We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tessa Montgomery a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Tessa, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I started my photography journey very organically. My now husband and I got our dog, Ash, while I was still in college and I decided to buy my first camera to help me document our days with her. When I first picked up my camera, I had that “ah-ha” moment and instantly knew that photography would play a huge role in my life. I’m naturally the type of person who tends to play things pretty safe and up until starting my business, I had gone a more traditional path through life. Due to fear of the unknown, I decided it was best to dedicate my final two years of school pursuing a communications degree. I felt that this was the right way to do things at the time– I could have my degree as a jumping off point/ back up plan while I worked on growing my following and creating a business on the side. Once I graduated with my bachelors, my brother in law immediately offered me a job at his digital marketing agency and I jumped on it. The job was fully online which felt like exactly what I was looking for– something that gave me the freedom of working from home and paid well so I could pursue photography in my free time and once I felt ready, I could quit to go full on into my business. It seemed fool proof until I quickly realized I was wrong.

That job completely drained me. It took away my passion and confidence not only in myself but in my craft as well. The unbearable workload and stress felt like a constant pressure that I couldn’t get relief from. The agency life was fast paced, high demand, time consuming and ultimately felt so off base from where I thought I should be. I didn’t have the free time I hoped for to create my business. What free time I did have I spent dreading the next day of work. I constantly dreamed of what life would look like if I just pushed myself into doing something scary– quitting and trusting that things would work out, solid plan in place or not. After long discussions with my now husband, family, friends and most importantly myself, I decided that I would no longer put my life and mental health on hold for the security of a paycheck. While most photographers advised that you have a certain amount of bookings before making the leap into full time, I knew I couldn’t wait any longer. Quitting my marketing job with absolutely no brand or business built (I didn’t even have a name picked out!) was the biggest risk I’ve taken in life. I came to terms with the fact that I could fail, but I also came to the realization that school, my drive, my passion and even that job gave me everything I needed to be successful in this career. I decided to risk giving it my all knowing that this dream might not turn into anything more than just that. But luckily for me, I didn’t fail. And that dream is now my reality. Everyday I feel so incredibly grateful that life and taking that huge risk brought me to this point.

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 am a Washington native who grew up in a small town on 5 acres. I’ve spent so much of my life with the forest as my backyard and mountains as my constant view so from very early on in life, I’ve felt a deep connection to nature and the beautiful world around me. I’ve always been so inspired by the deep green of the pines, the endless flowing rivers, how small the surrounding mountains make me feel and the overall pure magic that is Washington state. When I first started my photography journey, I would take photos of my pup while we were out on hikes together and it just naturally grew from there. My business is now completely rooted in nature and centered around documenting couples who seek adventure and share a similar love for the outdoors. My mission is for each shoot and elopement to feel like an adventure. I approach my craft with a more documentary mindset so my photos feel more organic and true to my couples. I pour my heart into my time with my clients– I love getting to experience the moment with them, explore with them and most of all getting to document their love story along the way along the way.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is knowing that someone trusts me to create and preserve their most precious memories through my art. It will always be incredible to me that someone falls in love with my work so much that they chose me to play such an important role in documenting their milestones.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Honestly, I feel like the best thing society can do to support creatives such as myself is engaging with us online! Most of my clients find me through IG or TikTok so the more people that like or share a post helps tremendously. Plus it’s free and easy to do while you’re scrolling through your feed!      

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tessamarieco.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tessamariecollective
• Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tessamariecollective

Image Credits
All photos by me, Tessa Marie Collective