Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Messina.
Hi Elizabeth, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my photography career in high school while on the school paper, photographing mainly football games. My first set of portraits were for my sisters senior photos! I took my first two years of photos on a point and shoot Olympus. My parents gifted me a Canon Rebel T3i for Christmas my junior year. I attended William Jewell College on a partial journalism scholarship. My senior year I photographed my first wedding, which was a surprise wedding on April 1st! My love for weddings was already there, when I was young I used to say I wanted to be a wedding planner after attending so many weddings! I still do help a little here and there when clients ask for recommendations and help with building timelines !
This year I photographed my 100th wedding! I didnt know if and when I would get here, especially with Covid. However I think the industry will agree it was wedding galore for the 2 years after. I photographed (lead and associate) 58 weddings in the 2 years following.
Many of my wedding clients I have had the honor of watching them grow! The greatest gift is being invited back to photograph clients through the years! I now photograph roughly 75 families a year, I love the chaos and fun kids bring! I owe a lot of my success to my family and friends and all their friends, I wouldn’t be where I am at without them!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
A smooth road, those dont exist in Kansas City and sure don’t exist in this industry! I made a lot of mistakes along the way! Broken cameras in the height of a season! Had hard drives and cards corrupt. A pandemic. Had an injury that took me out for 3 months. You make a lot of a mistakes and your learn so much along the way, its the clients and the community that give you the grace and encouragement that make it feel ok! Its so easy to play the compare game but learning to be transparent and over communicate is the best way to move through it and I also try to put myself in other peoples shoes. I am in my 13th year and still make mistakes and have a lot to learn.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a lifestyle photographer who specializes in families and weddings. I would say I am known for being fun and efficient! I also do not have time limits on my wedding packages, I help build timelines that move at the couples pace! My clients might wait a little bit longer but I don’t limit to a certain photo amount, I also give most photos !
What are your plans for the future?
My plans are to continue to grow my business and learn ways to make the experience even better for my clients. My big picture future would include building my work with non-profit organizations and maybe also start a fund where you can help pay it forward! Unsure exactly what that would look like! I have been grateful to capture the work of many organizations and the good they do for others and I would like to do my part and grow that in my own way!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.eamphotography.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eamphotokc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EAMPhotog
