Meet Cass Stone

We recently connected with Cass Stone and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Cass, you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?

We’ve all worked for horrible bosses. Ones that made you feel under appreciated, underpaid, and didn’t give you the right tools to succeed. As the leader of my company, C.Mae Photography, it’s so important to me to treat our team, clients, and community well. My generosity comes from the desire to be the leader I authentically want to be. It’s important to me to give my team the tools they need to succeed and feel confident in their work.

From a business standpoint, under promise and over deliver. Find sustainable ways to be generous with your clients, team, and community.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m the founder and creative director of C.Mae Photography. Over the past 13 years, I have built an amazing team of artists based in Lake Geneva, WI. We photograph weddings, events, engagements, proposals, boudoir, professional headshots, branding shoots, families, maternity, newborn, and corporate events.

We also offer videography and content creation to further tell your story in video formats.

Although we are based in the midwest, we travel often. Capturing love stories and editorial shoots throughout the U.S. and globally.

What is most exciting to me currently is that we landed our first cover for a magazine!

We also are celebrating our Lead Photographer’s 10 year anniversary with our company. To celebrate I’m sending her and her husband on a luxury European cruise next spring.

We are also expanding our team to best serve our clients, provide support to our creatives, and to overall help with the flow behind and in front of our lenses. I’m really hyper focused on elevating our whole client experience.

We also just got published in a Chicago magazine for our boudoir work. A category that feels deeply close to my heart. Each of our photographers has a category that they specialize in. Whether that’s weddings, families, newborns, or boudoir. I personally shoot all of our boudoir sessions. Boudoir is such a empowering and fine art photo shoot that I believe all women need to experience at least once in their lifetime. I’m honored to have received Wisconsin Bride’s Best of Award for boudoir in 2024.

We are launching a whole new list of services to our wedding clients that goes beyond their wedding day. This looks like editorial pre-wedding shoots, in-person gallery reveals, and even in-home gallery design and installs. There is more beyond that but stay tuned to see what else we have up our sleeves.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1. GO TO NETWORKING EVENTS! Yes I know they can be cringe and awkward. Especially for those of you who are introverted. If you feel better in one-on-one settings, invite someone for a casual coffee. Connections are key. They will get you in the rooms you need to be in and working with the people who will refer you.

Key note about networking events: It’s not about how many people you talked to. It’s about how well you connected with certain people. Make a list of the people you’d want to meet and connect with. When I go to a networking event, I’ll try to see who is on their RSVP list and see if there is someone I’d like to really prioritize meeting.

2. You’re going to fail. Get up, dust yourself off, learn from it, and move on better educated. If you are chasing a big dream, there will be some fumbles (yes, that’s a sports analogy). Try to not beat yourself up too badly. How you comeback from a mistake is very telling. Own your mistakes and learn from them.

3. Surround yourself with great people (personally and professionally). Be careful of energy suckers. You know the ones. Where you leave a meeting just feeling fully drained. Make sure to surround yourself with people who inspire and uplift you. I also encourage you to have a diverse community. This is helpful because you’ll get a lot of different perspectives. If you are surrounded by a bunch of “yes” people, no one will check your blind spots when you really might need it. Things to look for include:

Do they live a life that is align with your values?
Are they honest?
If needed, do you feel safe enough to have a hard conversation with them if needed?
Do they support your dreams?

These are the bare minimum in my eyes.

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?

Calling wedding planners who have a fine tune eye for design and amazing client experience! We are seriously considering not taking wedding bookings that do not have a wedding planner. The reason being is that when a couple does not have a planner or coordinator, we become that role. The more we are working their wedding handling logistics, the less our hands are on our cameras capturing the day. It’s not that we don’t want to jump in and help. It truly just impacts their art and final gallery.

With that being said, we are looking to partner with more wedding planners. Specifically planners who have strong design concepts and work with couples who value a blend of photojournalism and editorial portraiture. Although we are located in Lake Geneva, WI, we do photograph all throughout the U.S. and globally. If you are reading this and you’re a planner, please reach out to us to connect! You can reach us on our phone number (312-772-3688) or by email at [email protected].

We are also expanding our team and looking to bring on additional videographers, photographers, content creators, and support staff. You may fit our brand if you identify with the following:

– Someone who is emotionally aware and can read the room.
– Someone who know when to blend into the shadows and when to jump in and lead.
– Someone who can anticipate what is needed in the moment and next.
– Someone eager to truly make an positive impact on a couple’s wedding day.
– Someone who had knowledge in the wedding industry and can work cohesively on a team.

If this sounds like you, please send your resume and portfolio links to [email protected]

Contact Info:

• Website: cmaephoto.com and cmaeboudoir.com
• Instagram: @cmaephoto @cmaeboudoir
• Facebook: @cmaephoto
• Youtube: @cmaephoto
• Other: tiktok @cmaephoto

Image Credits

C.Mae Photography