We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rebecca Castonguay. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rebecca below.
Rebecca , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?
Success is definitely a personal thing and what one person considers successful, might be completely different from another. As a photographer, it’s important to define what success means to you, and from there; work towards achieving those goals.
For me success is linear, I’ve been fortunate of late to have had my work seen in publications worldwide; it’s incredible and I’m so grateful, but it’s not my definition of success. I also don’t believe that social media and how many likes you get defines it either. When I take photos of a wedding, true heartfelt emotions that a couple can look back on in 40 years from now, or I help to empower someone through boudoir or portrait photography, I feel successful.
Art is subjective, you won’t always be liked for what you do, but when you are able to have an impact on someone’s life, that stays with you. The other day I shot a wedding for the sweetest couple, I turned the camera around to show them a few images and the bride immediately threw her arms around to hug me and teared up. That to me was success!
I also look at it as a journey and not a destination, much like joy. I’ve recently been listening to Matthew McConaughey’s podcast, Greenlights and his motivational speaking. He talks a lot about success and what it’s meant to him but he spoke of joy vs. happiness and that really resonated with me. Happiness is something we think of as absolute; I’ll be happier if I get into Vogue or Elle magazine or if I become famous (status), if I can make x amount of dollars (wealth) etc., (He’s right cash is king and we all want a piece of the pie) but joy is something different. Joy, he says is constant. When I stopped to think about success and where I am in life I’ve found that joy is a marked opportunity to define success. What are things that spark joy? Well, creating art through photos is a big one, but mostly it’s sharing in experiences with friends and family. Seeing the expression on my Childs face when he discovers something new and exciting– that’s joy, that’s success.
Rebecca , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I feel like every photographer starts out with, “I picked up a camera when I was x years old blah blah blah” – Actually, I’m certain that was my original website biography for many years and despite its being true, [I was probably seven years old when I first picked up my Dad’s Minolta] – it really doesn’t tell you much about me and what I’m all about. So here goes…
I started taking portraits in 2010 when I received a camera for Christmas. It wasn’t until 2021, amidst a global pandemic and being furloughed from my job, when I developed my LLC with the love and support of my husband, Matt. I named the business for my great-grandmother Ada. Moments with Ada Photography LLC was born out of an abudant desire to pay tribute to her. She died at a young age through tragic circumstance, and my grandmother grew up knowing little of her mother. My family doesn’t talk about it, it’s controversial- but as a woman I’m deeply connected to her and to this tragedy. [She is my blood after after-all.] Ada was 29 at the time of her death in 1930 and the struggles she faced is not unlike what we (as women) experience today. Leaving so much behind, three children and a lifetime of love and experiences, I think her death caused a lot of generational trauma. Through my continued photography work and in her name, I’m able to keep her legacy alive and well, and [hopefully] help to heal some of the trauma. Photographs of her are all that remain; photos are our legacy – I’d like to think of this work as a means to beautifully memorialize my clients for generations to come. I look at my own family and think about the importance of all the photos we take. My son will likely be the most photographed child he knows, but for me; these moments are fleeting. Every day he’s growing and I want to be able to look back on it all when I’m old and gray, reminiscing through this cherished time in our lives.
Something that separates me as an artist, is my ability to really think outside the box [and also on the spot.] I’ve seen many talented photographers clam up when presented with challenges and you really have to be on your game at all times always ready for the unexpected. When it comes to editorial work, I’m always stretching my imagination – allowing for the creativity to take me where it wants. I love the juxtaposition of something beautiful against something that isn’t or taking a social topic flipping it on its head and finding new ways to highlight it in beautiful and intriguing ways. For weddings, I was a wedding and event planner for half a decade before the pandemic hit in 2020. Bringing all that industry knowledge to my work is extremely helpful. I’m all about timelines, organization in the work and making sure that I work in concert with all vendors and the event planner to stay on task throughout each wedding day. For capturing the work, it’s all about the candid emotional connection of my couples but photographed in a highly sophisticated way. I want to have a level of elegance exude from all the work that [could] always grace the pages of a magazine.
Moving forward, I’m in the process of using my name more readily in my work. Many wedding clients were getting confused that I wasn’t Ada when inquiring so I’ve separated the work. My website and weddings will feature me as Rebecca Castonguay Photography while the LLC will remain in tribute as, Moments with Ada Photography (and will also continue to feature fashion editorials). I realized through this process that while I was to pay homage to Ada, I did not necessary want to negate my own legacy and therefore, using my name in conjunction became paramount in my business.
You can find me on social media as @rebeccacastonguayphotograhy and @momentswithada, My website as rebeccacastonguayphotography.com
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Building relationships with every client whether it’s for a wedding or working with models and having the rapport as a kind and generous person makes all the difference when growing business clients. It’s also really important in this work, to help other industry professionals whether that’s another vendor or a fellow photographer. I’ve always believed that building community over competition is the way to go – I do not look at my colleagues as competition, but rather as allies in helping to further our careers.
There will always be someone who marches to their own drum and doesn’t look at it this way – perhaps with certain levels of insecurities. Let’s face it, we all have insecurities and I think if you don’t have that slight imposter syndrome at times, you’re not doing it right. I often feel that way, but then I remind myself, that I just have to keep my head down, and grinding at this work to continue to pursue my passion. No matter what happens, if I stay true to myself, to the work at hand and to the people I’m working with, growth happens exponentially. Kindness, is something that you can’t ever take away and it’s something that I’ve built my entire career on. I’m all about adjusting [not fixing] a person’s crown and never telling a soul that is was crooked.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
This is more of a life lesson, but I’ve had to unlearn trying to help “fix” people. I had an angel complex for most of my life. I’m a natural empath and so for the longest time, I believed that I could be the catalyst to save those that were seen as somehow damaged or needed saving.
When I was really young, I struggled with being accepted. I was bullied and picked on throughout most of my childhood and then I got sick with Crohns Disease at 12 years old. This combined experience gave me an exorbitant amount of empathy towards others. To be fair, perhaps too much.
In 2003, I was involved in a major car accident with a bulldozer that nearly claimed my life – but didn’t. I thought since I was given a second chance, I must have a bigger purpose in being here and maybe in some ways I was to save others. Now, I’ve struggled in personal relationships throughout much of my life [aside from my present one] despite having two of the most kind-hearted, loving parents a child could hope for as an example. As an empath, I was a target for narcissists and boy did I ever learn my lesson. You see, you can’t fix anyone – that was the life lesson. They have to want to save themselves and all you can do is be a hand to help them stand up on their own. I started really thinking about moving forward in life with grace and compassion to find my purpose ever since I survived the accident. This is what I’ve come to understand about my life so far…
I went to school for theater – I wanted to sing and have a professional career on Broadway [or so I thought] but a big part of that experience in my life was to find my voice. Not just a singing voice, but to find the space of where I fit in. I needed to be big enough to fill a room, filled with thousands of people, to project my voice and be heard. I was always a shy kid, [remember bullied] and having that experience brought me out of my shell. I sought acting and singing as a way of helping people laugh or cry when they needed to. It was a very crucial part of growth process and gave me the strength to overcome so many of my fears with others. Now, as a photographer, I’m able to continue to help people – it’s something that is intrinsic in my daily life. Life is not easy, and being able to be present and hold space for someone in their time of need is called grace. It’s about compassion and humanity but never losing yourself in the process. Being an empath you have to create healthy boundaries with people, that’s called survival. I no longer try to save others, and that is the lesson learned.
Contact Info:
- Website: rebeccacastonguayphotography.com
- Instagram: @rebeccacastonguayphotography, @momentswithada
- Facebook: /rebeccacastonguayphotography