May 16, 2017

Meet Dawn Roscoe of Dawn E Roscoe Photography in Pilsen

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dawn Roscoe.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Photography and art have always been an integral part of my life and always evolving with new technologies, education and mediums. My interest in picture making, led me to my first career in advertising and business where I was constantly surrounded by graphic and pop culture imagery. After years of soul searching, I finally took the plunge and was accepted to the Art Institute of Chicago, where my photography and art career started! I started in film photography with medium and large format cameras and absolutely loving the dark room experience. Digital technology came along and now my professional and personal work involve both film and digital mediums, which is a perfect combination for me. I have photographed over 250 weddings, have over 10 years of experience shooting weddings, and I am now into my ninth season under my own company. I love to work with couples who have a passion for photography and desire artistic, authentic images that create a personalized story of their wedding experience.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I think the biggest struggle was finding my way after graduating from the Art Institute. I was 40 years old, had bills to pay and wanted to pursue my dream of being a working photographer. And I had no job in sight. After working in a catalog studio for a couple of years, I realized that I wanted to be out taking pictures rather than inside a dark place creating images for companies-it reminded me too much of my various jobs in business and advertising being stuck in an office and working for other people. I decided to second shoot for a couple of great wedding photographers in Chicago, and loved the capturing moments between couples and families and also the challenges and rewards of developing my own photojournalistic style.

Please tell us about Dawn E Roscoe Photography.
My specialty is artistic photojournalistic, which is just a fancy way of saying I narrate and document weddings while remaining true to my artistic background. That is what sets me apart from other photographers. As far as what I am most proud of, it’s my great client roster and my longevity. I have been in business for about 10 years now and built a good reputation in my industry and with my clients as a creative professional.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Not to worry so much about bookings and the future of my business. I had to remember that every year is different and my business background also taught me that every year may not be as good as the last year. Being in a creative business, it’s difficult to not worry about bookings and clients, but in the end it has always worked out for me.

Contact Info: