Today we’d like to introduce you to Cori Wade
Hi Cori, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My story with photography started quit a long time ago, for as long as I can remember I loved taking photos. When I was a kid my parents always got me cameras (both digital and the old disposable cameras lol), or I was always stealing the cameras they had to take photos. My mom has tons of photo albums at her house of photos I would take when I was a kid, and some of the albums include like 15 pictures just of our tv because I just wanted to take photos of things, it didn’t matter what the things were lol.
When I got a little older I would always force my friends to do photoshoots of them, in middle school and highschool I always had my camera and always just wanted to travel to cool places to do photos of people. I even did the same thing in college forcing my friends to go with me to take photos places just because I had such a deep love for it. I ended up getting a job for my school newspaper doing photography for them – there were a lot of things I just had to photograph around campus. But I also got to take photos of all the sporting events which I really made me fall in love with photography even more. I thought my end goal was going to be doing photograph for some kind of sports team or college athletic department, until covid came and I photograph my first wedding – and then I knew I found what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Photographing people’s wedding days is a feeling that is just indescribable. These people trust me to capture there most precious memories of the best day of there life and that is something I am so grateful I get to do for so many wonderful couples. There is just something that brings me so much happiness being able to capture the love shared between the couple as well as the love shared between all there friends and family who show up for them on there wedding day.
Alright, 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?
It most definitely has not been a smooth road to get to the point where my business is today. For example during one of my very first paid photoshoots at the very end my camera decided it was going to shit the bed, and at that point I thought my career was over before it even started because I definitely didn’t have the money to buy another camera. But my lovely husband (than boyfriend), and my parents both believed in me and helped me get new gear so that I can come back from this moment stronger. (Just to be clear as well, now I have tons of back up gear so if this ever happened again I am covered from all angles lol, but back then I was not).
I can go on and on about the challenges that I have faced running this business, there isn’t a course that is one size fits all for running a business unfortunately. You just have to over come the obstacles the best way you know how when they smack you in the face, and whatever is going to help you over come it is so different for everyone. Running a business is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but the reward from it far out ways the struggle.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I like to think of my work as candid storytelling – I like to really show who my clients are and not just make them look like another copied and pasted wedding/couple/family/etc. I specialize in wedding photography mostly, but I do dabble in things like family, maternity, senior photos, etc. when I have extra time in my schedule – while weddings are my main gig it is fun to do different types of sessions every once in awhile to keep my creative juices flowing! I like to do sessions at unique locations, or do things in a session that are specific to you and your relationship. For example doing things like going where you had your first date, going somewhere you have your weekly date nights, photographing you doing something you love to do together like fishing or ice skating!
One thing that I think sets me apart from others is one, the relationship I try to build with my clients before there wedding day or session with me. I want them to feel like we are friends (which we usually end up being real friends by the end lol) so they are more comfortable in front of my camera and photograph easier. I don’t want to show up to your wedding and feel like a complete stranger to you, I love to form genuine connections with my couples because realistically i’m going to be the person you probably spend the most time with on your wedding day!
What does success mean to you?
Defining success is definitely a loaded question that I think can have many different answers. But I think that the biggest way that I tend to feel successful is when I get that text from a client saying how comfortable they were with me and how they feel they made the best decision in hiring me. To me success isn’t all about how much money you can make or even how many clients you can book. While seeing a certain number can help you feel like your business is successful, there is nothing like a feeling seeing a new review email come in and the client raving about your services – this always makes me feel way more successful than anything.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://coriwadephotography.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coriwadephotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coriwadephotography/
