Meet Charla Harvey | Photographer & Therapist

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

Hi Charla, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I have pretty much always had a camera in my hand, whether it was a Barbie polaroid, those Kodak disposables, or a point-and-shoot camera. As I got older, I switched over to DSLR and film cameras. I’ve also always loved people, so I took photos of people, places, and things. I loved asking people to smile or just taking candids (with permission)! When I moved to Colorado, I was mostly using my phone to take photos as I was in school and working most of the time. I didn’t really have as much time to take and develop/edit photos on actual cameras.

I started going to more shows, and then I realized how amazing the Colorado music scene was! I wanted to go to shows all the time (because there are shows all the time here!), but I couldn’t afford that. I also always loved watching concert photographers in action and seeing their work after the show. I decided maybe I could be a concert photographer! I started reaching out to local bands and asking if I could shoot for them to get practice. Most of them said yes because, well, free photos! So that’s how I started in the beginning. Other bands would then ask me to shoot for them, too. I also had people ask me “Do you do weddings or anniversary shoots?” “Can you shoot my grandma’s birthday party?” “Do you do headshots?” “Can you take pictures of my puppies so I can get them adopted?” and so on. I was always honest and told people I’d shoot anything but I’d admit how much or little experience I had in that field. Most people were fine with that, so I ended up gaining so much experience in so many fields, mostly through other peoples’ recommendations. I’m so grateful for that!
I’ve also met a ton of people through photography, and so this has really been such a gift. I have worked so many jobs, and I’m also going to school to be a therapist. As much as I wanted to be a photographer growing up, I never really thought I’d be able to make that happen, but here it is happening! I’m really excited about it.

I love that photography is a co-creation. My business continues to grow, improve, and expand with my clients’ creativity. They come to me with a vision, and together we make it happen!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I photograph concerts, engagements/proposals, weddings, events, anniversaries (all things couples!), senior photos, portraits, headshots, family photos, festivals, self-love shoots, maternity, birthdays, business events, real estate, album covers/bands, products, landscapes, boudoir, pretty much everything! I really love photographing anything that shows the true beauty in life :). One of my dreams in life is to travel the world taking pictures of humanity, showcasing people from all different cultures living life (as candid as possible, but also with permission).

People definitely know me from concerts the most. I’ve had multiple musicians from my favorite bands and some incredibly successful photographers come up to me because they knew who I was and have seen/liked my work! I am always so awestruck and grateful in those moments! Like, YOU know who I am???

With anyone who works with me, we work together to create the image/vision they want. I don’t ever want my clients to be unhappy, so I put a lot of effort into making sure they get what they want! I love helping make a client’s vision come true and I will always help every step of the way, but I try not to make it only my vision. I truly want it to be the client’s vision. I want them to get their photos back and see that it’s what they wanted, not just what I wanted.

Self-love is really important to me, and it comes up a lot in shoots. I strive to help people love themselves as who they are. I definitely love to enhance the colors a little (especially since the camera loses some of the color in the photo sometimes), but I truly try to capture the real beauty of a person, no matter what the shoot is. I want my clients (and everyone!) to love themselves for who they are, not for who they’re not. Sometimes after getting their photos, clients will say, “Oh my goodness! You and your camera made me look so good! How did you do that?” and I make sure to emphasize that really is what they look like, but we are our own harshest critics!

I guess what sets me apart from others is myself love shoot series I do. Before my house burned, I was (safely!) using smoke bombs as props for these shoots, so that was a really fun way to get people to work with their favorite colors! I’m also going to school to be a self-love therapist, so that sets me apart in some ways! Also, when people hire me, I don’t think they expect so many photos back. I know some photographers that promise 10-20 photos from a shoot, and I know others who charge by the photo. I respect that and probably should start doing business a bit more like that, but it’s just not the way I do things currently. My mentality is, I took the picture so I want them to have it, even though it definitely puts a lot more work on myself!

I have definitely had some serious struggles along the way! First of all, I am short! That definitely makes it harder to get the right angles/to see over people sometimes. I have joked about calling my business “View From the Bottom Photography!” I do appreciate that I am rarely in peoples’ way though because most people can see over me!

Also, gear is expensive! I have great gear but I definitely feel like I need to get more lenses, etc. in order to “catch up” with the industry. That just comes with time though. I’ve also faced some very unfortunate technical difficulties. Sometimes, my camera stops working at a gig. I’ve had an SD card malfunction! (When I was taking photos in Easter Island, I had 1,000 photos and lost all of them because the SD card failed me!) I’ve also had both my computer and my external hard drive break (at separate times)! I had to send both in to recover the data, and that cost an exorbitant amount of money both times.

Rarely but sometimes, I’ve had clients who are really rude to me. They will talk down to me the whole shoot and the whole editing process. I also had one client who told me they didn’t like their photos (in an attempt to get a refund, I assume) because I saw them post ALL of them on their private page and say how good they came out! On that note, finding clients to pay my actual asking rate is rare. I usually end up giving most people discounts.

Sometimes being a woman in the scene gets interesting! I have noticed some male photographers will ignore me or stand in front of me, but for the most part I just hold my own and focus on what I’m there for! I think the most disappointing is when I’m at a show and a guy asks for my business card because they say they want me to do a shoot for them or they can’t wait to see the pictures from the event, but then they just end up asking me out over text.

There’s definitely a camaraderie with other women photographers in the scene, and I have been hired for some gigs just for being a woman (because sometimes female musicians want the female eye, and some men do too!)

Honestly, though, my biggest struggle I just faced was losing my home (and a lot of camera gear I’ve worked so hard to get) in the Marshall fire. I lost multiple cameras, multiple lenses, a ton of SD and XQD cards, external hard drives with albums on them and one blank one I’d just bought, my tripods, my studio space, all my smoke bombs (I can only imagine what that looked like!), backdrops, I mean, you name it, I lost it. That has been really hard. I am truly grateful for how much the community came together to help all the fire victims like me, though.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take them to Red Rocks (hopefully for a show, but at least to see it!), Estes Park, Gross Reservoir and Flagstaff, and go camping in Ouray. I’d take them to the Roost in Longmont for the best “totchos” and “bangin’ cauliflower.” I’d also take them to Quarters in Longmont for arcade games and pour your own drinks (beer, wine, seltzer on tap)! Visionquest in Boulder also has some super unique beers. I’d also take them to the Outback in Boulder for karaoke. I’d take them to the Pearl Street Pub in Boulder because it’s the best! We’d also go to WonderWonder for a fun photoshoot and then go to Denver for the amazing street art. There’s so much to do in Colorado, I don’t think one week is enough time!

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 someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I wouldn’t be where I am if my dad didn’t put the camera in my hand basically as soon as my little hands were able to hold one! My dad shared his love of cameras with me and has been supportive during my journey. We have also gone to some really amazing places together, like Easter Island, the Galapagos, and Peru!!

Website: www.charlaharvey.com

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charla-harvey-2b92a265/

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

Image Credits
Picture of Charla (and friend Olive) was taken by John Sayers
All other pictures were taken by Charla Harvey 🙂