isn’t like that. And neither are we.

As a couple ourselves, we deeply understand the different dynamics people bring in front of the lens. Some are playful, some are shy, some are wildly affectionate. That range of connection is beautiful, and we’re here to hold space for all of it. That’s where our mission truly took shape: to make every couple feel seen, understood, and supported, not just photographed.

We’ve heard too many stories of photographers who didn’t bother to connect, who treated the day like a checklist. For us, it’s the opposite. We become your people. Your calm energy on a hectic day. Your hype team. The friends who fix your veil, notice the emotion in your parent’s eyes, and make sure the little moments never slip away.

And because we share our own story too..as partners, immigrants, artists…we invite our couples to feel safe with us, to trust us, and to create a bond that lasts beyond the day. No matter how many weddings we capture, we remember every single one. Every love story stays with us.

That’s the heart of our mission: to honor love….yours and ours, with intentionality, honesty, and connection that lingers long after the camera is gone.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

We’re Michi & Maya, a couple in love, creative partners, and the duo behind a wedding photography brand that’s all about connection, adventure, and soul.

Our journey into photography wasn’t traditional, it was personal. We were both working demanding jobs (Michi in architecture, Maya in Graphic Design) and craving something more…more creative, more intentional, more us. Photography started as a shared passion, but quickly became a mission: to build a life rooted in freedom, storytelling, and human connection.

At first, we simply wanted to create beautiful images but the deeper we went, the more we realized that what we truly loved was people. The realness. The mess. The magic. The love stories that deserve to be remembered for exactly what they are…raw, imperfect, and deeply human.

Today, we specialize in wedding, elopement, and couples photography, offering both photo and video coverage, and always showing up as a team. What makes our work unique isn’t just the visuals, it’s the experience. We don’t just show up with cameras. We become your people. The ones who walk with you through the entire process, answering questions, helping you plan, calming your nerves, celebrating your joy, and making sure you feel fully seen and supported.

Our brand is warm, professional, honest, and adventure driven; perfect for couples who want more than just pretty pictures. They want an experience, a connection, and a memory that feels real.

So if you’re looking for photographers who’ll show up with talent and heart, who will dance with you barefoot, cry happy tears behind the lens, and make you feel like you’re hanging out with old friends, that’s Us!

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

Yes!!!! it absolutely did. But it took time, sacrifice, and a whole lot of late nights.

We both came from creative backgrounds, even though our careers were in different fields. Michi and I have studied photography and he had loved it for years as a personal passion. Once we moved to the U.S., we were fortunate enough to find jobs in our original fields-something not every immigrant experiences- and on paper, everything looked “stable.” Good companies, decent salaries, a career path. But deep down, we were starting to feel trapped in a system that didn’t fully align with who we were or how we wanted to live.

Photography began as an experiment. We started taking small projects, using every spare hour after work and on weekends to learn everything we could from bookings and client communication to marketing and pricing. Every dollar we earned in those early shoots went straight back into the business: gear, software, education. We treated it seriously, even when it was just a side hustle.

We kept our full-time jobs for nearly three years while working on photography in every “off” hour. What’s funny is that we never had to shoot for anyone else as second shooters, can you believe that??? from the beginning, we booked our own projects, and even had to pass on some due to overlap.

Things really started to shift in 2024. That year, Maya launched our studio maternity work.. her own passion project, which she poured her whole heart into. Weddings and maternity sessions together began filling our calendar more and more. Eventually, it wasn’t just about money, it was about falling in love with the work. And it got to a point where saying yes to more photo projects meant saying no to responsibilities in our day jobs.

By the end of 2024, some big changes at Maya’s company led to a moment of reflection. The job that once brought stability now felt like a distraction from what she truly wanted. So we talked it through and took a leap of faith. By that point, we already had 10 weddings booked for 2025, enough of a sign to trust what was building.

In January 2025, Maya officially left her job to become a full-time photographer. It was a scary decision because it was less income, more work, and still no guarantees. But it felt right.

And now, as of July 2025, we’ve booked over 30 weddings, 35 maternity sessions, and countless studio and family sessions. It’s been intense. Maya’s full time, and Michi is still juggling photography with his full-time architecture role …..which means he’s basically living two lives right now, lol

But every long day is worth it. We’re building something that’s ours. Something rooted in passion, intention, and a very real desire to create a life we love together.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Trust is earn, not given.

One of the biggest lessons we had to unlearn is the idea that trust is automatically given, especially when there’s genuine connection.

As wedding photographers, we’ve had the gift of working with so many amazing couples. Many of them became friends, people we still remember and keep in touch with. And for a long time, we operated from the belief that if we showed up with heart, kindness, and integrity, that same energy would always be returned.

But the reality is, trust is something that needs to be built and boundaries need to exist, even when everything feels warm and easy at the beginning. We’ve learned this the hard way. Over the years, there have been a few rare situations where couples we trusted completely ended up acting in ways that damaged not just the working relationship, but the emotional bond we had built. Sometimes it was about money, sometimes it was about expectations that weren’t clearly defined, and sometimes it was simply a misuse of the trust we had offered too freely.

What hurt most wasn’t even the business side of it … it was the shift from feeling like we were part of something beautiful to suddenly being treated like just another transaction gone wrong.

So we learned. We learned that being kind doesn’t mean being unprotected. That having clear contracts, boundaries, and communication from day one is what actually allows genuine connection to thrive. Because when everyone knows what to expect emotionally, creatively, and legally; there’s space for real trust to grow.

We’re still all in, but now, we lead with clarity and care. And that has made all the difference.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://michiandmaya.pixieset.com/?t=wedding
• Instagram: @michiandmayaphoto
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Michiandmaya/
• Other: https://www.theknot.com/marketplace/michi-and-maya-wedding-photography-woodstock-ga-2072587

Image Credits

Michi & Maya Photography.