Connect
To Top

Meet Makayla McGarvey

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Makayla McGarvey.

Makayla, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I first started finding an interest in photography in high school. I loved talking photos or sports and friends and ended up deciding to go to the University of Arizona, where I got my Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography. While I was in college, I took a trip to Africa and dove into wildlife photography. It was such an incredible experience and truly changed my life. During college, I had also started to get into wedding photography. Fast forward a few years and I am running my own small business photographing weddings, couples, portraits and families. I shoot a lot in the Phoenix area but focus a good portion of my business on destination weddings. I’ve been able to work in Ireland, Mexico, Bahamas, and all over the United States.

Has it been a smooth road?
I actually laughed out loud when I read this question. Unfortunately has not been a smooth road to get where I am at today. Starting a business in your early 20’s is not an easy task. I knew that I loved photography and wanted to make a living off of it but I had no idea what goes into smoothly running a business. Once I felt like my business was really flourishing, a few very impactful events happened in my life. The first one was pandemic. With all of the shutdowns, weddings were getting postponed left and right. I went a few months only shooting portrait sessions and elopements when I was previously shooting weddings every weekend. Even with covid basically shutting down the wedding industry, I felt like that was the least of my worries.

In January of 2020, my 26-year-old sister was diagnosed with cancer. Trying to focus on my family and run a business was the most exhausting period of my life. When she passed away in March, it changed everything about my life. My job wasn’t just working anymore, it was the most important thing I could give to other people. Photographs of their loved ones and memories with people that would not always be with them. Nothing has brought me more comfort in the months since her passing than photographs of our time together. This is something that is going to be a huge part of me for the rest of my life and I hope that I can give others some of the comforts I have received in photographs.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
My business specializes in destination weddings. I love to travel and photograph adventurous couples. I am most proud of my ability to serve others on an extremely important day in their lives. I truly care about the experience of a wedding day more than just beautiful photographs. I think that it is so important to capture people and their joy without making their whole day about posing for photographs. I want people to look back on their wedding day with gorgeous photos and remember how much fun they had with their significant other and guests. I believe what sets me apart from others is my “why.” I work in the way that I do because I know that life is too short and that having photographs of your loved ones can be so incredibly important to people.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
During the middle of a pandemic, it is incredibly hard to predict where the industry will go. It has recently majorly shifted towards elopements and intimate weddings. Couples are being forced to think outside of the box and have unconventional wedding days. I think that in the next few years, when people view traveling as a safe thing again, that destination weddings will be a huge trend. Many people have been cooped up for a while during the pandemic and will be itching to travel.

Contact Info:

Suggest a story: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in