Today we’d like to introduce you to Lara Rose Cenovski.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Like most other photographers, I always had the passion for photography growing up, and I’m pretty sure I always had that “eye.” I never considered photography as a business (keeping it always as a passion and hobby) until about 5 years ago.
My dad was a photographer, so naturally, as his stubborn daughter, I wanted nothing to do with photography as a career.
Some of my earliest memories were on walks around the neighborhood with my dad. We’d stop in front of a house and he’d ask me to hold up my index fingers and thumbs to form a frame around what I would consider a good shot if I were to make a photograph of that house. Then he’d lightly quiz me on how I would expose for the house and for the sky at the same time, and ask me questions about how to expose a frame properly with a given type of film. Through shooting with my dad’s film cameras, and a lot of trial-and-error in the darkroom, I gradually learned the fundamentals of photography — exposure and framing.
By the time I was in middle school, my dad had left the photography business and I was falling hard and fast in love with the field of anthropology (I’d asked for a subscription to National Geographic for my 13th birthday). Photography was quickly taking a backseat to my love for culture, language, and travel.
In college, I studied Anthropology, Spanish, and International Studies. I went on directly after receiving my BA to study Anthropology further in England. I received my Master’s there in Visual Anthropology and this re-ignited my passion for photography and creating images. It also helped to further develop my interest in the philosophy around personal photography and how I should be looking and photographing people and their relationships to each other.
Shortly after graduating from Grad School, a close friend of mine asked me to take some pictures for her of her and her sisters together. We went to a local park and I took the photos, figuring out fun ways to capture their close relationship.
As I was getting into my car at the end of the shoot, my friend handed me a $50 bill. I immediately refused to take it, knowing that taking the pictures for me was fun and enjoyable (and in my mind, accepting payment for something fun seemed so wrong at the time). She was very insistent, so I took the money, but that first $50 started something in me. It was a “slow-lightbulb” moment for me and my business because it was the first time I’d ever been paid for my photography.
And it was the first time I’d ever thought that this was even possible! This realization of “time + talent = money” didn’t happen in an instant, but as the months went on, I kept thinking about that $50 and started designing a business.
After that, the rest is history! In late 2014 I moved down to Florida with my then-boyfriend (now husband) and decided to take advantage of a new place to re-brand my fledgling business and truly begin in earnest improving both my business practices and my photography.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has absolutely not been a smooth road! I think all business owners hit bumps along the way and I’m certainly no exception! I actually tried to go full time with my photography twice and totally and utterly failed.
After these failures, I went back to my previous office jobs with my tail between my legs, desperately needing the income. But I knew that deep down, I really wanted to make the photography business to work, and so I just kept trying. I also worked on a couple of weddings with an older photographer when I was first starting out who very plainly told me once, “You’ll never make it as a wedding photographer.” Obviously, these words just fueled my desire to work harder and get better.
Please tell us about Lara Rose Photography.
I specialize in weddings, engagements, and documentary family photography. I’m definitely most proud of and excited about my documentary family sessions. Although I’ve always photographed my friends’ families and my own family this way, I only recently began offering this style of photography to Clients.
My documentary family photography sessions (some also refer to it as “day-in-the-life” photography), are natural, shared experiences. They’re little stories, usually photographed over the course of a morning, afternoon, or full day to capture a glimpse of a family’s real life. This means no getting dolled up to go to the park (I mean, how often do people actually go to parks wearing dresses and skirts with their hair and makeup done?), and it also means all of the images are representing totally authentic moments.
I work my documentary family sessions in the same way that I would a wedding — with very little direction or pose and a lot of focus on interactions and story-telling. Documentary sessions almost always take place in the family’s home, a space that’s very meaningful to them. But they can also involve trips to grocery stores, visits to grandma’s house, dropping off babies at daycare, or whatever else that fills a family’s typical daily routine.
These sessions were born from both a perceived need of people wanting to have lasting memories of fleeting moments in their lives, but at the same time, my disillusionment with photographing unhappy toddlers (and adults) in parks. My training in anthropology has played a leading role in shaping my philosophy around these sessions and I’m always excited when I get new Clients!
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If we’re being completely honest, if I had to start over, I might’ve tried to work longer at my office job to save more money before leaving to pursue photography full-time. Photography is an expensive career to “get into” and even more expensive to commit to full-time.
Pricing:
- Full-Day wedding coverage starts at $2,950
- Documentary Family Sessions start at $395
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.lararosephoto.com/
- Phone: 248.778.6879
- Email: lararosephoto@gmail.com
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