Today we’d like to introduce you to Cherry Thomas.
Cherry, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a wedding photographer who calls her home base California but will travel anywhere for weddings! I”ve shot weddings throughout the United States as well as the Bahamas, Guatemala, Mexico, And I JUST got back from shooting a wedding in Sicily!
My photography journey began in high school with film and the darkroom. It was a love that followed me into college though I never thought of truly pursuing it, happy with it just being a fun hobby. Though I studied literature my spare time was spent helping friends who were actually studying photography as a degree. I loved assisting them with EVERYTHING!
Years later, I attended a friend’s wedding. And because I knew I wouldn’t know anybody there, I decided to bring my point-and-shoot camera loaded with black and white. I figured that I could walk around and take photos if I didn’t feel like talking to anybody. I had so much fun taking photos of people laughing, mingling, dancing! I put those photos together into an album for my friend as a wedding gift, and when she received them, she told me that they were better than the photos that her photographer took. I had been saying for years to myself that I wanted to take a photography class again and this compliment sealed the deal! Very soon after I enrolled in the photography program at Santa Monica City College and was tough by amazing professional, working photographers like Ansel Adams’s right-hand man of 20 years as well as a photojournalist at the Los Angeles Times.
A lot of photographers start in portraiture and then at some point jump into weddings. Not me! My first paid gig was at a wedding. And I’ve been shooting weddings nonstop since 2005 and still love it to this day!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It is okay to have a day job as you build your own business. Having a job allowed me space to build my business without the pressure of money. Without the pressure of money I was able to buy equipment, I was able to decline jobs that didn’t feel right in my gut, I was able to determine my ideal client, and I was able to stand my ground when it came to negotiating prices.
My best advice is to network and build a community of like-minded peers who will rally each other. Being an entrepreneur can be very isolating at times, so it’s gold to have colleagues who understand your lifestyle and support it.
Please tell us about ByCherry Photography.
I consider my background to be photojournalism, so my work is centered on capturing emotions and movement: joy, tenderness, drunken reception debauchery, and of course all the love! My love affair is with weddings and elopements.
As a service provider, I’m most proud of the fact that couples feel comfortable around me and trust that I will capture amazing photos with them even though they say, “I HATE getting my picture taken!”
As a photographer, I’m most proud of the fact that after 13 years, Ian still doing what I love and that not only have I developed my photography skills but I have developed my business skills. I’m proud to say that I am a businesswoman as well as a professional photographer.
Often it feels as if the media, by and large, is only focused on the obstacles faced by women, but we feel it’s important to also look for the opportunities. In your view, are there opportunities that you see that women are particularly well positioned for?
Absolutely! Wedding photography is a prime example of where women are well-positioned! Being with a bride in her closed quarters as she gets ready, undressed and dressed, is a very intimate time of the wedding day. Being a female photographer allows me uncensored access to this time.
Pricing:
- Wedding Packages start at $3000
- Elopement Packages start at $500
- Portrait Packages start at $350
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bycherryphotography.com
- Email: info@bycherryphotography.com
- Instagram: bycherryphotography
- Facebook: bycherry
Image Credit:
bycherryphotography
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