Meet Taylor Boyd | Elopement Photographer

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

Hi Taylor, why did you pursue a creative career?
I always knew from a young age that I needed to do something creative for the rest of my life. Growing up, I loved painting, drawing, just…making things. I fell in love with photography in high school. I worked two jobs the summer between my sophomore and junior year to save up money to buy my first DSLR. Senior year, I took an advanced art class where I could study whatever I wanted. I made my own curriculum. Of course, I chose photography. More specifically, I wanted to study light painting. This allowed me to learn and dissect the manual settings of my camera.
From there, the need to create took off. I wasn’t creating for anybody but myself. That’s where I really found joy in art. Now I create for other people, but I always be sure to do creative passion projects in my off-season.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I’m an elopement and wedding photographer. I live in Castle Rock, but I photograph epic weddings all around Colorado! I specialize in adventurous and/or laid-back elopement days. Yes – you can have both. I pride myself in making my couples super comfortable in front of the camera. It’s unnatural to be in front of the camera for any amount of time longer than a few snaps, let alone a full 8 hours. I like to think my couples like me because of my above-par sense of humor. I’m here to make sure they have a memorable elopement day. And if that means I have to crack a few jokes… I also just feel like I’m super relatable. I’m a human, just like them. I’m not here to capture perfect moments, I’m here to capture real moments.
My tagline is, “For wandering couples that want a unique elopement experience.” I’m not about you just showing up for a 2 hour photo shoot. Your wedding day is more than that! I love to help my couples incorporate unique activities that make their day intentional, memorable and something they wish they could do again year after year.

This is my fourth year photographing couples as my full-time job. It seems like longer and shorter all at once. Being an entrepreneur and/or small business owner is mostly about the journey, right? There’s not really a destination. Sure you can have goals for your business, but those will grow and change as your business grows and changes. Of course, it wasn’t easy! I quit my 40-hr/week job so that I could work 70 hours a week for myself. And I’m okay with that. Photographing couples’ biggest days of their lives is so much more fulfilling than anything I’ve ever done.

I’ve learned so much along the way. SO MUCH. I’m still learning! And I’ve relearned things that I decided weren’t working for me or my business. One of the best things about working for yourself is that you can change things that aren’t working for you. And you don’t need anyone’s permission but your own to do that.

One thing I will always continue to work on is communication and how to best serve my couples with simple and effective workflows. They might not see the backend or workflow side of my business, but I want it to be a smooth planning process for them. This year I’ve been working on extensive planning guides that will help them plan their wedding day, because inevitably with that much information, I forget to relay it through email sometimes. These guides include timeline planning, vendor recommendations and suggestions for lodging, transportation, wardrobe – literally anything you can think of that you would need to plan your wedding day.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Okay, I’m going to give you the Castle Rock run down! Because we’re big foodies and we’ve tried almost every restaurant in town.

If my best friend visited me, we’d hit up my favorite coffee shop first. Lost Coffee. If the hazelnut macadamia nut latte is in season, I’m getting it. Then we’d take our coffees and walk up to Romo’s for a breakfast quesadilla. We’d probably split it because they’re huge and knowing me, I’ll want to eat again in 2 hours.

After that we’d probably walk around downtown for a while, popping in and out of all the little shops. Then for lunch I’d take them to Yolandas – specifically for the nachos. No serrano peppers because I’m a baby.

Then we’d inevitably need to be a little more active because we just ate our body weight in nachos. We’re going into Deckers for a hike!

For dinner we’d go to Z’Abbracci for dinner and get the aloha. They put cream cheese on their Hawaiian pizza and nothing is better! After that we’d head next door to Provisions for a cocktail and then probably slip into a food coma until the next day.

Honorable mentions: Press Waffle Co. and The Whiskey Lodge

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’d love to shout out Meagan + Carissa with The Ends of the Earth Workshop. I attended in August 2023, and it really opened my eyes to how much better I can serve my couples. Looking back, I feel like I was doing the bare minimum, but I didn’t know it. I didn’t know how much more I had to offer. Since attending, I’ve spent these slower months revamping everything from my website and pricing guides to planning guides and blog posts. It’s been overwhelming to say the least, but I know now that I’m such a valuable resource to my eloping couples and I want to help them have the absolute best day ever. I’d also love to shout out my husband. I know that’s so cliché, but he supported me taking the leap away from the corporate world to follow my entrepreneurial dreams. He’s a great sounding board, too!

Website: https://taylorhassebroek.com/

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

Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@taylorhassebroekphoto

Image Credits
Taylor Hassebroek Photo