Meet Emily King | Wedding & Elopement Photographer

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

Hi Emily, let’s start by talking about what inspires you?
I am greatly inspired by nature, but more specifically, the desert. I love the colors, textures, and unique rock formations. I oftentimes use the textures and shapes of the desert to aid in my composition.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I feel like there are a couple things that set me apart from other wedding and elopement photographers. For one, I put so much thought and effort into giving my couples a complete experience, and not just delivering photos. Being an adventure elopement photographer that shoots tourist couples in national parks often, being their photographer also means giving them guidance on locations and timeline.

The second main thing that sets me apart from others is that I live by this mantra that as long as I never give up, I will achieve all of my goals. So I never give up. I set goals, and I keep working towards them no matter what.

I have faced a lot of setbacks in my photography career. I first began photography in Idaho in 2012, my freshman year of high school. It started out as a hobby, but I gained a steady clientele over the years. I continued photography into college, doing photoshoots and weddings when I wasn’t in class. But it got to the point where my photography business and classes were competing with each other. So after receiving my associate’s degree in 2020, I decided not to re-enroll in classes and to be a photographer full-time. That same month, covid shut down everything.

Not needing to be in Idaho anymore for school, I decided to move to Southern Utah to break into the adventure elopement market. Moving states was a big risk for my business. I relied 100% on social media marketing to build a new clientele. Upon moving to Utah, I only had one photoshoot booked. But I honestly wasn’t worried. I kept working hard, posting on social media consistently, networking, and I quickly filled my books with Southern Utah clients.

Moving to Southern Utah in the peak of covid ended up working out really well for me because many couples were ditching their big wedding plans to elope in national parks instead – which happened to be my new expertise. Those covid elopements really helped me grow my business in my new location.

But moving states during covid isn’t even the biggest challenge that my business has faced. I got married in 2019 and brought my husband on board as a videographer. We were a photo/video duo and shot most of the weddings and elopements together. But in 2021, I initiated a divorce, which also meant splitting and rebranding the business. Having to change the business name and endure the embarrassment of a public divorce is by far the most difficult thing I’ve gone through to this day. I was only 22 at the time and felt like I was starting over again, because in a lot of ways, I was. I lost all brand recognition. I still had to shoot weddings with my ex-husband for a year after the divorce. I had to re-market my business because so much of the old brand was based on being a husband and wife photo/video duo. I had to work harder than ever to stay afloat, all while grieving my old life and healing from that difficult chapter.

But I did it. I made a name for myself again. I built the business from the bottom up again. That experience taught me many things, but the most important one is that I am in control of my life. I walked away from a bad situation and risked losing everything. And while it was the hardest thing that I’ve ever done, it was also the best thing I’ve ever done. I learned that I am truly capable of anything, and nothing really scares me anymore.

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?
If one of my friends was visiting St. George, Utah for a couple of days, we would have to spend most of our time hiking. Zion National Park is about an hour away. I would take my friend up the Zion Scenic Drive and get off at all the shuttle stops. This is where you can hike Angels Landing or the Narrows. While in Springdale, we would also get coffee at FeelLove Coffee (the Johnny Cash is my favorite tea there). Then for dinner, we would eat at Dulivia Ristorante Italiano, my favorite restaurant near Zion.

Next, we would go to Kanab, which is a small town on the East side of Zion. Zion Ponderosa Ranch is a great place to stay and has a lot of activities for visitors. I personally love rocks and crystals, so while in Kanab, we would visit Nature’s Showcase – an amazing rock shop and the perfect place for a souvenir. And our last stop in Kanab would be the Coral Pink Sand Dunes where you can sand board or drive ATVs.

Back in St. George, we would go shopping on Main Street where there’s lots of antiques, souvenirs, restaurants, and clothing. Then we’d spend a day hiking in Snow Canyon State Park, which is only about 10 minutes from downtown St. George. Snow Canyon has some of my favorite hikes and most of them are very easy and accessible. My favorites are Jenny’s Canyon and the lava tubes, which take you exploring underground!

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 would like to shoutout my parents because they have supported me since day 1. They bought me my first camera; they modeled for me in my early years as a photographer so I could practice; and they always tell me how proud they are of me. They’ve given me so much support and many tools to be successful. I’m so grateful for them.

Website: https://emilydawnphoto.com/

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emilydawnphoto/

Other: https://www.pinterest.com/emilydawnphoto/

Image Credits
@emilydawnphoto (myself)