How their own love story has helped strengthen the business for two local photographers
By Katie Marie Chatham
Tracy and Jeremiah Scheffer, the husband-and-wife team behind Blushing Cactus Photography, have a passion for telling the story behind an image.
But what’s the story behind the business?
It begins with Tracy’s move to Prescott. She’d left an abusive relationship, wanted a place to start over, and found herself settling in here. At the time, she was working at the hospital but wasn’t feeling fulfilled.
For years, photography was a hobby, and she’d expanded into photographing musicians professionally. She thought to herself, “Why don’t I make this my career?” and began the shift.
Enter Jeremiah, a designer who was also trekking toward photography as a full-time gig.
The two met at a show where Tracy was photographing the musicians. Jeremiah, an audience member, said his interest in photography piqued his curiosity in Tracy and what she was shooting.
“I asked Tracy if she’d been getting any good shots,” Jeremiah said, and Tracy added, “Which was a total line, but it worked!”
The two bonded over their many mutual interests, but especially photography and music photography. It wasn’t long before they began dating, and in December of 2019, they decided it just made sense to make photography a full-time business together.
“We’d been traveling so much to and from the valley to shoot weddings and shows, but most of what we did was in Prescott. It just made sense to be there doing photography full time,” Jeremiah explained.
They made the leap, and then, they leapt again: they married in May 2020.
The two have found a unique partnership they feel brings an element of understanding to their photo shoots, especially weddings.
“Love just knows love,” Tracy said. “I can look at Jeremiah and he knows where my mind is at and who to photograph next. I don’t think you always get that level of understanding with a second shooter, or assistant.”
Together, they are able to watch for the key moments that will tell the story and capture history. History, that, through imagery, will be shared and told over and over.
“The story behind it all, for us,” Jeremiah said, “just boils down to people.”
“Exactly,” Tracy said, adding, “They are letting us into some of their most precious moments, and we are so lucky to be able to photograph that and to do it together.”
Tracy and Jeremiah are able to show their gratitude by giving back to the nonprofits in the Prescott area. “We are so blessed to do what we do, and our main goal with Blushing Cactus Photography is to give back.”
Blushing Cactus Photography specializes in weddings, music promotion and portraiture, and event and marketing photography.
For more information, visit blushingcactus.com, or find Blushing Cactus Photography on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com//blushingcactus) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/blushingcactusphotography/).