Today we’d like to introduce you to Cambria Shelley.
Hi Cambria, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I really can’t remember a time that I wasn’t photographing things–the earliest memory would probably be 5th or 6th grade, using the family point-and-shoot to take photographs of my mom’s flowers in our backyard. The obsession continued through high school, where I was always the (maybe sometimes annoying) friend with the camera, documenting every hang or school dance. My senior year, I was gifted my first “real” camera and lens, a Canon 5D Mark II and an 85mm lens, from my grandma Dorothy. I credit so much of my career to her, and I’ll never forget going to Best Buy and hearing her say, “pick out whichever one you want”. I used that camera and lens to photograph some of my very first wedding days!
I didn’t get into weddings until I dropped out of college, feeling pretty lost on what to do with my life. I had been studying graphic design and just couldn’t picture it as my job. I kept coming back to photography as the thing I loved most, but I didn’t even think it was possible to have that be my career. A friend of mine got engaged and asked me to photograph her wedding, and I said yes–little did I know, that would open a whole new world for me.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Definitely not! For the first several years of my business, I had to have another full-time job on top of it–and most weddings occur on weekends, so it was usually a 6-7 day work week for me (which got super draining). About 4 years in and ready to go full-time, I got pregnant with my first kiddo and that became the new hurdle to figure out: how to be a full-time working/creative mom. Fast forward to now, I have my two boys who I can’t imagine life without (Ronan who is 4 & Soren who is 2.5), and we’ve finally got a good groove with splitting time working and being with them. I’d say the most challenging time in my business thus far was having two kids under 2 in a pandemic while trying to keep my business afloat–it was a really low time for me, constantly drained by absolutely everything. I wish I could show 2020 self what 2023 Cambria is doing and how we’re all thriving!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a wedding & elopement photographer, documenting some of the most precious days for my couples. I will occasionally do family, maternity, and engagement — you name it! As long as it can work with my calendar, it’s all so sweet to be documenting. I’m most proud of my recent film work and my signature blurry photos–I’d say both set me apart and really give my body of work something super creative on every wedding day. It’s so important to me to give each couple their own unique experience, always putting them at the center of what we’re doing. I don’t walk into a wedding day with a list of poses and then head out–it’s a very personal process that usually ends up in friendship with a lot of my couples, and I feel so lucky that this is my job!
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
My couples. Like I mentioned before, I think a lot of wedding photographers make the mistake of walking into every wedding day with the same mindset, same poses, same plans for themselves but never think of how to tailor to each couple specifically. So much of my couple’s personalities and interests and love for each other influence *how* I photograph them. If the photographs aren’t actually authentic to who each couple is, what connection would they even have to them? Why would they want to frame them? Maybe they’re technically good photos, but without those moments and feelings attached to each photo, they’re just photographs. It’s always about the people in them.
Pricing:
- Weddings begin at 4k
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cambriashelleyphotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cambriashelley/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cambriashelleyphotography
