Meet Whitney Brofos | Elopement & Intimate Wedding Photographer

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

Hi Whitney, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I sort of joke in saying that I feel like it was just.. time. With the way it all happened, I truly feel like the universe was telling me this was my time. I had been wanting to begin my own business for a while, I just didn’t know if I was stable enough, knowledgeable enough, or ready enough. Fast forward to October of 2020, I found myself getting laid off from my corporate marketing job in the Ski Industry and a company I had been with since 16 years old. I had been furloughed all of that summer and I used that time to really think about what I wanted, I began to explore taking photography and social media management clients on the side, and even building out a website. Through that time I feel more in love with the freelance life and being able to make my own schedule. I remember thinking to myself, just knowing that if I lost my job, I wanted to be ready for that. It is almost like I had this funny feeling that I in fact would be laid off. I think the scariest part to me was being vulnerable and putting myself out there. Living in a small mountain resort town, I felt that there as no room for a rookie newbie like me. I was terrified to post my work on social media in an attempt to reach new clients and to let my existing circle know the exciting new career path I was on. I was so afraid to be judged, I was worried I wasn’t good enough – but I wanted it. I wanted it so bad. For the following year (this past year, actually) I devoted all my time and energy to learning everything about beginning a photography business… and here we are!

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?
Once I built up the courage to put myself out there, It was full force. I immersed myself in photography education courses that ranged from the business side of photography to brushing up my skills in the creative realm. I was never someone that loved school and studying but when it came to photography, it is something I am so passionate about and truly can’t get enough of developing myself as a creator. I want to be the best I can be for my clients and that means putting the work in on all sides of my business. Looking back to only a year ago (Spring of 2021) when I decided to go full time, and taking photos of people for the first time even, I am. just so proud of myself and how far I have already come. It’s too funny, I remember being SO scared to take photos of people. My whole life I had just been taking photos of landscapes on vacation, or of my dog. Speaking of my dog- you’re wondering how I got here, eh? It sounds oh so very silly but back in 2018 my husband and I brought our (border collie/aussie) pup Sadie home and I decided to start an Instagram for her. I truly do not thing I would be where I am (creatively) if it weren’t for her IG account. After about 5 months of posting photos of her on all of our adventures and somehow acquiring 10,000 followers, I started working with various pet and outdoor brands for product collaborations- which forced me into taking photos for her account with my camera and not just my iphone.. I wanted to produce high quality content for these brands! I started taking her account a little more seriously and at the same time, really brushed up my photography skills as I hadn’t ever taken photography seriously- I just always had a ‘beginner’ DSLR I’d use here and there for fun.

It sounds so wild to say, but the process of starting my business has truly not felt that hard to me. Going back to earlier, I just truly felt like it was my time and the universe was speaking to me. Sure- figuring out how to establish an LLC, putting myself out there, truly not knowing if I would book enough work to pay the pills, the time and effort going in to building a brand and online presence didn’t just come in a snap of a finger but at the same time, I feel truly blessed that everything has felt so fluid.

My advise to anyone wanting to start their own business is, you have to go for it and you have to be all in. You need to brush aside any fear and insecurities you have. The only thing that is stopping you from being where you want in business and in life is YOU. Once I got over what people were going to think of me, how they might judge my work, my life truly changed.

If there is one thing I would want people to know about me, it’s that I’m wildly loyal and I adore what I do. I enjoy stepping way beyond my role of capturing beautiful moments so that your photography experience with me is effortless and fun.

I believe that everyone celebrating love deserves an authentic and true to them wedding experience. I’m here for the couples who are wildly in love with not only one another, but with the vast + beautiful world around them. To the lovebirds who believe in living life to fullest, who thrive off of adventure + experiencing new places & who want to have a wedding day that reflects that. To the couples who want to step outside the box and celebrate their love a little differently — in a unique + authentic way, I hope I am lucky enough to meet you and celebrate with you.

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?
Oh gosh, so fun fact, I’m a Libra. This means I can be somewhat indecisive and am also a people pleaser. I have several things (always) that I want to do and places I want to explore- just ask my husband! So when it comes to showing someone around my area, I’d want to make sure they were having fun BUT if it were all up to me, here’s what we’d do! Assuming it’s summer in Vail, Colorado:

We’d start the week by exploring the town and villages. I’d want to bring you to my favorite spot for brunch (Cafe 163) and will likely recommend you get the Huevos Rancheros. After that, we’d take a ride up the gondola at Vail Mountain and hike around the area. I love showing people the absolutely gorgeous views from up there, it’s incredible. Once we got down from exploring, time for some brews + lunch! I rarely skip this one after a good adventure- a cold craft brew at Vail Brewing Company paired with the worlds most best taco (their slogan, not mine) from the Rocky Mountain Taco truck for some seriously delicious street tacos.

Any chance I get, I am hiking or backpacking up to an alpine lake. We are surrounded by some truly beautiful places living in the mountains and I always want to show off all the little gems we frequent. We would probably sneak in a day trek up to one of those lakes and enjoy being in such a remote spot.

If we had time one day, we would probably drive over to Breckenridge (a quick 30 ish minute drive) to explore our neighbor mountain town. I love checking out other mountain towns, seeing all their unique shops/restaurants.

I’d most definitely take you (car) camping at the end of the week. We’d pack up enough snacks to make a bomb.com charcuterie board, the cornhole boards and a speaker and drive off in my 1985 Wesfalia camper van to a campground in the woods. Nothing beats laying in a hammock or sitting by a campfire with friends. We’d stay up way too late watching embers burn and reminiscing, then wake up early with coffee in hand. Wanna go on another hike? Cool, me too 🙂

See a theme here? I absolutely live for the outdoors/exploring, charcuterie and a good craft beer. It’s the simple things in life, ya know?

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?
Oh man, truly there isn’t one person. I want to thank the incredible community that I live in for all the support they have shown me in this past year. There truly is something so special about growing up in a small town and the power of word of mouth. Whether it be a long time family friend that is tagging me on our local community’s Facebook groups when someone is looking for a photographer, a friend that just got engaged and booking me for their engagement session.. and then wedding, and then every other amazing human who has come across my work on social media and the interwebs and have loved something they’ve seen and decided to book me to capture their story. There are so many people that saw my potential and supported me early on and I am incredibly grateful for that. My parents, my husband- gosh.. I am so lucky that I am so surrounded by support. Not once did I hear “this is crazy,” “you can’t make a career out of this”, or any doubtful comments. At the same time, they didn’t really have a choice 😉 If you know me and know me well.. when I want something, like really have my mind set to something, I’m doing it.

Website: hello@bywhitneyrae.com

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