Today we’d like to introduce you to Craig Ladd.
Hi Craig, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My story with photography really started when my son was born. My older brother came to the hospital with what, at the time, looked like a really nice DSLR. It caught my attention, so I borrowed it from him for a while and eventually bought it from him. It was a Canon Rebel XT, and that’s really where all of this started.
At first, I photographed pretty much anything I could get in front of the camera. I shot landscapes, things around the farm, beach scenes—whatever gave me an opportunity to practice. I wasn’t thinking about starting a business or making money from it. I just really enjoyed photography, and I became interested in learning how to get better.
A lot of it was trial and error. I’d take pictures, look at what I liked and what I didn’t like, and then try to improve the next time. From day one, my goal was basically just to be a little better tomorrow than I was today.
As I got more serious about it, my equipment grew with me. I went from that Rebel XT to a Canon 6D Mark II and a 7D, and eventually I had the opportunity to move into Sony with an a7R IV. Later, I added another Sony body as my photography and the business continued to grow.
But even through all of that, I never really had this moment where I said, “I’m going to become a professional photographer.” It was a hobby I loved, and as I continued improving, people began asking me to photograph things for them.
My wife eventually pointed out that we kept spending money on photography, but photography wasn’t making any money. Her attitude was basically, “When photography starts making money, then we can start spending money on photography.”
That gave me the push to start treating it as more than just a hobby and taking on some paid work.
Looking back at some of those first paid sessions now, they’re nowhere close to the standard I hold myself to today. But at the time, I was incredibly proud of them. The idea that somebody appreciated something I created enough to actually pay me for it was astonishing to me.
Eventually, that hobby grew into something more, and about three years ago I officially launched Craig Ladd Photography as a business.
I’ve built all of this while still working a full-time career, being involved in media at my church, and most importantly, being a husband and dad. Photography has had to fit into the rest of my life, and I think that’s actually helped shape what I want Craig Ladd Photography to be.
My goal isn’t necessarily to turn Craig Ladd Photography into a large full-time operation. I want it to be something sustainable that helps my family. If photography helps us take a family vacation, put some extra money into savings, or gives us opportunities we might not otherwise have, then that’s meaningful to me.
I’d also love for it to become something I can pass down to my kids someday if they’re interested in it. Whether that’s the business itself or simply the skill and love of photography, I’d like for them to have that opportunity.
But probably the biggest thing I’ve come to appreciate is that I’m creating something for other families, too.
When I’m photographing a high school athlete, I’m not just taking a picture of somebody playing a sport. Twenty years from now, that athlete’s parents may look at that photograph and remember exactly who their child was during that season of life.
It’s the same thing with a wedding. On the wedding day, I’m there documenting what’s happening in front of me. But twenty years later, those photographs may mean even more than they did when I delivered them. People change, families grow, and unfortunately, some of the people in those photographs may no longer be there.
Those pictures become part of that family’s history.
That’s probably what means the most to me now. Something that started because my brother walked into a hospital room with a camera when my son was born has turned into an opportunity for me to document important parts of other people’s lives.
I didn’t start photography thinking I would ever make money doing it, and I certainly didn’t have a plan to build a business around it.
I just wanted to learn how to use that camera a little better tomorrow than I did today.
And really, that’s still what I’m trying to do.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, I definitely wouldn’t say it’s always been a smooth road. Like any small business, it seems to come in waves. There are times when I’m extremely busy and wondering how I’m going to keep up with everything, and then there are times when the phone gets quiet and I start wondering where the next client is going to come from.
One of the biggest struggles has probably been learning to treat photography as a business and not just something I love doing. When you start out, it’s easy to think that if you take good pictures, everything else will just fall into place. But there’s so much more to it—pricing your work, communicating with clients, contracts, scheduling, marketing, managing expenses, investing in equipment, and still making sure the business is actually profitable.
There’s also the temptation to compare yourself to other photographers. You see somebody else’s work, their equipment, the clients they’re booking, or what they’re doing on social media, and it can make you question whether you’re good enough or moving fast enough. I’ve had to learn to focus more on whether my work today is better than my work a year ago instead of measuring myself against somebody else’s journey.
Financially, photography can also be an expensive business. Cameras, lenses, computers, storage, software, insurance, and everything else add up quickly. I’ve had to learn that just because I want a new piece of equipment doesn’t mean the business is ready to pay for it. Sometimes you have to make what you already have work until you’ve earned the ability to take that next step.
Probably the biggest challenge, though, is time. This isn’t my full-time job. I have a full-time career, I’m involved with media at my church, and most importantly, I have a wife and kids. There are only so many hours in a week, and learning when to take on work and when to say no has been an important part of the process.
There are still times when I question myself, especially during the slower periods. I think some of that comes with doing anything creative and putting your work out there for other people to judge. But I’ve learned that a slow season doesn’t necessarily mean I’m doing something wrong. Sometimes it’s simply part of running a small business.
Those periods have taught me that I don’t have to have everything figured out at once. I just have to keep learning, keep improving, take care of the people who trust me with their memories, and keep moving forward.
So no, it hasn’t always been a smooth road, but I think the struggles have played a big part in making both the business and my photography better than when I started.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Craig Ladd Photography is really about capturing people and moments in a way that feels authentic to them. I photograph a pretty wide variety of things, including sports, seniors, couples and engagements, weddings, portraits, rodeo, and other events. I also still enjoy landscapes and the kind of photography that originally made me pick up a camera in the first place.
Sports photography has become a big part of what I do and something I really enjoy. There’s a challenge to capturing a moment that happens once and is gone a fraction of a second later. I love getting the big action shot, but I also look for everything happening around it. The emotion after a big play, the intensity on an athlete’s face, teammates celebrating, or those quieter moments can tell the story of the game just as much as the action itself.
I approach weddings and portraits in a similar way. Of course I want to create the photographs everyone expects to have, but some of my favorite images are usually the ones that weren’t completely planned. A genuine laugh, a look between two people, a parent watching their child, or something happening in the background can sometimes become more meaningful than the photograph you originally set out to create.
What sets me apart is how personally invested I am in what I create. I’m not trying to simply get through one session so I can move on to the next. When somebody hires me, I want them to feel like I care about the end result as much as they do. I’m constantly looking at my work and asking what I could have done differently or how I can make the next session better.
I’m also not afraid to experiment. Whether that’s lighting, a different angle, a more dramatic edit, or putting myself somewhere different to get the shot, I don’t want every photograph I make to look exactly like everyone else’s. I want people to be able to look at an image and feel something from it.
I think my technical background plays a part in that, too. I’ve always been someone who wants to understand how and why something works. With photography, that means I’m constantly thinking about the light, the camera, the environment, and what I can change to create something better. At the same time, I’ve learned that being technically perfect doesn’t automatically make a photograph meaningful. Sometimes the moment matters more.
What I’m most proud of isn’t a particular camera, photograph, award, or even how much the business has grown. I’m most proud when someone genuinely values what I’ve created for them.
When a parent gets excited about a photograph of their son or daughter playing a sport, when a senior feels confident seeing their portraits, or when a couple sees moments from their wedding day that they may not have even realized were happening, that means more to me than any piece of equipment or milestone for the business.
Photography started as something I did for myself because I enjoyed it. Somewhere along the way, it became something I could give to other people. I think that’s the part of Craig Ladd Photography that I’m most proud of.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up, I was the kind of kid who was always curious about how things worked. I enjoyed being outside, spending time with my dad, working with my hands, and trying to figure things out. If something was broken, I wanted to know why. Looking back, that curiosity is probably one of the biggest parts of my personality that has stayed with me.
Personality wise, I was pretty shy, but I was also independent and definitely a little stubborn. I wasn’t much of a troublemaker, and I was never especially competitive. I’ve always learned best by actually doing something and figuring it out as I went. Some of that stubbornness probably helped me along the way, because once I decided I wanted to learn something, I usually stayed with it until I figured it out.
School took me a little longer to appreciate. I didn’t enjoy it much when I was younger, and I certainly wasn’t applying myself the way I could have. That started to change when I got to high school and began taking it more seriously. I didn’t play many sports or participate in a lot of clubs.
As I got older, I became even more interested in working with my hands. I enjoyed repairing things and learning through trial and error. If something failed, I wanted to know why it failed, what made it work in the first place, and whether there was a way to fix it. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that way of thinking would eventually carry into both my career and photography.
I also started working about as soon as I was old enough. Before I could really have a regular job, I did different jobs for family members, and eventually some of my first official jobs were at local fast-food restaurants. I think working from a young age helped build the independence and work ethic that I still have today.
I grew up around the Goldsboro and Rosewood areas of North Carolina, and a lot of my childhood involved being outdoors and spending time with family. Looking back, I think those experiences helped shape a lot of who I am today.
I wouldn’t say I was especially artistic or creative growing up. That side of me really didn’t show itself until much later through photography and eventually church media. The technical side, though, has always been there. That curiosity carried into my full-time career, where troubleshooting, electronics, and figuring out how systems work are a big part of what I do.
Interestingly, there was a small connection to photography before I ever owned a serious camera. My mom worked at Eckerd Drug, where she developed customers’ film and photographs. I remember being fascinated by the idea that you could take a roll of film somewhere and later get those moments back as actual photographs. I certainly wasn’t thinking about becoming a photographer then, but looking back now, it’s interesting that photography was somewhere in the background even when I was young.
Photography ultimately brought together two sides of me that I probably wouldn’t have connected growing up. There’s the technical side that wants to understand how everything works, and there’s the creative side that I discovered later in life.
In a lot of ways, I’m still that same curious kid. If I don’t know how something works, I want to learn. If something isn’t working, I want to know why. And if I can do something better the next time, I want to figure out how.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/craigladdphotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CraigLaddPhotography
