Conversations with Cassidy Drury

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassidy Drury. 

Hi Cassidy, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I have always been a creative person, but photography was new for me. As a child, I enjoyed all types of art and I loved being able to create something new. My photography career started when I was gifted a starter DSLR camera for Christmas when I was 13. My parents thought I switch from taking pixelated pictures on my tablet to something of better quality. After this, I started taking pictures of everything. Pictures of my dogs, pictures of my friends, and anything I thought could make art. Freshman year of high school, I took a film photography class, and to be honest, I hated it at the time. It wasn’t until after the semester was over, that I realized I learned so much about my craft and how cameras actually work. Around this time, I started getting offers from friends of my family to take their family pictures. Honestly, I doubted my abilities and I walked into each session extremely nervous. With practice, I was able to get a hang of it and started booking more clients. I became part of an art community soon after and started working with models and shoot runway shows. Between high school years, I worked at a corporate portrait studio and was able to learn more about studio work and lighting. I continued working with every opportunity I was given and had a steady schedule by the time I graduated high school. After graduation, I worked for another studio taking yearbook pictures. It was a lot of travel and early mornings, and for a while, burnt me out on photography. It was then that I switched from being a business major to nursing. It only took a year for me to realize that nursing was definitely not my calling. I switched back to business and went full-time with my photography career. Since then, I have created an amazing community of artists in the Kansas City area along with my co-founder Mari Charlson, and my two team members, Tayler Gilbert and Bella Cordero. We host monthly events for aspiring and experienced photographers and models and are so incredibly proud of our community that has evolved so much. As far as my photography work, I have switched from family and editorial work to almost entirely engagement, elopement, and wedding work. Work with couples is my true passion. I love being able to capture the story and emotion between two people. It has taken a lot of work, but I can’t imagine doing anything else. I am so grateful for everyone who has supported me along the way and those who have encouraged me when I hit a bump in the road. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think that everyone who owns a small business or who is a creator/artist can agree with me when I say that it is a challenge to be where we are at now! I remember being told I wasn’t good enough to go full-time and being made fun of online by my peers because I was so passionate and open about my work. There were also times when older people in my industry bullied me into deleting my work and stealing my ideas. The past seven, almost eight years, have been challenging, but I would not trade them for anything! Everyone has a story. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am proud to say that I am a wedding photographer. I love capturing those once-in-a-lifetime moments for my couples. I specialize in very intimate photoshoots. This meaning, I tend to stay away from your typical, “smile at the camera” pictures. More work mainly consists of candids. I like to get my couples laughing or really, showing any type of emotion during the photoshoots. Instead of posing my couples, I like to prompt them. This might look like me telling them to whisper funny things in each other’s ears or telling the other the story of how they knew they were, “the one.” I am very proud to say that my clients book me for my work and my style. I always encourage anyone looking for a photographer to review a photographer’s portfolio before booking with them. A lot of my clients come to me and tell me that they book me because they love my candids and how I can evoke emotion out of my couples. This makes me really proud because it shows me that everything I have worked hard for, is paying off. 

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I say this to anyone, no matter what stage in life they are in, or what it’s for: be nice to people. You don’t know what someone is going or has gone through. Everyone has their own story. The people that you want to network with will recognize your kindness and want to make that connection with you. I know this is said all of the time, but be genuine and be yourself. Create what you want to create, not what people are telling you to create or what is trending right now. Find a group of people that you connect with and be good to them. Keep in touch with people and check upon them. When you can, offer a lending hand. 

Pricing:

• Weddings start at $2,000
• Elopements start at $1,250
• Engagements start at $200

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.cassidydrury.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/cassidydruryphotography
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/cassidydruryphoto

Image Credits
@celawins
@queenkyn
@sar.c.wilson