And So It Began: An Idea Becomes A Mission

I am a person that grew up with photography, who was ushered toward it by a creative mother with an incredible aesthetic eye. I’ve identified myself as a professional photographer since 2013, when I started my first photography company and began working in nature and with great clients to create stunning imagery. I closed that company at the end of 2016 to pursue a few nonprofit roles full-time, while still creatively photographing and often doing work image work in and for the community.

It was in 2020, during the middle of our battle against COVID-19, that I decided to refocus my efforts in photography centrally, and Callie Forest Photo was born with this website bursting into creative life on February 1, 2021. I wanted to return to creating images and connections in a city that I relocated to in mid-2018.

So, sure, I’ve done this before. I’ve owned a photography company, and I’ve learned a few lessons along the way, two of which have significantly steered the direction that I took when I began Callie Forest Photo.

The first lesson: community comes first. I learned was that I had to work within a community that I identify with and take pride in. My work needs to happen in places and with people that make up the fabric of community that I cling to. For me, that has meant a great deal of focus on the queer community of Richmond — including its citizens as well as its LGBTQ+ owned businesses. I started the Queer Richmond project to create deeper connection with the queer community and document the beautiful diversity that exists within, daring to ask the question of “what is queer in Richmond?” And I began the life of this company by creating organic connections with small business owners like myself, finding ways to work with them to elevate their brand identities and unique sense of creation. people and business owners. I set out to create new friendships, new business relationships, and great images — and it continues to be an amazing journey.

The second lesson: passion over profit. After years spent pursuing profit and spending large sums to advertise within the wedding and fashion markets, I decided that I, instead, wanted to turn my energies toward projects that I am highly passionate about with profit being the secondary concern. I was driven to work with new small businesses. I chose to focus on the work of capturing the beauty of individuals and portraiture over corporately-driven work. I wanted people to get to know me through a handshake over a digital ad. And above all, I wanted to make professional photography affordable to everyone at every income level. That meant putting people first and in focus. Professional photography services for a celebration, an event, or a business should not be reserved exclusively for the elite. Making that available to everyone was at the heart of my mission as well.

And so it began. A mission realized in a company that I envisioned and built from an idea to one shutter snap after another. This is Callie Forest Photography, and we are here to tell your story.