Meet Carsten & Leigh Vollrath | A Husband & Wife Wedding Photography Team

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carsten & Leigh Vollrath and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carsten & Leigh, the decisions we make often shape our story in profound ways. What was one of the most difficult decisions you’ve had to make?
The most difficult decision we’ve ever had to make was where we were going to live and establish our business. These were the factors we considered: Quality of life; climate, coastal city environment, volunteer work, our hobbies, interests and activities as in work life balance. These things drive our marriage, relationships and business opportunities.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What sets us apart from other wedding photographers? Our Why! Is People, Connection and Relationship.

Visual Arts Wedding Photography, Inc. is “telling your love story in pictures”.

Because our mission is to build lifelong quality relationships.

We immerse ourselves in genuine connection with people, continuous learning and development of technical skills and expertise in the use of industry leading equipment and technology.

We place the powerful artistic expression of photography in the context of family culture and how we connect with, love one another, celebrate and travel together.

We capture natural emotions in the moment, on your most important day. As a result you and your loved ones will cherish these precious moments for generations.

How did we get to where we are today? We took our passion, personalities, courage, some calculated risks talents and experience and made it our life and business.

We were both entrepreneurs when we met and after getting married we put the His & Hers behind us and built something that is Ours.

This step, the wedding photography business was the easy part. We came from backgrounds in hospitality, family counseling, teaching and building/development. We had many years of struggle, learning, hard work and it’s paying off in success. We had the same love of art, photography, adventure and creative expression. But we didn’t know the joy and fulfilment that was in store for us. We were being prepared for each other and this business. How?

Now for the hard part, which was our destiny calling. We decided to book an “all inclusive package” for our destination wedding, including photography. Long story short. The wedding was everything we had ever hoped or imagined, every detail flawless. Best day ever! However, our photographer, wasn’t really a professional photographer. There was not a single photo we could print or share. As photographers, we were more than disappointed and anguished to “fix it” somehow to no avail. Three months went by and we just kept coming back to it. We could do better. We didn’t want anyone else to feel the way we did or have this experience. We kept saying to each other. I think we’re supposed to be doing Wedding Photography full time! So, our lives became busy. The new and old business became real conversations, actions and then. Reality. “Everything happens for a reason”.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If our best friend was visiting the area we would take them for coffee and breakfast at Bella Cuba on Washington Ave, take them out to Haulover Beach with our Fawnequin Great Dane, Bowie for some fun in the sun, have some lunch at Bay Harbor Bistro, on Bay Harbor Island and have dinner at New Campo Argentino Steakhouse, in Miami Beach. Have breakfast at El Bagel in Miami, pick up a picnic lunch at Goldstein’s Prime Kosher Market & Deli, tour Wynwood Walls and take pictures with the incredible murals and close the night having dinner and drinks on Espanola Way Village, at Havana 1957 Cuban Cuisine, Miami Beach. We would take them to Oh Mexico Restaurant for lunch and Puerto Sagua Restaurant for dinner hang out in South Beach, take in a sunset at South Pointe Park and the Pier. We would take a trip down to the keys for lunch at The Hungry Tarpon, at Robbie’s Marina on Duck Key and then take the Blue Snorkel Boat tour, Islamorada out for a dive exploring Alligator Reef Light and grab some dinner at Bolivar Restaurant Bar Lounge. Pick up some desserts and coffee at Pinecrest Bakery, some lunch at Arepas & Sand Wich for lunch, go for a swim in South Beach and have dinner at Finka Table & Tap. Due to Covid there hasn’t been much dancing going on 🙁

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Brandon & Kammy Whitely: Double You Photography, Claude Wegscheider: Nature & Travel Photography, Fabio Laub: Fabio Laub Worldwide, Jessica Hatter: JHatter Photography, Delphine Diallo: Fine Art Photography, Raphael Simien: Portrait Studio Photography, Rob & Ben Clyde: Clyde Brothers, Avery Clyde, Actress

Website: https://visualarts.photography

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/visualartsweddingphotography/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/visualartsweddingphotography/

Image Credits
First photo of us (profile photo), photo credit goes to Kammy Whitely