Meet Traci Edwards | Adventure Wedding Photographer

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

Hi Traci, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
I feel like typically in the wedding industry people say they do this job because it helps people get married, celebrate their best day of their life together. Simply put though, we all know your wedding day may not be the best day of your life. Things may go wrong, welcoming your baby later together may be or the engagement day or simply a random Tuesday where you spend the whole day together playing hooky may be the best day.

I like to think that adventure elopements or weddings may be our couples best days and we truly aim for that, but I know that is a high bar to set. Instead, I like to think that this may be the most authentically planned day to who they are as a couple.

I think our services help couples find their voice in how they want to get married and we help them express that and preserve it in documentation of photos and video. It helps couples reflect, what got them here, why are they here now, what do they want in the future together? Who are they as individuals and what does this person mean to them? I hope that we are helping people who work with us and those that see the images and stories from our couples elopement days to look at their life and go…. I know society says this is what I should do – this is how I should get engaged, this when I should have kids, this is how I should live, this is how I should get married – and say “Nope, this is who I am, what I believe and how I want to do things.”

We all grew up thinking you wear the white dress, walk down the isle in a church or venue say I do real fast then throw a big party with decorated tables and DJ and that was how you got married. I ask myself and engaged couples, but why? What does it mean? How does that start your marriage? You see it is not just about the wedding day, it’s the start of a marriage. Planning a wedding can be expensive and stressful and honestly if what you are doing doesn’t align with your values as people or a couple and can cause you to be disconnected as you start this forever bond. Versus what we offer, for some people, allows them to put all themselves truly into a day, connect with each other and have an epic time they want to relive over and over.

We understand that what we offer – getting married on backpacking trips, climbs on spires in the desert or other adventures – isn’t for everyone and that is 100% how it should be. We just hope that it helps couples see more truths within their own areas of life that would be for them a more authentic way to live or get married.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
We live in the day and age of technology, anyone can go buy a DSLR or mirrorless camera and put it in auto mode and take beautiful images. However, what sets apart a professional and someone with a camera? It is technique, understanding how to use the camera to it’s max capability and best ability. It is also understanding light and how it effects each location, skin and how it inter plays with the camera. However, my favorite thing that sets the two apart is your eye, understanding composition, seeing moments and how you photograph them. I have been doing photography for over ten years now and I am always learning, always pushing the envelope, always trying new things. I think that drive and will to keep learning, keep playing is what sets me apart. I have seen so many changes in my work in even the last three years. This year my key focus was photographing the story, what images may not be the big bangers that you post on social media, but the ones that give you chills and take you back to how you felt that day.

Doing your art as a business can sometimes be draining and this constant feeling that you must perform and must create master pieces every single session. That is not a reality. I have found putting that kind of pressure on myself only causes self-sabotage mentality. Planning breaks in between big months or pushes is important, taking care of yourself is important and not following along what everyone else in your industry is doing so you aren’t comparing yourself to anyone but yourself can help keep you in the headspace to create the best and what you want to create.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, we don’t spend much time in the city, we are usually tucked away down some dirt roads or long trails. Funny enough, my best friend came in from Atlanta last year for her elopement that we helped plan, so these are the things we suggested and have done when they have visited: – Camp in Sedona and hike to some hidden caves
– Head up to Flagstaff for lunch or dinner at Sosoba
– Coffee in Flagstaff at Lund Coffee or Foret
– Drive up to Page, Arizona for fun on Lake Powell and the slot canyons around it that require ropes to get down into
– Coffee and breakfast at Hot n Sweet in Page before heading out off roading in Vermillion Cliffs and other areas of the Utah Arizona boarder

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Getting to where I am today in my business and life wasn’t done on my own or with the help of just one person or thing. First and foremost, the person that I think moved me the most and was a core part of how I see the world, myself and relate to that pushed me out of the box was my dance teacher in high school. She helped me see and understand expression and feeling as art form and freeing and an okay thing to share even if it made others uncomfortable.

When it comes to business I try to learn from everyone I can in the industry I am in and outside of it. Within the industry for sure Maddie Mae with Adventure Instead Academy has taught me ton. Endless business and marketing books have helped me grow and learn. As I have a BFA in Photography, which if you didn’t know, preps you not at all for the real world of being an artist and making an income.

Then my husband, who joined my team in early 2021 officially as an officiant, videographer, pack mule and more. Without his support, our balance this would be hard and lonely.

Website: www.adventureandvow.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/adventureandvow

Facebook: www.facebook.com/adventureandvow

Youtube: https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCD8RgUX5TJLSruem5UoKt7g/videos

Image Credits
All images were taken by Adventure and Vow