We recently had the chance to connect with Candance Klier and have shared our conversation below.
Candance, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I love this question because the first 90 minutes of my day are crucial to me. I love having routine, it helps ground me and prepare me for my day.
Unless I have to be up earlier, I always naturally wake up at 9:30 AM. I am not an alarm type girl unless it is needed. I found that alarms can really disrupt my calmness so I have trained my body to wake up naturally everyday at the same time.
So my morning routine is simple and looks something like this:
9:30 AM I wake up and the first thing I do is pet my dog because she is so excited to see me awake. She loves to lay next to me and soak up her morning cuddles. Next, I get out of bed, get dressed, and go right to the kettle to make fresh coffee. I am a huge coffee lover and it is a critical part of my day. I love making it by hand and so I use a french press. Truthfully, if I was not a photographer, I would be a coffee shop owner and that may still be in my future. After coffee, I take the dog for a walk to get some fresh morning air before sitting down in my home office and starting my day!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello Readers!
My name is Candance and I am a Wedding and Elopement photographer who is now based in the Southwest USA! I have built my business over the last 10 years around elopements in wild and beautiful places while also specializing in venues that have beautiful mountain backdrops or landscapes. I work alongside my husband now, Corey, and we offer digital photo and video, as well as Super 8 and 35mm film!
My husband and I both have been shooting digital and film since we were teenagers and we have spent our life in the industry and have loved every second. We really love to focus on beautiful couples in epic landscapes, candid photos of special moments during a wedding or elopement, and all the small details that tell the story. We capture moments as they happen, organically. We also love to help our couples plan and prepare for their day by offering a wide range of vendor recommendations across the country, build customized timelines specific to their day, and provide location recommendations, outfit suggestions and more. We truly care about our couples and work hard to provide a customized and unique experience for each one that comes our way.
While we shoot weddings, we do truly specialize in National Park and international elopements.
At the end of the day, we are a husband and wife small business and we run everything ourselves. We take on a limited number of couples per year, give our all to each one, and we never source out our work as we believe in providing our personal touch to every photo and video we take. Who you hire is who you work with.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Another beautiful and great question.
I was an artist, a dreamer, a creator.
As early as I can remember I was always crafting, always outside in nature, always running off into the woods to build a fort or create an image our of leaves on the ground and sticks. I loved film as a child and had so many disposable cameras. Art has always been a huge part of my life, a form of expression for me.
When I got near the end of high school I remember telling the adults around me I wanted to be a photographer as I found my calling to this profession when I was just 15 years old. The adults told me I had to go to college and get a real job. So I did. I got my bachelors in Anthropology and I spent the first 10 years of my life working for government transportation. I never let my art go, though. By the time I was 25, I decided I was going to go back to what made me happy. I bought my first DSLR with interchangeable lenses and I started to go out and take photos of nature.
That was where my joy returned, the feeling I had as a child. Seeing the world through a different “lens” once more and returning to that girl who was a dreamer and creator.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Recently, yes.
June 2025 of this year I was attacked by a dog while capturing an elopement on a beach in California. What was one of my best sunrise elopements I have ever captured, turned into one of the most traumatic moments of my life.
The first 30 days after the attack, I did not even want to leave my house. I wanted to walk away from this profession as I felt I could not trust anything. The arm I shoot with was the arm that was attacked and even my day to day has been so challenging with how much I can use that arm each day before it is in pain, along with physical therapy and the thought process of just not being good enough anymore.
I am pushing through, I am seeing how much my artwork means to my couples and it has opened my eyes to how much my artwork even means to me and how I won’t let it go that easily. Sometimes, it takes an event to really center you back around the reason you started following your dreams and passions in the first place and it has made me so much stronger and that much more determined.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Whom do you admire for their character, not their power?
Henry Tieu of Henry Tieu Photography.
His character is truly one of a kind. He is loving, goal driven, kind, accepting, compassionate, he truly thinks about everything in a way that is deep and meaningful. Henry is truly someone I look up to in every way and not just as a business owner, but as an individual and a dear friend to me. Beyond that, he is an amazing and creative artist who is not afraid to let his ideas come to life. We had our own shoot done with Henry in October of 2024 and I will forever be so obsessed with our gallery.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
How important having a supportive family is. How much those moments will mean to you in the future when they are no longer here.
I did not grow up with a family present in my life. I grew up in and out of children’s homes and unfortunately, the family that was in and out of my life was abusive and are the reason I kept going back to children’s homes. I only really knew my dad for the last 15 years of his life and he passed away in 2021. When I am capturing photos for my couples, I see the moments I wish I had. The loving aunts and uncles, the moment grandma kisses you on the cheek on your wedding day, the smiles and tears from present parents. These are images I strive to capture because I know what it is like to not have those moments. Life is fleeting, and moments and your present family are precious.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.candancemariephotography.com
- Instagram: cmphotography08
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