Career Champion: Candace Lynn

I came across Candace’s photography from a high school friend. Candace had done her engagement photos and I was OBSESSED! I reached out to Candace right away, fought against anyone who told me not to book an out-of-town photographer and booked our first wedding vendor. I knew Candace had something different and did she prove me right - my wedding photos are the best things ever! What’s more, Candace is one of the most humble, genuine, fun, unique humans I’ve ever met. Read more to learn about this sweetheart!

1) We met because you were our talented, amazing, visionary wedding photographer. How did you get into photography? 

When I was a senior in high-school, my dad lost his job and told me that he couldn’t afford to pay for my senior pictures and that if I wanted them, then I would have to pay for them myself. I decided the best way to make that happen was to use a point and shoot camera that I had to start my photography page and get the money I had in my savings to buy my first camera. It wasn’t anything nice and the pictures turned out better than they should - so I shot 3 seniors that summer and decided I actually really liked doing it. Fast-forward to me feeling like I was really starting to get a grip on things, all I wanted was to book one wedding, just one. THEN - I was at a shoot and my camera actually flew off of the roof of my car on a busy street and broke. It was going to cost more then I was able to spend to fix it. At that point I felt it was a sign to give up and say it was fun while it lasted. A day later my older sister called and gave me $2,000 to buy a new & better camera and told me she was looking at it as an investment and that she knew I would make enough to pay her back one day. On that phone call, someone emailed me and booked me for my very first wedding. It seemed like God was telling me pretty clearly not to give up just yet.

2) Walk us through your career. When did you launch your own photography business? 

I started shooting my senior year of high school and have been doing it since! (5 years)

3) You recently got married and moved! What a crazy, exciting time for you. How has this changed your career? What's next for your photography business? 

Ahhh marriage! It has been so incredible - better than I could have ever imagined. Gabriel has been there with me since the beginning of all of this. He has been my biggest cheerleader, my second shooter for a few years, and my best friend. Owning a full-time business while being a full-time student was REALLY challenging at times. People would say things like “you’re crushing it!” & “you do it all!” but there were so many times where all I wanted was for someone to say “want to hang out this Saturday?!” I often think about that if I didn’t have Gabriel, I would have felt lonely and defeated. He filled a gap in my heart that allowed me to continue growing my business and encourage me to chase after my dreams. Now is no different except somehow he is even more supportive but I get to return the favor. We recently relocated to Minneapolis for his new job and so far I am loving it. This is allowing me to be supported by him while I figure out where my business goes next and I can never thank him enough for that. One thing I know about myself is I don’t like to stick to one thing for too long. I like to be challenged and explore areas of my life and parts of my heart that I haven’t yet. That being said - I will always do wedding photography. I can’t turn down lifelong friends who ask me “will you shoot my wedding in 5 years when I find a husband?!” lol. BUT, I am scaling down and figuring out what pace I’d like to be at with it. The plan right now is to shoot 5-10 weddings a year while I explore what it looks like to also be a freelance designer. SO, we’ll see what’s next for me!

4) Walk us through a typical day in the life of Candace. 

I love to have coffee with collagen in the morning. It’s a ritual Gabriel and I have to wake up when he gets ready for work and have coffee together. After he leaves I visualize my day and the things I want to accomplish. Then I read the bible or whatever book I am reading at that time but try to get my spirit fed in the morning, this focus’s my day and helps me direct my priorities. Then I LOVE to work out. Not everyday, but at least 3-4 times a week a love to burn a sweat and get my heart rate up. Then I get to food/emails/editing until a have a commitment come up! Sometimes I stay in the same place all day, other times I have meetings, phone calls, shoots, etc. No day looks the same and thats the one thing that I always knew that I wanted in my life.

5) What advice would you give to any young woman looking to start a career in photography?

Get out there and shoot, take every opportunity to learn, don’t compare yourself to other photographers, and don’t be afraid to just go for it! There is no threshold of success, just personal growth. 

5) What has been the best experience of your career so far? 

Traveling for any of my weddings or shoots has been my favorite. I have gotten to go to 10+ states and even across country lines! I’d say if I had to pick a favorite, it would be going to Kalymnos, Greece to shoot a wedding. I’d choose it as my favorite because the couple was incredible, their families were so welcoming, and to experience a new culture like that was something I had never done before. We got to see up close a traditional Greek wedding, eat the best food that I have ever had in my life, and shoot in THE MOST beautiful setting in the world. I remember a moment there where I started crying out of gratitude and thanking God for what he’s done for my life. I felt so lucky and undeserving of that opportunity and try to carry that attitude into every wedding or shoot that I have with a client. I am there to serve and feel so blessed by every couple who trusts me with photographing their love story. 

6) As we look towards the end of the year, what is your intention for the rest of 2019? 

SLOW DOWN haha. I believe we’re all called into seasons in our lives and I am exiting one of hustling. My natural state is to hustle, move on to the next thing, and get at something until I “master it.” For the rest of 2019 I am looking forward to practicing gratitude for the blessings of this past season and how it has shaped my life. I want to be intentional about giving the last 5 years the reflection and thankfulness it deserves. Now that I am not juggling school and full-time self employment, I believe I will tap into new parts of my creativity and be able to answer the calling I have in my heart to do things outside of work & school. Such as helping people & being more involved in a church, and getting more time in for leisurely activities that I never has the capacity to do like reading and painting. If we never give ourselves time to rest after seasons of business. We will burn out and that can send you down a spiral thats harder to climb back out of. 

7) Go back to college graduation: what would you tell yourself?

I would tell myself the best is yet to come, continue to be present in the people you have around you. Be intentional about caring for the people in your life even if it seems like you don’t have the time to, you always do. 

8) How do you find inspiration?

I try to practice “un-plugging” and getting into nature whenever I feel my self getting un-inspired. Something I actually practice doing regularly to stay inspired by what’s around me is not scrolling in instagram really. Occasionally I find myself really bored and doing it without noticing, but for the most part I only open the app to post. Early on in my time with an instagram profile, I found myself having this need to have a perfect page was always comparing mine to everyone else’s - I think a lot of people do this even without realizing. After seeing the self damaging behavior that comes from this, I decided it was best to use it for business marketing, and to put myself and my experiences out there for whoever wants to see it, but taking others in actually isn’t very good for me and that’s okay. I think It’s important to recognize our personality types and what we can/can’t handle when it comes to social networks. They’re a tricky & relatively new thing and if you’re not careful, that can be a huge creative road bock. I am much happier in general since I started practicing that and recommend it to anyone who has a performance based personality type like myself.

9) Who is your role model? 

I have a lot of role models in my life, my parents, siblings, and random famous people. If I had to choose one who I look up to as a role model in my career, it would be my friend Nicole Davis. She co-owns a Juice shop in Columbus, OH that I used to go to probably everyday. Her and I somehow became the best of friends and frequently bonded over our insane schedules together. The reason I’d have to choose her is because I have never seen someone handle business with such grace and love for others along the way. She makes you feel like you are the only person in her world when you are having a conversation with her, even on her busiest day. She has two babies, a full-time business, an awesome husband, and even side gigs - but she puts God before everything and it shows in her heart for others everyday. She’s taught me that life is a lot less pressure when you order your life that way and that being kind to others goes so much further than anything we "accomplish" in this world.

Rapid Fire:

Favorite self-care practice: Coffee in the morning/Sauvignon blanc at night.

Favorite workout: I love HIIT workouts. I use Taylor Dilk’s workouts a lot & I also like to go for long runs.

Favorite place to vacation: California everytime. That place is magical and between the parks, the beaches, and the FOOD. If it’s like a once and life time type thing - anywhere out of the country because it’s fun to experience new cultures!

Favorite movie: She’s the Man. Gabriel is a movie fanatic and I can’t help the fact that I just love garbage TV and movies and this movie has been my favorite for 10+ years. I laugh my head off every time I watch it. 

Favorite phone app: VSCO - great iPhone photo editing app.

Best way to spend a Sunday morning: church & brunch!