Meet Kara Cavalca | Photographer Videographer

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

Hi Kara, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Success means different things to different people, for me success is doing what I love and being able to support my family and live my life at the same time. Success is not having worry about where the next paycheck is coming from, and so in photography and videography that would translate to not worrying about where the next client is coming from.

I have learned through many business courses that I should be doing ads, facebook ads, instagram ads, google ads, to guarantee a constant flow of clients, but I don’t and I don’t seem to need to for my services. Because my next client seems to most often come through word of mouth.

So I would say that the most important factor behind my success is relationship and community that foster word of mouth advertising. Of course I deliver beautiful work to my clients, but I also deliver a great experience. I believe that imagery is like flypaper for feelings. If you go to a photoshoot, and recieve beautiful photos but a negative or not so great experience, that is what you will remember when you look at those beautiful images. They might be beautiful on the outside but you will know what you were feeling on the inside while taking them and that is what you’ll feel when looking at them.

I make it a point to really try and connect with my clients, get to know them, their unique personality, what vibes with them and what doesn’t, what is important to them and what isn’t. I shoot a lot of weddings and boudoir, both very important, intimate, special experiences. It is important to me to capture their unique story in the most beautiful way that I can, but also so that they can recognize themselves in their imagery.

For a wedding, of course I have the standard shot list of things I would shoot at any wedding, but not all weddings are the same. Every wedding is unique to that couple, and that uniqueness is what I really want to focus on. Whatever is important to them is important to me, and they feel that, that I have their back and that I will be an advocate for their imagery and their day. That I won’t make the imagery about me or my portfolio, but about them and their story no matter what.

I strive for community with other vendors, to work as a team and build solid relationships everywhere I go. This means that not only am I getting word of mouth from past clients, or guests, or friends of clients, but from the vendors as well. I recommend vendors that are both great at what they do and wonderful people to be around, and in turn they do the same.

So although I know a lot goes into a successful business, a lot of systems and protocols and ways of doing things on the back end as well as producing a great product, I really feel like the core of my success comes from the relationships and community I cultivate.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am primarily a digital artist, though I got my BFA which involved delving into all forms of art outside of photography, I am most comfortable in the digital realm. I have been interested in photography for as long as I can remember, and I knew it was what I wanted to do with my life by the time I turned 13. I just loved the idea of capturing the special moments in life as art to remember forever.

I started off doing almost every type of photography I could get my hands on, I was what you could call a trench photographer, shooting anything and everything across the board.

Photography is not an easy profession to break into and go full time in, it takes a lot more than just shooting pretty pictures. My husband and I lived in a shed (yes, a shed) for 5 years while I built up my business after finally deciding to go full time. So I was taking any job I could, and shooting anything anyone would pay me to for a while.

Then I landed on weddings, I LOVED the intimacy, the importance of the moment, getting to help my clients tell and remember their stories and building relationships with both my clients and other wedding vendors. I bring an energy and excitement to my work, and my clients trust that I am dedicated to capturing their unique day in the most beautiful way possible. I am their memory insurance agent, capturing some of their most important memories with emotion, life, color and beauty while at the same time being their friend and wedding day cheerleader!

Getting my name out there and being recognized took time, but my focus on relationship and community I believe accelerated my process and I did feel that I quickly became a recognized name in the industry.

But not everyone is interested in community over competition, and I had a few photographers not treat me kindly as I built up my business. As I sometimes worked weddings doing videography alongside other photographers, I had a few photographers try to sabotage my work, and another photographer I worked with tried to tear me down emotionally telling me I was pretty much no good and that none of my work was useable.

These things could’ve easily made me quit, but I kept my head up, believed in myself, and continued to work on improving my craft, my business and my relationships. As a result, the year after that photographer told me my work wasn’t good enough, I got one of my photos on the cover of our local weddings magazine. That wasn’t the last time I had to deal with others trying to tear me down, but I had built enough of a community of support by then that it was easier and easier to ignore the negative experiences and just keep doing what I do.

Remembering that success is what I make it, and that I am the only one who can define what success means to me has helped quiet the voices that try to tell me I am doing things “wrong.” Everyone does things differently, that is the beauty of art, we can all have different tastes and preferences. I want everyone to find the artist that works best for them, I want them to find someone that fits their unique vision and vibe and if that isn’t me that is okay!

Photography is an intimate experience, as well as an investment both financially and emotionally. My brand is unique, as are my clients. I like to have one on one conversations before booking to get to know my clients and let them get to know me. Because your photos and videos are your memories, and I want everyone to have the right memory insurance agent because your memories are precious and worth it. I had a bad experience with my own wedding photographer, and the silver lining of that is I know how it feels and can focus on making sure none of my clients ever feel the way I did. My client’s big day is just as personal and important to me as if it was my own.

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?
Durango is so full of amazing food, experiences, and adventures. I have had many friends come stay for a week or so and I never feel like we even scratch the surface of everything we could do. We camp in amazing scenery like up at Molas Lake or around Cascade. Of course there are so many beautiful hikes with stunning views like Engineer or Ice Lakes. We could float the river on tubes or paddle boards or rafts. We could head to Lake Nighthorse and play on the wibit or just lay on a beach and float around. We could head up to Purg whether it is summer or winter and have multiple fun activities to choose from, biking, alpine sliding, skiing, snowboarding, sledding, etc. Then we come to food and there are always so many places I want to take them to eat, we could go out for every single meal and still miss some great spots. We always have to hit at least a few of the musts like Zia, Serious Texas, 11th Street Station, Himalayan Kitchen, El Moro, Steamworks, Thai Kitchen, oh my goodness there are just too many! For drinks I love taking friends to the Bookcase and Barber or to The Office at the Strater Hotel, El Moro also has some of my favorite drinks in town and if they are beer drinkers we can’t forget Ska! Depending on when friends might visit we have so many fun events, like Taste of Durango, The Wine Experience, Snow Down, or the numerous shows at the Durango Arts Center, Merely Players or The Concert Hall! In the summer there are the wednesday Night Bazaars on North Main or the Farmers Markets on Saturdays. Then of course there is the infamous train ride to Silverton and back. There really is just so much to do!

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?
Allison Ragsdale Photography is another photography business in town, and Allison has been such a great mentor, friend, and source encouragement throughout building my business. When other photographers tried to tear me down, telling me I wasn’t good enough, or coming after my business in other ways, she was there to talk me through it and lift me up again. She and her husband Matt have been such a source of support for me throughout the years, and as I gain success they just cheer me on. We help each other in our businesses and she has really showed me the strength in community over competition. I am so happy to have her friendship and guidance, as well as someone to look up to that truly shows the benefit in putting relationship first. Her business is one of the most successful in town and she too built it through kindness and community.

Website: www.karacavalca.com

Instagram: instagram.com/karacavalca

Facebook: facebook.com/karacavalca

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ktron10

Image Credits
The photo of me (red hat in the field of flowers) was taken by Evie Joy Photography. All other photos were taken by me Kara Cavalca.