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Charleston, South Carolina-based wedding photographer Candice Schneider, owner of Candice Adelle Photography, traded in her work life in the corporate world for a life behind the lens 15 years ago.
“I worked in sales starting when I was 18, and then I worked my way through different sales positions,” says Schneider. “I started with photography as a hobby, and it turned into more than that pretty quickly thereafter. I just found that I really loved it and didn’t want to be in the corporate world.”
It was then that her father placed her first camera in her hands and, before that, some of the best advice on her heart that she still carries with her today.
“Years and years and years before, my dad told me, ‘Do whatever you love, and the money will come,’” says Schneider. “And I’m thinking, ‘I’m about to go down this route.’ … It was really scary, but I did it anyway!”
And she never regretted her decision to take the risk of a lifetime. Candice Adelle Photography (Adelle is a combination of her daughters’ names, Adalyn and Aubrielle) morphed from photographing her children and her friends’ children into photographing weddings after a gig with a friend in Delaware when she was still based in the DC area. The next step was shooting her own weddings.
“I am a relationship person,” says Schneider. “I really enjoy the process of getting to know my couples and working with them for a longer period of time than just a family session here and there. … I really get to know them on a much deeper level and foster that relationship with them.
“My husband and I, we’ve been married for a really long time, so it’s really nice to be able to pour that into other marriages and share with them some advice for a long-lasting marriage,” she continues. “I also appreciate a fast-paced wedding day, too. I like being creative, and I’ve been doing this for so long that it’s like second nature to me. Most of the time, these couples have never done this before; they don’t know what to expect, and I think they appreciate the guidance of somebody that’s done it a million times.”
Not only is Schneider a mentor and trusted friend to brides and grooms in the prelude to their wedding day, but she also serves as a business coach for other aspiring female entrepreneurs.
“I love teaching other women how to do this – to create their own business, run their own business, market themselves, find their target clients, and bless other people with what it is that they have been blessed with to do,” she says. “It sets my soul on fire. It’s my favorite thing in the whole world. I love it when I talk to women who are unsure about doing this as a business and don’t have the confidence to do it. I’m able to help give them the tools to go out and do it.”
In addition to shooting over-the-top weddings in the Charleston and Virginia areas that have been captured in national media and publications, Schneider also photographs elopements or today’s trend of micro weddings that feature 30 guests or less and less time out of the day. She also photographs artistic boudoir sessions for brides and women who want to give the photographs as an anniversary gift to their husband.
Schneider says she and her family of six officially moved to Charleston five years ago, but she still flies to the DC area up to 15 times a year for wedding shoots, depending on the season. Traveling is something she likes to do in her downtime – as a family or girls’ trip.
“But, you know, it’s so funny. I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but I love what I do so much with photography that it kind of feels like my downtime in a sense,” she says.
She also owns a vintage Volkswagen bus that serves as an ice cream food truck that she will often incorporate into wedding shoots, and she created an ad right before our phone interview.
“I just love doing all of these creative things,” says Schneider, “so this is like my downtime.”
What are her final thoughts on following your love and passion in life today?
“Honestly, I feel like that advice my dad gave me all those years ago is still the best advice that anybody could have ever given,” she says.
For more information on Candice Adelle Photography, visit candiceadelle.com.