Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassie.
Hi Cassie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Photography has been part of my life for a long time, but Cassie Lacina Photography really began in a season where, on paper, it probably would have been easier not to start.
I officially started my business when I was 39, as a wife and a busy mom of two. I wasn’t fresh out of college with endless free time. I was in the middle of motherhood, marriage, schedules, school drop-offs, family life, and all the beautiful, ordinary things that make life full. And honestly, I think that is such a big part of my story. I am proof that it is never too late to start building something new.
What began as a creative outlet slowly became something I felt called to take seriously. I loved photographing people, but even more than that, I loved preserving seasons of life that can feel so fleeting when you are living them. As a mom, I know how quickly babies grow, how fast the little years move, and how easy it is to forget the small details that once made up your everyday life. That changed the way I saw photography. It was never just about pretty images to me. It became about legacy, memory, connection, and serving people well.
My faith is also a huge part of who I am and how I approach my work. I believe people matter deeply, and the seasons we are walking through matter too. Weddings, new babies, growing families, and even the seemingly ordinary in-between moments are all part of a bigger story. My hope is that the people I photograph feel cared for, seen, and comfortable, not just posed in front of a camera.
A big part of my growth came through learning from Katelyn James, who has been such an important educator and mentor in my photography journey. Her heart for serving clients well, creating a thoughtful experience, and photographing with purpose helped shape the kind of business I wanted to build. I didn’t want to simply show up, take photos, and leave. I wanted my clients to feel prepared, encouraged, and genuinely taken care of from the first email to the final gallery.
My business also evolved in a really meaningful way through my relationship with Rachael Watson Photography. Working alongside Rachael, and eventually becoming one of her associate photographers, opened doors for me to photograph more weddings, learn more deeply, and serve more couples. It allowed me to continue growing in the wedding industry while also building Cassie Lacina Photography in a way that fit my own family, values, and season of life.
In 2023, while I was deep in the process of building my business, we welcomed our third baby. That season was full in every possible way, but it also reminded me why this work matters so much. Life does not slow down and wait for the perfect time. Sometimes you build in the middle of the busy, the messy, the sweet, and the stretched-thin seasons.
Today, Cassie Lacina Photography serves couples and families throughout the Chicagoland area, especially in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. I photograph weddings, engagements, maternity sessions, newborns, families, and the occasional event. What started as a creative dream has grown into a business that lets me walk alongside people during some of the most meaningful moments of their lives.
I feel really grateful that I get to do this work. My hope is that my images do more than show what a season looked like. I want them to help people remember what it felt like.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely has not been a perfectly smooth road, but I don’t think anything worth having ever is.
Starting and growing a business later in life has been such a gift, but it has also required a lot of sacrifice. I started Cassie Lacina Photography when I was 39, while I was already a wife and a busy mom. Since then, our family has grown, our schedules have gotten fuller, and there have been many seasons where I have had to build this business in the margins — during nap times, after bedtime, between school schedules, on weekends, and in the middle of very full family life.
There have been sacrifices of time, money, energy, and comfort. Photography is a beautiful business, but it is also a real business. There is equipment to invest in, education to pay for, systems to build, editing to keep up with, emails to answer, and a constant desire to serve people better. I have had to learn how to grow, adapt, ask questions, make mistakes, and keep going.
At the same time, my husband was also stepping into a new season professionally. While I was growing Cassie Lacina Photography, he became an insurance agent and opened his own agency. So in many ways, we were building two businesses at the same time while also raising our kids. It has been a lot, but it has also been really refining. We have learned so much about faith, patience, stewardship, teamwork, and trusting God with the timing.
My faith has carried me through so much of this journey. I really do trust the Lord’s calling for me, and more than anything, I know He is in control. I see this business as His before it is mine. I get to steward it, work hard at it, and honestly, have a lot of fun with it.
I try to look at every challenge as an opportunity to grow. The hard seasons have taught me to be more resourceful, more intentional, more grateful, and more dependent on God. They have also reminded me that success does not always look like fast growth or a perfectly balanced life. Sometimes it looks like faithfulness, one step at a time.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a wedding and portrait photographer serving the Chicagoland area, especially the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. I photograph weddings, engagements, families, maternity sessions, newborns, and the occasional event.
And in the Chicagoland area, there are approximately one billion photographers to choose from. I’m only slightly kidding. If you ever want proof, make a post in a local Facebook group asking for photographer recommendations. Actually, don’t — your notifications and DMs may never recover.
So what makes me different? Honestly, me.
Of course the photos matter. They should be beautiful, timeless, full of light, and true to the people in them. But the experience matters just as much to me. I never want my clients to feel like they hired a stranger who simply showed up with a camera. I want them to feel like they have someone in their corner who knows them, cares about them, and is invested in their story.
Whether I’m photographing a wedding day, a newborn session, or a family with busy little kids, my goal is always to create an experience that feels calm, personal, and comfortable. I want people to feel cared for from the first email to the final gallery. I help with planning, timing, locations, outfits, wedding day flow, family photo lists, and all the little details that can make a session or wedding day feel easier.
I think people are naturally more comfortable in front of the camera when they feel known. You relax differently with someone who feels like a friend behind the camera instead of a random name from a Google search or Facebook thread. That connection is a huge part of my work.
What I’m most proud of is not just the images I create, but the relationships I get to build. I have photographed couples as they get engaged, get married, grow their families, welcome babies, and come back year after year. That is the greatest honor to me. I don’t take lightly that people invite me into some of the most meaningful and tender seasons of their lives.
My work is bright, classic, joyful, and full of connection, but more than anything, I hope it feels honest. I want my clients to look at their photos years from now and remember not only what that season looked like, but how it felt.
How do you define success?
My definition of success has changed a lot over the years.
There was probably a time when I would have thought success meant being busy, being booked, being known, or hitting a certain number in my business. And while I am so grateful for growth, I don’t think success is simply about being busy. In fact, as a wife, a mom, and a business owner, I have learned that being “busy” is not always the same as being fruitful.
For me, success is faithfulness.
It is trusting what the Lord has placed in front of me and stewarding it well. It is serving my clients with excellence, creating beautiful and meaningful images, loving my family well, and building a business that supports my life instead of completely consuming it.
Success looks like my clients feeling cared for, known, and comfortable. It looks like a bride being able to relax because she knows I am paying attention to the details. It looks like a new mom seeing herself in a tender season and realizing there was beauty there, even in the tiredness. It looks like families coming back year after year and trusting me with each new chapter.
But success also looks like being present at home. It looks like showing my kids that it is never too late to start something new, that hard work matters, and that God can grow something beautiful even in a very full season of life.
I don’t want to build a business that looks impressive on the outside but costs me everything that matters most. I want to build something that is rooted, meaningful, sustainable, and obedient to the season God has me in.
So for me, success is not perfection or constant growth at all costs. It is peace. It is purpose. It is getting to do work I love, serve people well, and still remember that this business is not my identity. It is something I get to steward, and I am really grateful for that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cassielacina.com
- Instagram: @cassielacina
- Facebook: /cassielacinaphotography
