We recently connected with Ariel Mason and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ariel, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I’ll start by saying my purpose as a wedding photographer is to provide a warm and welcoming space for all couples to feel seen, loved, and celebrated while also providing amazing service and impeccable photos.
As a wedding photographer, I’ve had a lot of time to think about how I would want my own wedding (one day!) to look and who I’d hire to photograph my wedding. As I reviewed portfolio after portfolio, I really started to notice a few trends. So many photographers displayed the same couples: white, thin, Hollywood-esque beauty, and cis-gender/heteronormative couples. As I was looking through. I thought to myself “I don’t see myself in their photos, no one who I believe looks like me. Would they even want to photograph me?” And then I realized, if I was having these thoughts then other couples must be having them as well.
That’s really when I realized my purpose. No one should feel they have to look a certain way, or be marrying a certain person in order to feel welcome, accepted, and celebrated. It should never be a question if I would work with someone – regardless of their race, body size, gender or sexual orientation, or even religious beliefs.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I started out in the science industry working in a lab at a few places – detecting genetic anomalies in various lab samples, studying viruses, and studying RNA – but also started photographing weddings alongside another photographer while I was in college. I started working both my science job and photography business around the same time, so I worked 2 jobs for 5 years. Eventually I decided to stick with only one job and quit science to pursue being a business owner photographing weddings!
I will say figuring out your brand and what you stand for is incredibly tricky, especially for me. The advice usually given is very superficial for identifying who your target market is. I often found myself very confused about what it meant to have a brand identity and how you should know where your ideal client shops or what is important to them. I spent years just hoping the images I produced would be enough to get me another wedding and hopefully keep my business afloat.
Then so many things happened that made me realize who I wanted to work with. I hired a mentor who explored other ways of identifying just who I wanted to work with and the type of people that made me excited to get up and just do my job. She helped me realize I don’t thrive on superficial small-talk, but rather really forming a connection with my couples and learning who they are on a personal level. When Trump was elected and the people with so much hate and vitriol became emboldened, I realized I do actually care about political justice issues and how important it is to me to leave the world in a better place through kindness, acceptance, and love of those around us. And when the pandemic hit, I was expected to carry on with photographing large events where people weren’t masking up or even getting vaccinated – which having worked previously with viruses I was appalled by.
Through all of these events, I finally realized what my brand and who my ideal client is: couples who are deeply empathetic for others and who are passionate about social justice issues; couples who really care to know me on a personal level and who want me to learn about who they are as well.
In the wedding world, so many things are superficial. There is so much emphasis placed on not “stirring the pot” and talking about politics. It’s also a weird industry where religion is often used to sell goods and services, yet also exclude so many couples simply because they love someone the business owner doesn’t agree with. The wedding world is so concerned with appearances and it’s incredibly frustrating and can be alienating. There’s so much messaging coming out that’s centered around having to look a certain way or love a certain way, and it’s disheartening to me.
Accepting my couples for who they are, welcoming them with open arms and being a voice to remind them that regardless of how they look or who they love, they are 10000000% accepted, loved, and absolutely deserve to have the wedding (and photos) of their dreams!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I think the quality that most stands out to me that is impactful in this journey is just being driven (sprinkled with a little bit of stubbornness). Owning a business is HARD and it’s so easy to give up. Someone will always be better than you, more creative, have more luck or whatever else you think may be getting in your way. It’s so easy to give in, give up, and quit. Resilience is hard to find and you really continue to persevere when you’re incredibly driven in your end goal.
I also think it’s important to know not only what you’re really good at, but also what you’re not so great at. So many people believe they have to do everything on their own, even when it’s not a skill they excel at. Very early in my business I sought out an accountant to help me with taxes; I hired an editor to help me with my workload; and more recently I’ve hired a social media manager. I’ve learned what skills I have where I shine, and I’ve also learned what I’m not good at or what brings me anxiety to do myself. A successful business does not have to be a one-person show, and it pays back far more to have people on your team to help manage your workload.
I think the last quality/skill that is incredibly impactful is the willingness to learn. When I started learning how to use a camera, I interned with a photography agency where I could ask questions and just learn without the fear of failing. Before photographing weddings on my own, I shadowed other photographers to learn all the intricacies of couple expectations, interacting with couples and their loved ones on a highly stressful day, and the general flow of a wedding day. I spend a couple of years learning from others before I felt comfortable photographing on my own. Even now, I’m consistently trying to learn from others on how to not only be a better photographer, but also a better bookkeeper, elevate my client experience, and even how to better market my business in an ever-changing social world. If you believe you are the best of the best and don’t continually try to learn how to just be a better business owner or even a better person, then you’re going to stall and eventually something will need to change to see progress.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am always looking for other businesses who are openly inclusive to the LGBTQIA+ community and passionate about social justice issues. I want to expand my business outside of North Carolina so I’d love to meet others who believe every couple deserves to celebrate their love!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.arielkaitlin.com/
- Instagram: arielkaitlinphotography
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/ariel_kaitlin/
Image Credits
All images of couples taken by Ariel Kaitlin Photography (https://www.arielkaitlin.com/) Headshot taken by Cultive Co (https://lbcultiveco.com/)
