Today we’d like to introduce you to Lacaya.
Hi Lacaya, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve never really had a straight path to where I am now. I’ve always been creative and have found different ways to express myself, especially through writing. I became a published poet, but for a long time photography wasn’t something I imagined turning into a business.
I started Caycee Captures in April 2025, and what began as me exploring another creative outlet quickly became something I genuinely fell in love with. Photography gave me a way to tell stories without words and, more importantly, to make people feel seen.
Since then, I’ve been balancing building my photography business while being a full-time college student, working, being a wife, writing, and honestly just figuring out adulthood as I go. I got married at 18, and I think a lot of my early adulthood has been learning that there isn’t one “right” timeline for your life.
My work has also started evolving beyond simply taking beautiful photos. I’ve become really interested in conceptual portraiture and storytelling, including my project The Color of Being Seen, which focuses on identity, individuality, and creating space for people to be seen as they are.
I’m still very early in my journey, which is probably my favorite part of my story. I don’t feel like I’ve “made it” or reached some final destination. I’m 20 years old, still learning, still building, and still figuring out exactly where all of this will take me. But I’m incredibly proud of how much I’ve created by simply being willing to start.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely not. I think one of my biggest challenges has been learning to give myself grace while trying to build so many parts of my life at once. I got married at 18, I’m a full-time college student, I work, and I’m building a photography business, all while still being a young adult who is figuring out who I am and what I want my life to look like.
Starting a business has also challenged me in ways I didn’t expect. There have been periods of financial uncertainty, moments where bookings were slow, and plenty of times when I compared my work to photographers who have been doing this for years. It’s easy to look at someone else’s success and forget that you’re seeing their chapter ten while you’re still writing chapter one.
I’ve also experienced difficult things in my personal life that have shaped the way I see people and the world. I think those experiences are part of why storytelling and making people feel seen have become so important in my work. Photography has given me a way to turn emotion into something tangible and create the kind of space where people can show up as themselves.
I’m still learning that success doesn’t require having everything figured out. Some seasons have simply been about continuing to show up—going to school, working, creating, being a wife, running my business, and trying again when something doesn’t work. The road hasn’t been smooth, but I don’t think I would create the way I do today if it had been.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m the photographer and owner behind Caycee Captures, a Phoenix-based photography business. I photograph a little bit of everything—portraits, couples, families, maternity, graduations, events and more—but the area I’ve really fallen in love with is creative and conceptual portraiture.
I want my photographs to be more than just something beautiful to post. I love creating images that make someone feel something or tell a story before a single word is attached to them. That has become a huge part of the direction I’m taking my work.
One project I’m especially proud of is The Color of Being Seen, an ongoing portrait series centered around identity and what it means to truly see people as individuals. Each person is photographed using color, lighting and styling intentionally, while still allowing them to be themselves. The project has pushed me creatively and helped me realize that some of my favorite work happens when photography becomes a form of storytelling.
I think what sets me apart is that I’m not afraid to experiment. I’m still relatively new to this industry, so I don’t feel tied to one particular way photography is “supposed” to look. I’ll play with dramatic lighting, color, shadows, movement, unconventional concepts or whatever helps communicate the feeling I’m trying to create.
But even outside of my conceptual work, the most important thing to me is the person in front of my camera. A lot of people come into sessions telling me they’re awkward, they don’t know how to pose, or they don’t usually like pictures of themselves. I want them to leave feeling differently. Some of my proudest moments aren’t necessarily the technically perfect photographs—they’re when someone sees their gallery and realizes, “Wait, I actually love how I look.”
Caycee Captures is still growing, and so am I. I’m proud that in such a short amount of time I’ve started developing a voice that feels like my own, and I’m excited to see what that becomes as I continue creating.
How do you think about happiness?
What makes me happiest is creating a life that feels like mine. I love spending time with my husband and our cats, photography, writing, and finding new ways to be creative. I also love seeing myself grow—whether that’s personally, creatively, or professionally. I’m only 20, so I know I still have so much life ahead of me, and I think there’s something really exciting about getting to build a life surrounded by the people and things I love
Pricing:
- $200 starting session fees
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cayceecaptures.mypixieset.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cayceecapturesphotography?igsh=MWE2OHhwM3IwcTIxaA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1EQWv8aZa1/?mibextid=wwXIfr
