Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Darbyshire.
Hi Stephanie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have enjoyed photography as long as I can remember! I love being able to freeze moments in time. I began taking photos of my family and friends in high school and continued to do so into my adult life. When I got married and had kids I realized the importance of photos even more. My kids love looking through the photos from my husband’s and my wedding day, and I love looking back at the photos of them when they were little.
In 2022, my sister-in-law Christi and I decided to join together to start Stephanie and Christi Photography. She also had a photography business since high school. We worked one of her weddings together in 2019 and loved working with each other so we made it official a few years later. We love that we are able to both work together and that we can provide a higher level of service to our clients by both being there on wedding days.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think working together with Christi has made it smooth! Each of us grew and learned a lot on our own as business owners but when we teamed up together everything just got so much easier. We are able to divide up tasks in our business and play to our strengths. We try to meet up at least once a month in person to get business tasks done and we have developed a system of dividing up tasks when we get inquiries and work with clients. It has been a lot of fun!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We specialize in wedding & portrait photography! We are known for giving our clients an amazing experience. Several clients have said that we feel like friends after the process is over. We have the flow of the day nailed down to almost an exact science so we don’t have any awkward moments or wondering “what do we do now?” on wedding days.
We are also known for making our clients feel extremely comfortable during their sessions. Taking photos can be awkward, but everyone says after their sessions that they had so much FUN! That is our goal. We love just having a great time together and taking beautiful photos. A lot of people come to us and say “we are awkward in front of the camera,” but they don’t feel that by the end of their session because we have a posing system that is easy and fun for the client.
I think what sets us apart is that we both trust each other fully so on wedding days our clients get the best of both of us. Most photographers hire an assistant for the second photographer position but since we are both experienced photographers and sisters-in-law we work really well together and both are great at handling whatever comes our way on a wedding day.
We also love family sessions! We have a BIG family – over 40 people at this point – so people always comment that we got through the photos quickly and were able to “handle their crazy” super well. Every family thinks they are going to be too much for us and are worried that the session won’t go well. But we get it! Since we have lots of kids in our lives and have a big family ourselves we are great at handling the challenges of family sessions. We love everything we do together!
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
My family makes me the happiest. I have five kids and homeschool them, so we spend a lot of time together and I truly love it. They bring so much joy, energy, and purpose into my life. My photography business gives me the flexibility to support our family while still being present for them every day. Being surrounded by the people I love most fills my life with meaning, and getting to build a business that supports that is such a gift.
Pricing:
- 8-Hour Wedding Day Coverage – $4200
- 8-Hour Wedding Day Coverage with Album – $4800
- Family Session – $400-600
Contact Info:
- Website: https://stephanieandchristi.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/stephanieandchristi
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/stephanieandchristi
