Conversations with Christine Marie Scott

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Marie Scott.

Hi Christine Marie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have been a professional photographer since 2008, but photography has always been more than a career to me. It is how I connect with people, process the world around me, and preserve the moments that might otherwise pass too quickly.

I began my journey in Orange County, California, photographing portraits, families, and weddings while slowly developing a style that felt like my own. Over the years, I learned that beautiful photographs are only one part of what people remember. They also remember how you made them feel. That realization shaped Lomonico Photography into what it is today: an experience rooted in trust, intuition, genuine connection, and making people feel celebrated in front of the camera.

Lomonico is my Italian family name, and it carries a great deal of meaning for me. It represents strength, creativity, resilience, and refusing to give up—even when life or business takes an unexpected turn. Those qualities have carried me through nearly two decades of entrepreneurship, personal challenges, cross-country changes, creative reinvention, and the constant evolution required to build a lasting business.

In 2022, my husband Kyle and I moved from Orange County to New Braunfels, Texas. Starting over in a new state after spending years building relationships in California was both intimidating and exciting. I had to introduce myself and my work to an entirely new community while continuing to serve the California clients who had grown with me. Today, Lomonico Photography serves Texas Hill Country, Orange County, and destinations beyond.

My work has evolved into what I describe as timeless, editorial, and intuitive. I want photographs to feel elevated and artful without losing the personalities, movement, emotion, and wonderfully imperfect moments that make people who they are. I have been fortunate to receive recognition for my work, become an ambassador for Southern Bride, participate in incredible creative collaborations, and have my photography published—but the greatest honor is still being invited back as my clients move through life. A bride may first trust me with her engagement and wedding, then return for maternity photographs, family sessions, and heirloom albums. I do not take that continued trust lightly.

After years of trying to carry every part of the business myself, I am now building Lomonico into a thoughtfully curated photography ecosystem. I am taking fewer weddings personally, creating a more intentional client experience, and working with a trusted team of photographers and creatives who share my values. My goal is not to become a large, impersonal corporation. I want Lomonico to grow beyond what one person can physically do while still ensuring every client feels personally known, supported, and cared for.

Getting here has required persistence, long nights, plenty of mistakes, and the willingness to change when something is no longer sustainable. I am learning that success is not simply being booked constantly or doing everything myself. For me, success now means creating meaningful work, building opportunities for other creatives, serving my clients exceptionally well, and protecting enough space to be present for my husband, our animals, and the life we have worked so hard to build.

I am still evolving, but that is one of my favorite parts of the story. Lomonico Photography has grown alongside me, and I am excited to see how far it can go while remaining deeply personal, creative, and rooted in the family legacy behind its name.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has definitely not been a smooth road, but I think the difficult seasons are what gave Lomonico its backbone.

Being a creative entrepreneur means you are not only making the art—you are also answering emails, managing finances, marketing, editing, building systems, solving problems, caring for clients, and trying to maintain a personal life behind the scenes. For many years, I believed being successful meant saying yes to everything, working constantly, and personally carrying every part of the business. I became very good at showing up for everyone else, but not always at protecting my own time, health, creativity, or family.

One of my greatest challenges has been learning that I cannot measure my worth by how busy I am. Wedding photography does not end when the wedding is over. One bride may also add an engagement session, bridal portraits, maternity photographs, family sessions, album design, and years of future memories. That continued relationship is beautiful, but it also requires real time and emotional energy. I eventually realized that taking too many weddings without a team was not allowing me to serve anyone at the level I wanted.

Moving from Orange County to New Braunfels in 2022 also required me to rebuild much of my professional network while keeping my California relationships alive. It was humbling to be experienced in my craft but still feel like the new photographer in town. At the same time, my husband and I were adjusting to a major move, renovating our property and two fixer-upper homes, managing financial pressure, and navigating personal loss and family responsibilities that clients did not always see.

I have also had to work through burnout, physical pain, overcommitting, underpricing, and the fear that setting boundaries would disappoint people. I am naturally a hype girl and a caretaker. I love making people feel seen, but I had to learn that generosity without boundaries can become exhaustion—and exhaustion eventually affects the very creativity and connection my clients hire me for.

Another deeply personal part of my journey has been choosing a healthier, clearer life for myself. I have been without alcohol for more than three and a half years. That decision helped me reconnect with who I am, what matters to me, and the kind of life and business I want to build. It has not made every season easy, but it has made me much more present for all of it.

Now, I am learning to ask for help, trust other talented people, charge more sustainably, take fewer weddings personally, and build systems that allow Lomonico to grow without losing its heart. Creating a team was emotionally difficult because my name and reputation are attached to every client experience. I never wanted people to feel handed off to a stranger or processed by a corporation. I had to understand that the right team does not dilute what I have built—it protects it and allows more people to be cared for well.

The road has included mistakes, debt, grief, exhaustion, fear, and plenty of moments when giving up would have been easier. But Lomonico represents strength, creativity, and refusing to quit. I have learned that resilience is not always pushing harder. Sometimes it is resting, changing direction, setting a boundary, accepting support, or rebuilding something in a healthier way.

I am still in that rebuilding and refining season now. I do not pretend to have everything perfectly figured out, but I am proud that I have continued creating, evolving, and walking through the hard seasons until they became part of the art.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Lomonico Photography is an award-winning luxury wedding and portrait brand serving Texas Hill Country, Orange County, California, and destinations wherever our clients take us. I specialize in weddings, engagements, maternity, families, creative portraits, and heirloom albums. I have been a professional photographer since 2008, and I describe my work in three words: timeless, editorial, and intuitive.

My photographs are elevated and artful, but they are never meant to feel stiff or disconnected from the people in them. I pay attention to the polished portraits and meaningful details, but I am equally drawn to movement, laughter, windblown hair, nervous hands, happy tears, and the wonderfully imperfect moments that reveal who someone really is.

I am known as “Steen, your luxury wedding photographer and hype girl,” but I am also often the calming person in the room. I can bring energy when people need confidence, gently direct a couple who feels uncomfortable in front of the camera, organize a chaotic wedding party, or quietly step back when a moment needs room to happen naturally. That ability to read people and adjust my energy is a major part of what I mean by intuitive photography.

I want the experience itself to become part of the memory. Engagement sessions can feel more like a creative date day with your own personal paparazzi than a formal photoshoot. On wedding days, I am constantly balancing editorial direction with honest documentation. My clients do not need to know how to pose, where to stand, or what to do with their hands. I guide them while still giving their personalities space to come through.

What sets Lomonico apart is the depth of relationship we build with our clients. A couple may begin with engagement photographs and a wedding, then return for maternity sessions, growing-family portraits, anniversaries, and albums. I have photographed people through multiple chapters of their lives and have even traveled with families to continue documenting their stories. That kind of trust cannot be manufactured, and it means more to me than simply being booked for one day.

I am also building Lomonico differently from a traditional large photography company. As the brand grows, I work with a carefully chosen family team of photographers and creatives who share my values and approach. I remain involved in the relationship, planning, creative direction, and final imagery so that clients receive the heart of the Lomonico experience even when a trusted associate is photographing alongside me or on behalf of the brand. It allows us to grow without becoming impersonal.

I am proud of the recognition my work has received, including being named Best Photography through a Southern Bride creative challenge, serving as a Styled Shoots by Southern Bride Ambassador, and having my work published by Rock n Roll Bride. I am grateful for every feature and opportunity, but what I am most proud of is that I have built a recognizable body of work and a business that has survived, adapted, and continued earning people’s trust for nearly two decades.

I am proud that my clients feel seen. I am proud when someone who was nervous about being photographed looks at their gallery and recognizes their own beauty. I am proud when a bride tells me I made her feel calm, when a family invites me back years later, or when an album becomes something their children will someday hold.

There are many incredibly talented photographers, and I believe there is room for all of us. What makes Lomonico different is not only the way the photographs look—it is the combination of editorial artistry, emotional intuition, experience, energy, and genuine care behind them. I am not simply documenting what a day looked like. I am paying attention to what it felt like.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
My biggest advice is not to wait for one perfect mentor to appear and teach you everything. I have learned different lessons from photographers, wedding professionals, business owners, clients, assistants, and even people outside my industry. Sometimes mentorship is a formal relationship, but often it develops naturally when you consistently show up, ask thoughtful questions, and build genuine trust.

Networking has worked best for me when I approach it as relationship-building rather than collecting contacts. I do not walk into a room thinking, “What can this person do for me?” I want to know who they are, what they are building, and how I can support them too. The strongest opportunities in my career have come from real relationships, referrals, creative collaborations, and people remembering how I made them feel.

Joining organizations and communities such as Southern Bride, The Hills Wedding Guide, local wedding networks, chambers, and creative groups helped me meet people after moving from California to Texas. Styled shoots, wedding open houses, vendor events, and community gatherings have also been valuable—but simply attending is not enough. I introduce myself, follow up afterward, share and tag other vendors’ work, and continue supporting people even when I do not immediately need anything from them.

For anyone looking for a mentor, start by identifying what you actually need guidance with. Someone may be an incredible artist but not the right mentor for finances, systems, leadership, or work-life boundaries. Look for people whose life and business practices you respect—not only people with beautiful social media feeds. Then begin with one specific question, offer to pay for their time when appropriate, and respect their boundaries. A mentor should not be expected to hand over years of experience for free.

It is equally important to be someone worth mentoring. Be dependable. Be curious. Follow through. Accept constructive feedback without becoming defensive, and show the person that you are applying what they have shared. Gratitude and action go a long way.

I also believe deeply in community over competition. There is enough room for people to have different styles, personalities, price points, and ways of serving clients. Some of the photographers I might technically “compete” with have become trusted friends, collaborators, second photographers, referrals, and part of the extended Lomonico family. I would rather help build a healthier creative community than operate from fear and scarcity.

Most importantly, be genuine and keep showing up. You do not need to be the loudest person in the room, and you do not have to force an immediate connection with everyone. A few honest, mutually supportive relationships will take you much further than hundreds of business cards exchanged without real conversation.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lomonicophotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lomonicophotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lomonicophotography/
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/p-exK6IlCqU?si=g3Hcb_tho03JoiLl

Image Credits
All Images are taken by Lomonico Photography