Meet Tiffany Woerz | Adventure Elopement Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tiffany Woerz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tiffany, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Growing up I would watch the show Shark Tank a lot with my parents and I always felt so inspired and energized after watching it. I remember thinking how cool it would be to start my own business, but I didn’t know what it would be. Even as a kid I was a huge dreamer, and I had a ton of aspirations and visions for my life. I even wrote a bucket list of 100 things I wanted to do at age 12. I loved the idea of starting my own business, because I could create anything I wanted to, I didn’t have to work for someone else and the sky was the limit. The idea of the huge challenge and breaking out of the traditional norm of getting a 9-5 made me want to do it even more. I ended up going to college for a degree in Business Management since I had a passion for business. I think there’s a lot of pressure on young people today, that in order to be “successful” they have to go to college, get a degree and get a stable job with benefits, and I had definitely felt that pressure. Everything in me knew that I didn’t fully align with that definition of “success” that had always been pushed on me. My senior year of college came and I was thinking that I would go into human resource management, but I took my Intro Into Human Resource Management class and I hated it. So I thought to myself “well what now?” The idea of starting my own business had always been in the back of my mind, but I didn’t fully believe in myself at the time so I never really entertained the thought much.

My love for photography began when I used my mom’s point and shoot camera on our family vacation at the Grand Canyon in elementary school. I fell in love with being able to capture the beauty around me and so I could look back and preserve the memory forever. So I finally was gifted my first point and shoot from Rite Aid shortly after that. I took that thing everywhere and took photos of pretty much anything and anyone. My junior year of high school I got my first DSLR camera from some random guy from Craigstlist. At the time the camera I wanted was a bit out of my price range brand new so I thought why not just get it off Craigslist? What could possibly go wrong? Luckily, the camera turned out to be perfectly fine! I was so stoked on my new camera so I started asking all of my friend’s to model for me. At the time I felt very inspired by natural light portrait photography. In college, I kept doing creative shoots with my friend and then she told me she was going to try photographing couples. I had never really thought about it before so I thought I should try it too. I had one of my best friend’s and her boyfriend model for me and that was the moment I knew I wanted to keep shooting couples. Unlike portrait photography, I loved that I could capture a connection between two people and tell a story. Not long after that my friend introduced me to this Facebook group called “Weddings & Wanderlust” and I found this whole world of adventure elopements that I never knew about. I had only heard of wedding photographers, but never an “adventure elopement photographer.” I was a huge adrenaline junkie who loved the outdoors and traveling so the idea of that aligned way more with me than becoming a traditional wedding photographer. Seeing so many people in that group who had started their own businesses to become adventure elopement photographers made me realize that it was absolutely tangible for me to start my own adventure elopement photography business.

I graduated college in spring 2020 during the pandemic and started working towards building my business since I had the extra free time. I knew that this idea fully aligned with me and combined everything I love: the outdoors, adventure, storytelling, and getting to serve others. I finally believed in myself that I could make my dreams a reality and here I am today.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m an adventure elopement photographer who photographs couples on epic adventures. As an elopement photographer my main focus is my clients and providing an amazing experience for them from start to finish. When most people think of an elopement photographer they think of someone just taking photos, editing them and then being finished. One of my favorite parts of my job is that I get to help my clients plan their dream elopements. It makes me so joyful to see their dreams come to life and know they had an unforgettable experience beyond their expectations. In order for me to help plan their elopement I get to know their vision by sending questionnaires. If they don’t have a location they’re set on I’ll send them a few options based on their preferences and everything they love. Most of my clients don’t really know the possibilities of what they can do on their elopement day to make it an experience tailored to them. The fun part of my job is that I get to suggest activities to them like star gazing, renting a vintage car, taking a helicopter tour, and so much more! It’s really awesome to be able to tell the story of their elopement day while they’re having an incredible adventure.

It wasn’t easy getting to where I am today. I’ve had to continue to be consistent at the things I’m doing even when there hasn’t been an immediate payoff or even if I’m unsure there will be a payoff. The biggest thing I’ve realized over the last couple of years is that your mindset is everything when it comes to overcoming challenges and being successful. I find myself being my biggest roadblock at times. I had to keep telling myself that as long as I don’t quit I can’t fail. Another thing that has helped me overcome challenges is to take accountability for all of my actions and not to make excuses. It’s easy to blame circumstances, lack of resources or other things, but that doesn’t get me anywhere. The more successful l am, the more I’m able to help others. I want people to be inspired to follow their dreams and not limit themselves. The first thing you need to do is believe in yourself.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is such a fun question! I think it’s always really cool to show some local spots that are less touristy along with some tourist must sees of course! I love going to this rooftop movie theater in the Arts District that has a pretty view of the LA skyline. Griffith Observatory for sunset is a must. The Grove and Americana are always fun to walk around and grab a bite to eat. When I was a kid I would go to Little Tokyo a lot to get an immersion in my culture since I’m part Japanese. Little Tokyo has the best ramen spot called Daikokuya and some of the best mochi! Driving down PCH is a must and along the way you can stop at the Santa Monica Pier. El Matador, Crescent Bay, and Table Rock Beach are some of my favorite beaches in Socal. Joshua Tree National Park for star gazing during the summer is incredible.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Without God I wouldn’t be where I am now. Also, thank you to my parent’s and best friend’s who believed in me and have supported me through all the ups and downs that come with starting your own business. My business coach Megan Macphail has encouraged and inspired me so much – thank you Megan!

Lastly, I’d like to thank Maddie Mae, an elopement photographer based in Colorado, who’s course educational courses helped me when I first started my business. She’s someone that has inspired me in a lot in my business and who’s story I relate with.

Website: tiffanywoerzphoto.com

Instagram: @tiffanywoerzphoto

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-woerz-68b87a128/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tiffanywoerzphoto/