From a young age I would grab my moms phone and run around our backyard attempting to take (what I thought were) ‘artsy’ photos of all her gorgeous flowers, and anything else that I thought was even remotely interesting, really. At my young age I had never really picked up (or even thought about) a *professional* camera.

Then, we flash forward to 2023, when I accompanied my boyfriend at an automotive session for his Mustang with a local up and coming auto photographer. I felt re-inspired, and decided to give *professional* photography a shot (pun intended.) So, one thing led to another, I picked up my dads Nikon DSLR and snapped a few pictures of Franks car.. Something must have clicked! (another pun?!)

It felt like I was 8 years old all over again, scurrying around the backyard. I wanted to take pictures of anything and everything. I instantly knew that THIS is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to do this professionally, I want it to be official. The immense joy I felt when
clicking such a simple button stole my heart instantly. But little did I know, there was *so much more* to starting a photography business than a ‘simple’ button.

As soon as I got home up uploaded all the images to my laptop, and went straight to editing them. That’s when I decided to create an instagram account! I called myself CTX Photography, and wanted to specialize in Automotive photography.

At this point in my blossoming career I hadn’t even figured out that I could shoot Portrait (vertically), so forget about a solid editing platform, and high resolution uploads.

A website? Nah.

A delivery system? Nope!

There was *so much* I still had to learn.

About a year after pursuing automotive photography (and FINALLY discovering a solid editing platform) I decided it was time broaden my horizons.

I decided I was going to wonder into the world of portrait photography! (To this day it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made!)

Expanding my skill set, to me, meant rebranding. I needed a name that represented all of my brand, both portraits and automotive.. I needed a fresh start!

So I decided on a simple, easy-to-remember name.

Captured By Riley Marie.

This fresh start called for a *major* upgrade in how I ran my business. I had found my editing style, and editing platform.. My Instagram feed was starting to look consistent, and I was ACTUALLY booking clients! It felt like everything was falling into place. But what about a client gallery delivery system? I *finally* broke free from sending images in an empty email. (Thank you Pixieset!)

That brings us to present time.

I still have so much room to grow, and I am nowhere near finished with learning! I wouldn’t have made it this far if I told myself,

“I think I’m done learning now!”

So, let’s keep learning together!