Meet Elizabeth Nelson | Wedding Photographer

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

Hi Elizabeth, what do you attribute your success to?
I think this has taken 8 years of being a small business owner to fully grasp but the most important factor behind the success of my business is having complete trust in myself to figure it out. As simple as that sounds, it’s very much not.

The wedding industry in and of itself is a highly competitive and volatile place. As a photographer it is up to me to find my ideal clients, provide a wonderful and lasting experience and learn every day how to be better. If I did not trust myself to make it this far, I never would have.

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.
Where to start? Well my name is Elizabeth and I am a wedding photographer here in Arizona. But that is surface level, so let’s get a little more familiar.

For pretty much as long as I can remember, I have loved video and film. When my parents recognized my love for this medium, my dad let me use his old school cassette tape video camera for all of my weird little skits and shows that my sister and I created. As I grew up, my passion remained for capturing every moment I could that was happening in my life. I love the idea of getting to play it back and relive it all right there in a new moment or have the ability to scroll through the literal thousands of photos I have captured.

Jump to today, and I have been pursing wedding photography as a business for going on 8 years. When I started back in 2017, I don’t think I pictured where I am. I have gotten the chance to travel to places I never imagined for business and pleasure and I have met some of the most amazing humans along the way.

It hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows, but for the most part I have loved every moment along the way and I wouldn’t trade the sleepless nights of editing or the mental stress of figuring out where my next leads were coming from, in order to do something else.

I am someone who is in love with the chaos of a wedding day and the long hours of editing. Someone who is immensely grateful to have been a part of some many couples weddings. Someone who wears more than just the hat of a photographer but the hat of a planner, of a bustler, of a time manager, of a business owner, of a friend, and many more.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh man there are so many! I would say for nature, you have to go visit the superstition mountains for sure! Locally there are so many great hikes to get out of the city but if you do want a little bit of city life, downtown scottsdale and phoenix have been some of my favorite places to go. And of course you can not forget our favorite cities to the north Sedona and Flagstaff. If people have the time to drive up there it is 1000% worth it every time!!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would love to dedicate this to all of the photographers who have encouraged me throughout my journey as a wedding photographer. Even though this field is very competitive, it is also highly supportive. There have been more than one occasion where I have reached out to my fellow photographers for advice, too vent or for inspiration and they have been there at every turn.

Also to my family who have stayed by my side and pushed me to be better in my business and as a person and have shown me support from day one when I choose to leave a financially secure job and jump head first into my small business.

Website: https://www.nelsoncinematic.com/

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