Meet Sophie Fabyan | Wedding Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sophie Fabyan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sophie, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
As a notorious over-thinker, taking risks hasn’t always been easy for me. I’m the kind of person who likes to know the possible outcomes of every decision before I make it. But what graduating college and beginning my photography business during the pandemic taught me, is that there isn’t necessarily a “right” or “wrong” choice when you’re trying to decide which direction to go in your career. What I mean by that, is that no matter what direction you choose to go in, things will sort themselves out accordingly. It’s a much more calming way to look at making life choices than spiraling over the “what if’s” like I used to. You don’t need to be fearless, you really just need to use the fear to your advantage and to do the thing anyway!

Once I learned how to trust my intuition and to not let fear dictate my decision-making, life got more fun. Risk taking is now more exciting for me and I view it as an opportunity to learn more about myself and more about my business. The odds of your “worst case scenario” actually happening are slim, and even if they do happen, you hopefully have some lessons to take with you moving forward. As a business owner, I’m learning things as I go, so it’s important to have grace for myself and to take it all day by day.

Taking risks has played a huge factor in the arch of my career. When I decided to quit my job and go full time with my photography business, nothing was guaranteed. It was the height of the pandemic and business-owners everywhere were scrambling. But I risked my comfort and stability to do something that I knew would make me happier in the long run. When I moved from Michigan to Colorado just a few months ago, I faced the risk of having to start new again with my photographer and client network. These risks were scary, of course, the unknown is always daunting, but I thank myself everyday for taking these risks because I know that it’s landed me where I’m supposed to.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I’m a wedding, elopement, and lifestyle photographer newly based in Denver, Colorado! I started shooting seniors and couples at the beginning of college for fun and then towards the end of my four years at Michigan State University, I wanted to learn more, so I began to study photojournalism. This is where I learned the importance of documentation and where I strengthened my eye for observing my environment. Over the years, I’ve really allowed my curiosity to guide my work; I believe that every individual and every human connection is unique and deserves to be documented!

I think that knowing that there is always something new to learn and that every story I document is going to be different is what has continued to fuel my fire for photography. As an artist, you want to be able to “master your craft”, but I’ve really enjoyed knowing that I won’t ever know everything there is to know about photography. This keeps things really interesting and motivates me to continue to improve my work. As artists and human beings in general, we are constantly evolving and our work will evolve with us!

As a new transplant to Colorado from Michigan, I’m really looking forward to meeting new people and getting to explore all the beauty that the West has to offer us! The landscapes are so different compared to Michigan which is super inspirational when it comes to shooting.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
As someone who moved here only a couple of months ago and has had visitors, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to consider this, haha! I live in the RiNo district of Denver so I’ve loved being within walking distance to so many great places, especially: Crema Coffee, Denver Central Market, Larimer Lounge, etc. One of my favorite pastimes is going to Cheesman Park to hammock and getting to see all of the cute dogs running around! I’m also a huge lover of the outdoors so any way I can show people the beauty of the mountains, I love driving out there for a good hike!

Alright, so let’s jump right in! The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there a person, group, organization, book, etc. that you want to dedicate your shoutout to? Who else deserves a little credit and recognition in your story?  
I want to dedicate this shoutout to my incredible photojournalist professor from Michigan State University, Judy Walgren! Judy gave me the confidence, the skillset, and the push I needed to pursue photography as a career after college. I want to thank her for further instilling my passion for documenting moments and for sharing her never-ending knowledge of the world of photography with not only me, but all of her students! Having someone as selfless and worldly as Judy for a mentor was such a turning point in my life. I don’t know if I would have thought I was worthy of being a professional photographer if I hadn’t met her!

I also would love to thank my friends, family, and neighbors for being some of my very first paying clients and who trusted me from the beginning to document their milestones! To go off of the theme of risk taking, I know they took a risk investing in a newer photographer, but their initial support of my dreams is something that I will never forget!

Website: https://sophiecatherinephoto.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sophiecatherinephoto/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sophiecatherinephoto

Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/biz_info/IMpTdjUEq0Jf1NJ6kEhaCw