Craig and Unchong Obrist - Atlanta, GA - www.craigobrist.com
A combination of topics: General wedding photography (questionnaires, timelines development, etc.) working with different personalities, developing clientele (getting new leads, strategies in booking leads) when to use off camera flash for creative portraits during the wedding day and post wedding delivery.
Bio:
Craig Obrist Photography is an Atlanta based, husband and wife photography team who not only focuses on producing great wedding photographs, but making an impact on marriages through their business. It is their passion as photographers to capture the details of each and every wedding day in a way that personally represents each client’s unique love story and special day all the while making them feel like supermodels in a comfortable, down to earth atmosphere. It is their passion as entrepreneurs to continue to grow their business through their photography, photography education/mentorship, and giving their clients an excellent, memorable experience. It is their passion as people to use the platform they have as photographers to impact marriages of their clients, friends, and fellow photographers all the while being the best parents they can be to their three kids.
Craig Obrist Photography is an Atlanta based, husband and wife photography team who not only focuses on producing great wedding photographs, but making an impact on marriages through their business. It is their passion as photographers to capture the details of each and every wedding day in a way that personally represents each client’s unique love story and special day all the while making them feel like supermodels in a comfortable, down to earth atmosphere. It is their passion as entrepreneurs to continue to grow their business through their photography, photography education/mentorship, and giving their clients an excellent, memorable experience. It is their passion as people to use the platform they have as photographers to impact marriages of their clients, friends, and fellow photographers all the while being the best parents they can be to their three kids.
Craig Obrist Photography began with the birth of their first child. When she was born, they quickly realized that kids really do grow up fast. Feeling like time was passing by them, they wanted to remember every single moment as she began growing, changing, and discovering new things. So, they purchased their first Canon point and shoot camera. With that, they took the first photos of their daughter, their first family photo, and then their next. They used it to capture all of their growing family’s most special memories. As they continued taking more and more photos, they decided to make the jump and invest into a DSLR. They were taking so many photos of their daughter and family that it just made sense to make that investment. Neither knew anything about photography on a DSLR camera, but during this time in their life, Craig was in his eighth year of working as a videographer for their church; and although videography and photography are quite different, he was confident that he could at least correctly frame a photo and take a decent picture, so he gave it a shot. Picture after picture, Craig’s wife, Unchong, began proudly posting their family pictures on Facebook to keep their friends and family updated on their growing baby girl. They never would have imagined that these quickly captured family photos would have turned into requests for Craig to take pictures of other families, weddings, birthdays, and special events in a matter of weeks. So, he did. Having no idea what he was getting himself into, Craig began taking pictures for every request they received, for completely free. It didn’t take long for Craig and Unchong to realize that this is something that’s beginning to take up too much time for free birthday cake at a birthday party. As their time began to become limited and valuable, they began charging. Without realizing it, they had a photography business. Neither had ever thought about owning their own business, and they definitely didn’t know anything about starting a business from scratch, but here they were. Craig was still working full time as a videographer for their church, and they had added two more kids to their family since purchasing the DSLR. This didn’t seem like the time to take on more, but the photography inquiries continued rolling in. Craig began teaching himself everything he could about photography, spending hours researching videos, blogs and webinars about lighting and camera settings, how to pose subjects, and how to run a business. With every photo shoot he was seeing improvement in his photography and so did everyone else who saw it. As time went on, Unchong began to take on the parts of their growing business that Craig could no longer manage on his own. As the business grew, Unchong’s role became more and more important. This was no longer Craig’s photography business; it was theirs. Unchong started doing the bookkeeping, client relations, writing blogs, helping assist and shoot with Craig, manage the calendar, marketing and would take care of the backend work Craig just didn’t have time for. Craig would meet the clients face to face, continue growing his skills with every photo shoot, and handle all the editing. They continued this lifestyle of having a full time job, being parents of three kids, and owning a business for five years. By then, business was growing significantly every single year, but so was their level of stress. It finally came time to make one of the biggest life decisions they ever made. After 14 years at his job, Craig took a leap of faith and quit and decided to chase after the dream of focusing only on their photography business full time. Here they are, seven years after they made the decision to work on their photography business full time and raise their incredible kiddos. They have grown their business far beyond anything they imagined and discovered an incredible amount of success along the way.
As true entrepreneurs, Craig and Unchong have strategically grown their business beyond being your average wedding photographers. Photography has been the platform in which they leveraged to do far greater things. Not only has their photography expanded from weddings and families, the quality of work in every picture from Craig Obrist is absolutely astounding. Craig is a highly sought after photographer because of his incredible ability to use off camera lighting. The drama and intensity that he is able to produce in a raw image cannot be matched by any photographer in the surrounding area. While dreamy natural light photos are breathtaking as well, a high percentage of their clientele seeks after Craig for his ability to do what many photographers can’t; shoot in the dark. This self-educated photographer has now traveled the world to deliver immaculate wedding photos for NFL players, NBA players, and musical artists such as Montell Jordan. Craig has done commercial photography for McDonald’s, Georgia Pacific, TJMaxx, and more. With features in countless magazines and websites such as Mondern Luxury, Huffington Post, Ebony Magazine, Buzzfeed, CreativeLive, Munaluchi Bride and more... you can see there is no stopping this power couple. Craig and Unchong’s talent continues to grow and evolve with every shoot and every client because they’re not afraid to test the limits and are always trying something new in their photography and business. Beyond photography, one of their priority is to help their clients see the beauty within themselves and learning to embrace who they are.
It doesn't end there… after more than a decade of experience, how could they keep this just for themselves? In early 2019, they have launched a new business called CO Backstage Pass to share the resources with other photographers through a subscription based education program that allows photographers to learn by being their virtual second shooter and tutorials. Their desire to teach and impact other aspiring photographers has become their new passion. They are seeking ways to share with photography entrepreneurs their knowledge as well as give honest advice so that expectations going into business are very realistic. They continue to strive to be resourceful to both brides and photographers in positive ways in person and online.
