The Art and Business of Elopement Photography

I was interviewed by Matt Payne for the 418th episode of “F-Stop Collaborate and Listen”. It is entitled “Stacy Garfield – The Art and Business of Elopement Photography”. You can listen to the podcast now by clicking here.

In this podcast episode, I talked with the host about my journey from aerospace engineering to photography, driven by my love for nature and a serendipitous proposal I captured at Ruby Beach. I explain elopement photography, highlighting the importance of detailed planning, knowing elopement locations well, and understanding Leave No Trace principles. I also discuss the challenges and joys of capturing intimate weddings in nature, incorporating night photography into sessions, and my new mentorship programs for aspiring photographers. This podcast offers a deep dive into this unique niche and dedication to creating memorable experiences for couples.

I’ve been listening to Matt’s podcast for years. I have at least one *Ah Ha* moment or new learning from each interview.  My hope is that you feel inspired to try something new and/or choose to have a wedding day that truly reflects your relationship after listening to this podcast.

You can listen or watch the podcast on your favorite platform. If you can’t listen to the podcast, I’ve written this blog to highlight some of the key points we discuss.

How did I decide to switch from being an aerospace engineer to an elopement photographer?

I have had a camera of some kind for as long as I can remember, and I have always enjoyed taking photos for myself and others. During my childhood, my family took road trips to National Parks in America and traveled around Europe. Landscapes have always been my favorite thing to photograph. I remember my parents putting together slideshows with my photos (using carousel projectors) to show to family and friends.

I got my first DSLR camera before a big vacation to the South Island of New Zealand. I wanted to capture all of the magnificent beauty of New Zealand and I knew I needed something better than a point and shoot camera. It was a Canon Rebel with a kit lens. I didn’t even know to shoot in RAW at that time. Those are still some of my favorite photos even though I will never be about the print them in large format.

When we moved from Colorado to the Pacific Northwest, I left the career in aerospace engineering that I’d had for over 20 years. I needed a stress break, and my husband kindly told me I could take a little time off to “find myself”.

Well, I found myself on the trails and backcountry roads of the Pacific Northwest. The time hiking in nature and riding my bike gave me the chance to do some soul searching, think about what made me happy and help me get healthier. Watching the sun rise over the mountains and set over the ocean, making water look like ribbons using long exposure techniques and capturing the night sky with my camera…all of those things make my heart happy.

I investigated what it took to become a professional photographer. With some money and a lot of time spent practicing techniques with my camera, I started my business. I was originally going to focus on landscape photography, but then I had a serendipitous event happen.

What is Elopement Photography and why did I decide to pursue it?

Elopement photography is still a relatively new occupation. It increased in popularity after March of 2020 when people weren’t able to have their traditional large weddings in inside venues. There are photographers, like me, who have only done elopement photography because that’s the type of weddings we are the most passionate about. In 2020, many traditional wedding photographers transitioned into elopement photography…at least for a few years.

Elopement photography is typically defined around very small wedding events that have fewer than 10 people with the couple who is getting married in nature. National Parks and National Forests are the most popular locations. The Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon and Alaska), Colorado and Hawaii are the most popular states for people to elope in the United States.

Elopement photography is so much more than traditional wedding photography. You do more than show up on the day of the wedding, take pictures and then leave. The couple who hires you, as their photographer, generally has no planner and possibly no family or friends helping them prepare for their elopement. So, you are helping them with every aspect of their elopement. You are their de facto planner.

• You help them select the location or locations they want to enjoy on their wedding day.
• You plan out a detailed timeline for them with your extensive knowledge of the area.
• You help them determine which type of clothing and footwear will work best for their elopement location.
• You help them find other vendors they need, like hair and makeup artists or florists or caterers.
• You make sure they know how to get where they need to be.
• You watch the weather and help them be prepared for whatever mother nature throws at them…rain or snow or wildfire smoke or extreme heat.
• You help them know if they need a permit to have their ceremony and then show them how to apply for that permit.
• You educate them about Leave No Trace principles and need to be trained in Wilderness First Aid.
• I also happen to be an officiant, so I help the couple get their marriage license paperwork, marry them and mail it in for them.
• On their elopement day, you are their friend and biggest cheerleader.

That is all in addition to taking amazing photographs in whatever the lighting and weather conditions happen to be.

Elopement Photography found me – this is where the serendipitous event happened

One summer evening, I was with my family at Ruby Beach in Olympic National Park. I was capturing photographs of the sun setting over the ocean with epic sea stacks in the foreground. A young man asked me to photograph him while he proposed to his girlfriend. I remember being so emotional (happy tears) while I captured images of this important time in their lives. She said Yes!

After this experience, I was very excited and told anyone who would listen. Through those conversations, I learned about elopement photography. In early 2019, I attended a workshop for elopement photographers that was hosted by popular elopement photographers. During the workshop, they hosted styled shoots in slot canyons for us to photograph. I immediately fell in love with photographing people in nature and knew I wanted to help people elope.

It also felt right because I personally had a small, intimate wedding in the Colorado foothills.

Planning is not fun for many people, but I have always been a planner…that’s my engineering brain. It appealed to me to be able to help plan elopements for people who don’t want to follow a traditional path for getting married and do it their own way.

Every couple I have helped to elope already loves nature, which is why they understand the profound power of eloping in nature. I love helping them see a new place or experience it differently for their elopement. It becomes one of their favorite places and many choose to go back on their anniversaries and even take their children there eventually.

How to get into elopement photography

With elopement photography, there are both technical and emotional aspects to be successful in the business.

Technically, the top 3 things I invested in early that are essential to having a successful elopement photography business are:

• High quality and highly reliable camera gear – you need at least 2 cameras with dual memory card slots for redundancy, as well as a variety of camera lenses that allow you to capture up-close and far away images. You need to be very proficient in using this gear, as you can’t miss photographing any important moments of a wedding day.
• Legal contracts written specifically for elopement photographers – your contract needs to include all the usual things, but also wording about what will happen if we are impacted by the weather on your elopement, how couples and their guests need to be prepared for their adventure elopement in nature and what happens if we have another pandemic.
• The best education I invested in was a photography-specific SEO course, like Fuel Your Photos. This skill is necessary to create a website that will reach your ideal clients and make them want to work with you.

On the more emotional side:

• Decide on the types of elopements that you want to capture. Do you enjoy taking couples on long hikes to hard to reach locations… photographing couples who want to incorporate rock climbing into their wedding day…or maybe you love the ocean and helping couples find the best beach location for their elopement ceremony? If you won’t enjoy what you are doing, you won’t make the clients happy, and the photos won’t turn out well. This is a very emotional job.
• Understand who your customer base is – who are the people that you want to market to? Find your niche. Even though this seems like a niche industry itself, there are a lot of elopement photographers out there doing the same thing. You need to set yourself apart. I do that by focusing on certain locations and only taking on groups of 10 people or less. In most cases, it is just me and the couple.
• Set up styled shoots to create images that will appeal to the types of people you want to reach. What are the locations you want to photograph in and what are the types of people that you want to photograph? Do you support LGBTQ+ couples? Is your photography style bright and airy or more moody? Styled shoots are also a great time for you to practice your photography with people and in all types of light and weather conditions. With elopement photography you can’t control the weather outside.

Key business strategies I’ve implemented for my elopement photography business

• Make sure that you have a great website with strong Search Engine Optimization, so that your ideal clients can easily find you.
  • Your website needs to be easy to follow and provide all of the information eloping couples need to know.
• Write resources/blogs that will strategically draw in the right people
  • Many people find me when they are searching on google for a specific location for eloping. This means you need to do a lot of work on Keyword Research for your specific area of business and know what resources will help those couples.
• Be active on social media
  • You don’t have to be on social media every day, but you do need to show a diverse collection of your work and show that you are still active in your business. Many people will go to a social media source after they’ve found your website to make sure that you are a legitimate business and that your work matches what they see on your website.
• Connect with people in your local community
  • Volunteer for activities with other small business owners
  • Advertise in local online or print publications
  • Display your work in local businesses
• Network with fellow elopement photographers and other vendors – Community over Competition!

Ways to mitigate risks that can happen during an elopement

To help mitigate risks during an elopement, it comes down to experience and being extremely prepared.

It takes meticulous and endless planning for elopements. You need to know the area where people are eloping very well. You need to know what it’s like in that location during every season and if you can even access that area in every season.  You need to know when the lighting is the best, what types of wildlife you may see, when the most people are around and where to enjoy the best views.

It’s also important to have a Plan B and even Plan C – If a location becomes inaccessible for some reason, what location is the next best place for their elopement. Wildfires have become more prevalent, as well, so it’s also important to know what areas may have unsafe air quality levels.

It’s very important to be flexible and adaptable to Customer’s changing needs. Each couple is different, and their preferences and needs are different.

Every time I contract with a couple, I block off the day before and the day after on my calendar. That gives me the ability to adjust if we need to for any circumstances. For example, I had a full day elopement in Washington in the Fall. I saw that the weather was going to be very rainy on the second half of their day. So, we moved the activities for the second part of their day to the afternoon prior. We were still able to have their ceremony the morning that they’d planned on and everyone was back in their cars before it started raining. Planning in that time also gives you, as the photographer, more time to relax, which will make you more creative and you’ll capture better images.

I always carry a bag in my car that contains extras of almost everything to loan to my couples, such as: extra socks, hand and toe warmers, safety pins, Tide pins to get out stains, bandages, gluten free energy bars and lots of water.

The most important and most borrowed item in the PNW – Clear Umbrellas! The second most borrowed item is lanterns. Those make for a beautiful accessory during blue hour and night time.

How has elopement photography impacted National and State Parks, BLM lands, and National Forests?

With the increase in elopements on public lands since 2020, there has been an increase in larger group ceremonies at popular monuments and on popular trails. This has created the need for permits to be obtained for wedding ceremonies.

If everyone followed the rules of their permits and Leave No Trace principles, we wouldn’t have an issue. Unfortunately, with the surge of elopements in 2021 and 2022 and fewer photographers experienced in Leave No Trace, it created some damage to precious land, which also caused the permit system to become more strict.

There are cases where delicate tundra or wildflowers were trampled. It takes 10s to 100s of years for much of that delicate tundra to grow back. Some locations were inundated with trash that ruined other guests’ experiences and also hurts the wildlife. Non-native flower petals have been left scattered along trails and the powder from smoke bombs has been left on rocks. Activities that people didn’t think about twice in a venue have been very damaging to public lands. The number of guests allowed at a ceremony is limited to 10 or fewer in many cases. We’ve even lost the ability to photograph elopement ceremonies in some of those places.

Because of these negative incidents, there are some park rangers and land managers who have a bad impression of elopements and elopement photographers. It is taking all of us to improve that impression and show how we respect the land and encourage our couples to do the same.

Permit process for elopement photography

I wish I could give you a simple answer, but every location is different. And that’s what makes it tough for elopement photographers. We must stay on top of the rules for locations and check them frequently because they will change, especially at the start of each new year.

We’ve seen the permit process change over the years. Most public lands have websites with links to their requirements and the permit application form online. The location requires the couple to apply for the permit. The cost is based on the number of people that will be attending the elopement ceremony.

Elopement photographers need to have liability insurance that covers them while working on public lands. I carry a copy of the Certificate of Liability with me and have been asked by park rangers to show them proof of my insurance and a copy of the approved permit. If you don’t have either, you can be disallowed from photographing at that park and may even be fined.

Some parks do not require a permit if you keep the group to 5 people or less. That would be the couple, 2 guests and their elopement photographer. Other parks, such as Mount Rainier National Park, have created an interactive map online. You can select the location where you want to have your elopement ceremony and a window will pop up telling you what days of the week you are allowed to elope there and the total number of people who can be present.

I support the permit process because it helps prevent overcrowding. As long as you help you couple apply early and get the location you want on the day that you want, you don’t have to worry about other people trying to use the same area.

Purchasing a permit for your elopement ceremony is much less expensive than reserving a venue. Most elopement ceremony permit prices range from $50 – $250. The price you pay for the permit also supports our public lands and the park rangers.

Why I love incorporating Night Sky Photography into an elopement

I have loved space since I was 6 years old. I’ve always been one of those people who looks up at the sky and wonders what else is out there. I also find peace in looking at the stars. I love sharing my knowledge about astronomy with people, too.

Early on in my elopement photography career, I had a couple who hired me for a 2-day elopement in Olympic National Park. They mentioned to me that they love looking at the stars, so I planned in time for us to do that. We watched the sky over the Pacific Ocean get bright as the stars came out. We identified some constellations and then saw a Starlink constellation fly over…what a treat and a memory they will treasure forever. Luckily I was there to capture it in a photograph for them.

I’ve had several couples tell me that they’ve either never seen a true dark sky or never seen so many stars or never seen the milky way. Those comments no longer shock me. They inspire me to want to share the experience of a beautiful starry night sky with them. And especially on their wedding day…to add even more memories to their special day!

Astrophotography with people adds a level of complexity to photographing though. It took me years to be able to capture good images with both people and the night sky, so you want to find an elopement photographer who has lots of experience with astrophotography.

Photography Mentorship Program with Outshined Photography

I provide one-on-one photography mentorships for people wanting to learn how to use their camera and improve their photography skills. These are hands-on photo sessions, so that I can tailor the education to your specific needs and you’ll gain the most benefit from it. You can learn more about the programs that I offer HERE.

Photography did so much for me and my health that I want to give others the skills they need to do what they want to enjoy.

Questions inspired by our conversation on the podcast

• Understanding Your Niche:
  • Stacy transitioned from aerospace engineering to becoming a specialized elopement photographer. Reflect on your own photography journey: Is there a niche or area of photography that you feel particularly passionate about but have not yet fully explored? What steps can you take to start specializing in that area?
• Planning and Preparation:
  • Stacy emphasized meticulous planning and preparation for each elopement, including multiple backup locations and timelines. Think about your current planning process for photo shoots. How can you improve your preparation to ensure you are ready for unexpected changes or challenges?
• Client Experience:
  • Stacy talked about focusing on the client’s experience and creating memorable moments. Consider the interactions you have with your clients: How can you enhance their experience to make it more enjoyable and meaningful, beyond just delivering high-quality photos?
• Ethical Practices and Leave No Trace:
  • The importance of leave no trace principles in outdoor photography was highlighted. Reflect on your own practices when shooting in nature. Are there additional steps you can take to minimize your environmental impact and educate clients about responsible behavior in natural settings?
• Balancing Personal and Professional Growth:
  • Stacy found a way to combine her love for nature with her professional skills, which also helped her health and well-being. Think about your own work-life balance in photography: Are there ways to better align your personal passions with your professional work to enhance both your career and personal fulfillment?

Stacy Garfield of Outshined Photography is a Seattle elopement photographer. Stacy lives in North Bend and explores daily to find the best places to elope in Snoqualmie Valley. She specializes in adventure elopements, small weddings, couples, proposals and engagement sessions. The Pacific Northwest elopement package includes planning and photography in Washington, Oregon and Northern California. Also, Stacy photographs often in Colorado, Utah, Alaska and International locations. Her focus is on making your day special and unique for you and most importantly…FUN and Stress-free!