We were lucky to catch up with Nakita Cronauer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nakita , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

Growing up wasn’t easy with a single mother of three kids. Looking back now and realizing how young she was with us three, she was growing up alongside us.
This often meant I had to step up and be a mom to my younger brothers. This forced me to grow up fast. At a young age I was exposed to realities of life and how difficult it can be. As a kid I thought life was unfair as I grew up I realized every persons life is based on decisions and I knew I was going to make better ones. No parent is perfect the one thing my mother did right is flood us with unconditional love when she was around. I believe this made me a very confident child that created a characteristic that helps me run my business today.

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’m very lucky to have a marriage where we work very well together even in high stress situations like capturing the perfect shot during the first kiss at a wedding while he’s doing the same. We respect each other’s capabilities so much it bleeds into our work and how much trust our clients have in us.

I never would have thought I’d be a photographer growing up until we started having kids. I’m going to sound like the cliche mom that started off with a camera. Well yea, I am. I wanted to document every detail of my children growing up. I was obsessed with having all the photographs I could possibly have of them and of us as a family. It wasn’t until I understood my reasoning behind it all. I have less than ten photographs of myself when I was younger. My childhood doesn’t exist in photos. This breaks my heart.

I never want someone else to grow up without photos. So I started learning photography and I remember my first paying job, I was so shocked. This sweet family wanted me to take their family photos. I didn’t even want to charge, but they insisted. I feel so peaceful behind the camera. I get to show everyone my perspective, how I see them, and the details I notice. I fell deeply in love with photographing families.

My passion for photography doesn’t stop with family photos even though I’ll always have a soft spot for them. I’m currently in love with creative portraits, intimate elopements/weddings, spicy couples, and breaking all the rules.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

My business partner is my husband.
We met in a very classy establishment…a night club. I was dancing with my friend and acting ridiculous with my robot dance skills, this man was immediately hooked. After finding out he was a marine from Pennsylvania it made me feel like there was no future for us in that night club in Savannah, Georgia. However, deployment after deployment I was still waiting for him.
What seemed like a hopeless relationship our future together became my only desire!
I took the risk and said yes! Thank god I did! Now as I’m writing this, we just passed our 12 year anniversary and have 3 beautiful children together!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Earlier into my photography journey, I realized the more comfortable I could make the brides feel, the children laugh, and the shy ones smile, the better the shot. I’ve always sought after ensuring that all my clients feel comfortable with me, not judging their insecurities, and understanding the awkward feeling being infont of a camera. I think what sets me apart in this industry is my ability to break down these walls for my clients to release their personalities and that’s how I capture the perfect shot.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ekr.photography/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAabrfkqZVeHOvUHtKVYRXOy100WWUJyJA66LN7xnUQIaFKzCo98ODg0xAb0_aem_sHH6nAoBigtRurvPc7jHnQ
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ekrphotography_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photographybyekr?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ekrphotographyvideography5155

Image Credits

All photographs were taken by me: Nakita Cronauer