Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter And Jo Cavitch
Hi Peter and Jo, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Briefly…
Jo came from a career in music and Peter from medicine. Both of us had ‘plans’ that took unexpected turns. Jo’s career in music started to subside due to the people at her record label that she thought she could trust… the man in charge ended up being crooked. Peter developed a drug and alcohol addiction that stripped him of his right to practice. Little did we know that through these setbacks, we’d be sharpened for a greater purpose together in serving the couples and preserving their memories the Lord leads our way.
A creative to the core, Jo joined a band and her old bandmate encouraged her to make money for the band. Jo reached out to her two friends who were photographers letting them know if they needed a second shooter she’d loved to help them. She fell in love with the art of photography and Jo Darling was born in July 2016 and would a year and a half later be a space that Peter would join. A two on the Enneagram, Jo lives to host, serve, love on and support people. Peter, an empath who loves to uplift and put at ease, relishes any opportunity to do good work and make people feel seen and appreciated.
Sharing work is not for every couple – we understand that. But, in our relationship, it has worked beautifully. We have a deep respect for one another. Managing a business requires different skills – some of which we both have and many more that are handled best by one or the other of us. Watching the other in their element and killing it is a blast. And when things aren’t going so well, it’s great to have your best friend close by…
We started small. While second shooting her first year, she shot one wedding of her own. The second year, 5 weddings while expecting our son. Peter joined in the end of the second year and our third we photographed 18 weddings. Over the past 5+years, we were booking between 30-40 weddings a year before we realized that we really best connected with our work and our couples (and our personal lives) when we scaled back a bit and we now take no more than a 25 weddings a year. We love the work and we’re grateful for the living it affords, but being present for one another, our 7-year-old son, and the dear friends and family whom we share life with means the most to us.
As much as Peter enjoys a system that works, our operation is steered by Jo’s creativity which craves continual growth, variety and challenge. We want to do everything with excellence, being present the most we can with each couple and capture each wedding to the best of our ability. For this reason, our work is always evolving. Editing styles are continuously tweaked and our capture style has grown to incorporate more documentary over the years due to experiencing a lot of loosing loved ones over the past 4 years. Every wedding day presents moments that need guidance and posing. But, we have grown increasingly sensitive to the many moments that need no direction. As tempting as it is to stage a perfect picture, a mother dressing her daughter or a groom sharing a minute with his brother… these moments need no interruption.
What truly spurs us forward is our love of marriage. We appreciate just how broken we are and how blessed we have been by the Lord in our union. Our story defied the odds. The Lord did amazing things for us through our marriage. Marriage is not easy, but it is ALWAYS worthy of our gratitude. Photographing couples sets us up to love on and encourage these couples. And in turn, they lift us up through raw honesty and ever-inspiring wedding vows.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We imagine a far more difficult road than the one we’ve traveled over the last 8 years. But, as self-employed’s, juggling work and family continues to demand intentionality. We have a 7 year old and he is what we are first-most called to steward. We do our best to designate ‘work’ hours and not let them bleed over into our family time. And to be honest, sometime our best is not good enough…
Keeping up with the progression of the industry also proves to be a challenge. Holding onto a timeless photo style while pushing the limits into new, creative angles and approaches takes intentionality, as well. We’re never done learning and Jo in particular is never done dreaming up something new and different. We’ve invested in multiple mentorships over the years – one-on-one photo sessions with industry leaders whom we respect and wish to emulate. Shout out to Rachel Wakefield and Nathan Chanski to name a couple 😉
We are our own worst critics and have imposter syndrome at times, it’s hard not to fear that we are not good enough. Counting our blessings is one way we battle states of fear and self-doubt and best steward the gifting we are given.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We take pictures. Primarily weddings, but also families, maternity/babies, senior sessions, and occasional branding sessions.
We set ourselves apart from many but not all in our conspicuous interest in getting to know the people who come to us and then serving them as deeply as they’ll allow. Herein, we believe, lies our calling. It’s more than just taking our people’s photos; we want to be their friends. Their supports. Their biggest fans. To the extent that we can and that they allow, we share life with our clients. We spend more face-time with our wedding couples than we believe is the norm and this translates into a deeper familiarity come their wedding day. And with familiarity comes comfort and ease – guards are dropped and true selves shine through and make it into their photos.
And while not wholly unique to our own, we strive to capture authentic, real, unposed moments – even over textbook composition. We are there to guide those that want it and we will serve to the nth degree, but in the end, it is most important to us that a bride remember her mother’s hug on her wedding day and not us directing the scene. After 8.5 years, we know when to be flies on the wall.
Pricing:
- 5k
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jodarlingphotography.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/jodarlingphotography
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/jodarlingphotography
