Connect
To Top

Meet Calvin Ferniza and Isaiah Clayton of Your Golden Hour Photography

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Calvin Ferniza and Isaiah Clayton.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
As a child I’d always have my mom by me a disposable camera whenever we would go on a family trip to LegoLand, SeaWorld or anywhere really. I loved taking pictures of things I wanted to remember and be able to look back on when the trip was over. I was very selective with my photos however because I only had so many frames available and I had to make sure each one counted. As I grew a little older almost in middle school I had gotten a polaroid camera and started taking pictures of family member asking them to pose and then giving them the photo as a memento. I always enjoyed capturing special moments and giving them to people so they could remember them through my photo. In high school, I took my first photography course and really enjoyed it. I continued to study photography and art in college and that’s when I was asked by family members at first to shoot their weddings or special events like sweet 16s and it brought me back to when I was younger and captured those moments for my family to have as a memento and I was happy to provide the same feeling to these other people who began hiring me to shoot their weddings. Now years later I continue to give provide people photographs for them to have as a reminder of how happy they were during a place in time and how they felt during an event. They can look back on these pictures and reminisce on how much fun they had and I feel good knowing I can provide that feeling of nostalgia for them for many years to come.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There’s so many people out there trying to make a living doing the same thing as you and it’s your job to try and stand out from the rest of them. Marketing myself has been something I need to work on so I can get jobs from people outside my network. So far, all my gigs have been through word of mouth. Someone at a wedding I did knows someone else getting married and refers me. They see my work and know I do a good job so I just need to get more people to notice me. Staying relevant on social media has been another difficult thing but that goes hand in hand with marketing myself. I spend too much time inwards and very rarely post things out there for other people to see and notice.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Your Golden Hour Photography – what should we know?
We are photographers and videographers who specialize in events but we occasionally do portraits such as graduation, family, and headshots for clients. We are known for our weddings and get booked for those the most. We are proud of the feeling of joy we give to the client when we are with them reviewing the images from their event. They scroll through and when they stop and say “aww” we know we did our job. The look at our pictures of them with a smile on their face and can relive the whole day over again through our images. It’s one of the reasons why we got started in the business in the first place. What sets us apart is our dedication to our client and our unique style of images we provide to them. We will ruin our suit and get down on our back if it makes for a better image or angle. For us that’s what it’s all about. Giving the client beautiful unforgettable images. We document the day like photojournalists and make sure not to miss a single moment. We work with each individual client and talk about their interests and try and get to know them so we can adjust our style to better suit their tastes. Each of our events look different and are catered to the preferences of our clients.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Consistency definitely is key. Whether it’s posting to social media to stay relevant or following up with a client it’s important to maintain that connection with your audience to assure they keep coming back to you instead of someone else. Since you are working with people, being kind and courteous to everyone helps because you never know where your next job is coming from. One of the most important characteristic to our success has also been creativity. We want to give them amazing images they would want to look back on for years to come and even hang on their wall. With all these cameras available you have to make sure your images stand out from the crowd and are something people are going to want to pay to see and print to put on their wall. Creativity and constantly adapting to different trends or people’s tastes are important.

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
All images were taken by Calvin Ferniza of Your Golden Hour Photography

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in