Conversations with Samantha Koury

Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Koury.

Hi Samantha, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Rewind to 2018 my boyfriend (at the time) and I rescued our first dog together and decided we wanted to take some holiday photos as a family – so I found a girl on Instagram and after the most fun hour with her I thought how cool it was that she just got paid to take memories we’ll cherish forever. So I bought a camera on Amazon, taught myself on Youtube, and shot with friends and strangers as much as I could to learn. Within 6 months I quit my job as a marketing manager for a startup and went full time as a Wedding Photographer! It’s now been 9 years since that and I still love making others feel as happy as I once felt during our photoshoot

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s always a learning experience to run your own business and separate emotions with work. The struggles I have faced have been mainly from Covid years of pivoting what I was shooting and needing to take on almost double the amount of weddings I had in the past from rescheduled events. It was so much work but also got me an incredible amount of referrals from some of my favorite celebrations! What I experience now I wouldn’t say are “struggles” so much as just the normal business owner keeping yourself accountable for going above and beyond for your clients and making time for your own personal life as well and just balancing that!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a wedding photographer who loves capturing the joy, energy, and emotion that make every celebration unique. While weddings are my heart and soul, I also travel for destination weddings, concerts, fitness retreats, and collaborations with hotels and hospitality brands. I offer digital photography, film, and drone photography to create a collection of images that captures not just what a day looked like, but what it felt like to be there!

I’m known for my dance floor photos (the wilder, the better!) and for bringing great energy to a wedding day. My approach is a little like having your friend photograph your wedding, except with a whole lot more experience and an eye for the moments you might otherwise miss. I want my couples to feel comfortable being themselves, let go, have fun, and trust that I’m capturing it all

What I’m most proud of is the relationships I’ve built with my couples! Getting to photograph their weddings and then watch their families grow, celebrate new chapters with them, and become a small part of their lives over the years is so so incredibly special to me

I also believe a wedding day is a team effort. I’m always thinking about how I can contribute to making the day incredible for our couple, whether that means working alongside their vendor team or simply bringing a little extra joy and calm to the day. Ultimately, I love capturing the big emotions and the little in-between moments alike, creating photographs that feel joyful, honest, and timeless. Those are the memories that become even more meaningful with time, and being able to preserve them is what makes this work so special to me!

What were you like growing up?
Well I was the youngest sibling so I pretty much was born sassy with a big personality and loved getting dirty outside with animals and gardens and neighborhood games with friends. I have grown up on the beach and it’s been that way ever since which is why Cape Cod and coastal weddings are my absolute favorite to document! In my pre-teen years I pretty much had every point and shoot camera (shoutout to my OG pink Nikon Coolpix) always uploading the albums to Facebook for everyone, so it’s pretty fitting that my current job is to now photograph the best days ever!

Pricing:

• 9000-12,000

Contact Info:

• Website: https://samanthamphoto.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthamphoto/?hl=en

Image Credits
Samantha M Photo @samanthamphoto