I am so glad my couples choose me to be their elopement photographer and let me in on their story and journey. I’m very honored to be in a position where couples trust me enough to share all this with me. I want to let you all in on my own story as well. In this blog post you can read about how and why I became an adventure elopement photographer.
How it all begun
Having a business idea
It all started couple of years ago when I was pregnant with my firstborn. I had just taken a trip to Tallinn (capital of Estonia) to take some maternity photos of myself. On the bus ride back, I found myself thinking how difficult it would be to set up a photo studio in my own home town. The reason I went to our capital to take photos was because there was no studio like this in my home town.
Deep down I’ve always known I will be an entrepreneur one day. I wanted to start a side business during my maternity leave anyway (in Estonia it usually is 1,5-3 years) so that I would not go crazy from being at home with kids. Since maternity leave in Estonia is paid for up to 1,5 years (you continue getting your full average salary from the state) it is such a wonderful time to build up a business more risk-free. So I decided to give this business idea a go!
Turns out — creating a studio setup was not that hard. And that one decision to give it a try kickstarted an entire career I never saw coming. I’ve always been a numbers’ person. Into statistics, business side of things. This is why I studied Entrepreneurship and Project Management at university. I never knew I had some creativity in me. I was very surprised… So it all started with a paper backdrop, two soft boxes, and a second-hand DSLR camera in my living room set-up during my first maternity leave.
Realization
I practiced on friends. I learned lighting, posing and editing and fell in love with all of those. Within two months, I was started charging a humble 25€ a session, but the business grew fast. Soon, I had real clients, much more experience, so much fun and positive feedback and I came to the realization:
I don’t want to go back to my 9-to-5 job.
Before photography, I was a project manager in the IT world. It was all right and I was good at it, but I felt like entrepreneurship is even more ME. I love the fact that if something does not go as planned, I can only look in the mirror. I have full responsibility and flexibility. Endless learning from mistakes. By the way, I have a tattoo on my arm saying “Never a failure, always a lesson”. I had it tattooed when I was 18 and with each passing year it’s getting more true than ever. Getting better each time, kind of like being in competition with myself and trying to top everything I’ve done before with each new session. I am in control of my own future. And I want to be a great employer for myself.
Building something bigger
I got myself thinking: if I didn’t have to work ever again for money, what would I do with my time? And the answer came real quick. I said to myself that I would still be doing photography. It gives me so much joy! When I see my clients so happy, it is very fulfilling for me. Waking up 3AM for sunrise shoot is not a problem since this all gives me so much energy.
By the time my first maternity leave ended, I was so hooked. And when I got pregnant again I decided that this time I am going to use the maternity leave time to build up my own full time business, not just a side hustle anymore. Plan was to have a running business by the end of my maternity leave. I took photos of everything and everyone: families, couples, boudoir, real estate — you name it. But I knew I had to niche down to be successful. Weddings seemed like a good thing to specialize in.
I thought about luxury weddings. Big budgets, fancy villas, epic gowns. But it didn’t feel like me. I’m a sweatpants kind of girl. I want real connection with the couple, not just epic production. I want to know the people I photograph. I want to become friends with them. With luxury weddings my client would be the wedding planner, not the couple. There would be absolutely no personal connection between the couple and I. I wouldn’t want that.
And then I found a podcast episode with Megan MacPhail. That’s when I heard about adventure elopements for the first time.
Everything clicked.
Why Elopements?
Being an adventure elopement photographer is the perfect blend of everything I love:
- Deep personal connection with the couple
- Gorgeous nature, most epic locations in the entire world
- Planning (I am a project manager by heart and by degree 😅)
- Meaningful moments over meaningless tradition
- Getting to capture breathtaking photos of happy couples on their happiest day
- It combines all the things I want in a job and all the things I am actually good at
I’ve always felt pulled toward authenticity. I’m not one to fake being someone I am not — too lazy for that, honestly. I am who I am, and I want my couples to accept me the way I am. I barely ever wear make-up, I wear comfortable clothes only. I’m very happy, energetic, I love being helpful, but also in control of things (project manager in me speaking again 😅). I love adventures as you can see from photos below.
I am who I am and I am not hiding it. And I want my couples to feel the same freedom on their wedding day. I want them to feel free to be themselves without any judgements. Last thing I want is for them to feel the need to pretend somebody they are not.
I had a bigger wedding myself with about 75 guests. It was amazing, and very “us”. My own wedding is still the best wedding I’ve ever been to! But just two years later, I looked through our photos and realized how many people in them were no longer part of our lives. Many couples had broken up, some friends had gone their own separate ways. That was a wake-up call. If even just two years after the wedding, dozens of those people are not in our lives anymore, then it makes you question the reasoning behind inviting that many people. Yes, I had a bigger wedding, but this doesn’t mean I do not understand all the reasons behind decision to elope. I really do. Also, when I was getting married, I had no idea that adventure elopements even exist! 😂
Why Italy?
As for Italy — well, let’s just say Estonia is beautiful, but we don’t really have mountains. And I live just 30 minutes from the Russian border, so geopolitically, it’s not the best place to bring international couples. Italy, on the other hand, is a short flight away, diverse, magical, and one of the biggest wedding markets in the world. Whether it’s the Dolomites, Lake Como, Florence, or a quiet Tuscan hilltop — there’s endless beauty and possibility here. Every time I visit Italy, I am positively surprised again. And again!
But I must say that I am not limiting myself to Italy. If there is any other place in the world that the couple wants to get married at and wants me to help with the planning and capturing, I am all in! I recently captured a wedding in Thailand and it was so amazing! I am also dreaming of capturing adventure elopements in Portugal, which is one of my favorite countries. Especially in Madeira or Azores or some other location that has dramatic cliffs right by the ocean and beautiful sunsets and sunrises 🥰
Traveling
I love to travel, I’ve always loved it. I have also traveled a lot with my firstborn. Sometimes it was even just the two of us, with just a backpack and her on my belly. Life feels kind of boring if I do not have my next travel booked. But don’t get me wrong. I am not doing this job to travel. Honestly, this is absolutely no vacation for me 😀 I do get to travel and I get to be in amazing places and take stunning photos and have a lot of fun, which I obviously love – who wouldn’t?! 😂
I work the entire time I travel for elopements. It starts with all preparations that need to be done before the elopement so that the day would go as smoothly as possible. Then preparing my photo ideas for each couple individually, preparing gear, packing everything. Location scouting, leading the day, taking control of vendor communications, itinerary, driving, constantly thinking about fun things to do or creative ways to take photos etc. My brain is constantly working – literally the entire time. Even if the couple is having a moment to take it all in, I am still working and preparing everything for the next upcoming things.
At the end of full day adventure I am just exhausted. I take all this mental load on myself so that the couple wouldn’t have to worry about a thing. Don’t get me wrong – I love it and I am also very good at it! And it is all definitely worth it! When I see couple having the best time and them being extremely thankful for everything I’ve done for them, it all comes to its place. I am happy to give them a big piece of my energy so that their day could be amazing. This job is what I am supposed to be doing. Never been so sure about anything else 🤗
What I Want You to Feel
When you work with me, I don’t want you to feel like you’ve hired “a photographer.”
I want you to feel like you’ve found a friend. Someone you can fully trust and who listens to the little things. Someone you love to hang out with, someone who is not just a service provider. Someone who will plan your timeline, scout the trails, fix your hair, calm your nerves, and still capture the most stunning photos of your life.
I’m your planner. Your elopement photographer. Your adventure buddy. Your calm in chaos. Your hype woman.
I love what I do. I live for it. After every single elopement, I get this rush of joy and clarity. That yes, yes, a thousand times yes — this is who I am. This is what I was meant to do.
About motherhood
Motherhood changed me in so many ways. It has made me stronger, more patient, and more inspired. It was Dustin Mushinski who said on one Podcast episode (episode 63 of STOKED: the adventure elopement photographer podcast):
“How am I ever going to tell her (her daughter) to go after her biggest dreams and believe in herself if I don’t do that for me. And I am never going to allow her to be the excuse why I didn’t, she is going to be the reason why I did!“
This quote moved me so deeply. Being a mother of two beautiful daughters and hearing this quote… It made me really understand that I need to set an example for them. An example that you can be a mother and an entrepreneur. That you can be successful, even if you have kids. You don’t have to choose between who you love and who you want to become. You can have it all!
I am a rare kind of photographer who not only loves the photography part, but the business side as well! Being an entrepreneur and seeing how me working on my ideal business so enthusiastically inspires my family, friends and of course myself too, is the biggest motivation boost of all. I want to be a role model for my little girls. I want to build a business that allows me to be who I truly am and bring a lot of use to my entrepreneurial, project management, communication and photography skills. Business that lets me have time for my personal life too without burning out.
And if I can help you start your forever with planning and capturing the most epic elopement by doing all that…
That’s the greatest honor of all! 🤍🤍🤍
Hugs,
Eva
Other blog posts you might be interested in:
How to choose a photographer for your elopement
How your photographer’s approach defines your entire experience
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