Today we’d like to introduce you to Cayla and David Cummings.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Cayla is the writer in our relationship so we’re going to let her write the story… I always wanted to be an artist. While I grew up thinking that maybe that meant painting or drawing or getting lost writing stories, my true medium was right in front of me the entire time. My grandfather was a hobbyist photographer and my father was/is an amateur photographer who had dreamed of going to Brooks Institute of Photography, which used to be in Santa Barbara, CA., and going pro. While he ended up on a different path, he never lost his love for the medium. So I grew up with a darkroom in my childhood home, and my dad taking back and white film images and hand-painting them in color. I think I absorbed more than I could have known as a child.
On my sixteenth birthday, my parents gave me by first DSLR camera, and I decided that I wanted to become a photojournalist. I wanted to tell stories through photographs and I wanted, specifically, to tell the stories of other people. And I did, in fact, go to college for photography. I first went to Texas State University for fine art photography, where I learned so much through the professional artists there, but quickly realized that I didn’t want to be in galleries–I wanted my own business. So I switched it up and went to Austin Community College for commercial photography, where the emphasis is more on client relations and turning a profit with your work directly. I loved it. And in 2016, I quit my “day job” and put my nose to the grindstone with Carhart Photography, my wedding photography business. This is where David comes in and, for some reason, decided to marry me. We fell into a natural rhythm of shooting together and two years and some change later, at the beginning of 2019, David fell in love with videography. While photography was always mine, he found his own place and voice with filmmaking. I don’t know if you guys are into the Enneagram, but David is a Type 5, and he learns FAST. By the end of 2019, he had built an entire second half to Carhart Photography, and we were making plans for him to leave his “day job.” Lo and behold, he was laid off that December. Having no kids and low overhead, we took is as our chance to do the damn thing. We have been thriving ever since.
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?
I’ve been very lucky to have support and resources to accompany this dream of mine, and I think my plights are fairly standard. I spent a lot of time getting rejected, feeling imposter-syndrome, and getting scared and wanting to change direction. I think the most unique struggle I experience was finding footing in our marriage when we are not only husband and wife but business partners. I spent years getting Carhart Photography off the ground and finding my way in the industry, it’s my baby. So when David was laid-off, he had a very hard time finding his place in this world that I had built. I often said, “my business, my work” in conversation and I had to learn that it was no longer mine alone. We love working together and it was always our long-term vision, but David needing to find an identity within Carhart Photograph was something we didn’t know how to navigate at first. Thankfully he has since found his strengths and confirmed his value on this journey of ours and he continues to surprise me with his ridiculous intelligence and drive.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We’re a Texas-based wedding photography and videography team devoted to producing love stories that will endure for generations. We believe photography and film should be more than just images and video clips, so our approach is a narrative one, where we are the storytellers and our clients are the stars. There’s nothing we love better than a good story (I think we’re in good company here). So we approach each client’s experience with an open mind to their unique tale. Everything we create is customized to their unique personality and love story. We read our couples and then personalize the experience to suit them and their relationship. By hiring Carhart Photography, couples are choosing a collaborative experience with a media team over a mandated method from disconnected photographers and videographers. We believe in using a collaborative approach rather than a mandated method because we want couples to feel comfortable and understood.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Cayla’s Recs: Rich Roll Podcast The Minimalists Podcast Pantsuit Politics Podcast Six-Figure Photography Podcast Carrylove Designs Krystal Clark Creative Dubsado The Abundance Group Katelyn James Business Collection Katelyn James All Access Katie Wussow – Business Coach The Defining Decade by Meg Jay (book) I’m a big bookworm so when I’m not working I’m listening to bookish podcasts, watching BookTube (it’s a thing), and reading non-work-related things. I co-host a book club called Reads on Race, in which we read books focused on race relations or from POC authors and then openly and safely discuss and ask questions to help us grow.
David’s Recs: How to Film Weddings Podcast Rally Caps Podcast Venture Workshop KEJ Audio Masterclass Plural Eyes Audio Syncing Program I find that reading fiction novels removed from my field of work help me reset creatively.
Pricing:
- Photography Collection $3500
- Filmmaking Collection $3500
- Photo + Film Collection $6000
Contact Info:
- Email: CarhartPhotography@gmail.com
- Website: CarhartPhotography.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/CarhartPhotography
- Facebook: Facebook.com/CarhartPhotography
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT4tUd9GpXayEO1u_HFl2BA
Image Credits:
Photo of us: Courtney Cope Media
Wedding images: Carhart Photography
