Colorado’s Top Rated Local® Photographers Award Winner: Van Buren Photography

Top Rated Local® is pleased to announce that Van Buren Photography is an award winner for photographers in Colorado for the second year in a row!

From maternity photography to wedding photography, when it comes to capturing the moment, no one neats Van Buren Photography in Littleton.

Van Buren Photography has received dozens of reviews on five verified sites with a perfect average rating of 5.00 stars, earning them a phenomenal Rating Score™ of 100.00 and two 2019 Top Rated Local awards for ranking among the top 100 businesses and the top five photographers in all of Colorado!

Here’s one of the many five-star reviews that got them there:

“We had such a great experience with Katie at Van Buren Photography. She was so patient and gentle with my newborn, and did not rush the session at all. Photographing infants is not an easy task, but Katie cleary has plenty of experience and successfully captured multiple adorable shots. Her studio is beautiful and has a full array of blankets, hats, backdrops, outfits and more. I loved how Katie was so open to hearing my style and preference for the shoot, and she did an amazing job at making my dream baby shoot come true. I highly, highly recommend Van Buren Photography!” – Chaya F.

Maintaining a Strong Online Reputation by Focusing on the Customer Experience

We wanted to learn all about Van Buren Photography and what they’ve been up to since they won a Top Rated Local award for being ranked among the top five photographers in 2018, so we took a few minutes to talk with the owner, Katie Van Buren.

It was clear from Van Buren Photography’s 2018 Top Rated Local award that they know a thing or two about building a strong online reputation, and their 2019 Top Rated Local award is evidence that they also know how to maintain their reputation. When we asked Katie what they’ve done to continue to get such great feedback, she said:

“We really focus on the customer experience. For us, that begins when they initially contact us and continues all the way through our last contact point. We communicate before the shoot and then very thoroughly during the shoot. We try to make it very fun and engaging during the shoot; we try to make the experience very fun, so they want to share.”

We also asked Katie what it is that makes Van Buren Photography stand out, and she said:

“We’ve been in business for 20 years. One thing that really does make a difference is that we have lifetime clients. We will photograph engagement photos, then wedding photos, then pregnancy and baby photos. We are able to connect and grow with our clients through those milestones.”

Small businesses go through many ups and downs over the years, and we wanted to know what lessons Van Buren Photography has learned over the last year, as well as what their biggest achievements are.

Katie told us that she’s learned that, sometimes, holding off is better than booking the wrong person:

“Money is not always worth it… You cannot do it for the money, and you can’t do it if it is not the right fit. I do not try to push for people to book if I feel they are not the right fit.”

As far as their biggest achievements are concerned, Katie was proud to tell us about their rebranding efforts:

“We just did a big rebranding of our studio, and we just launched from being a mainly wedding focused brand to being a newborn and family portrait studio. It has been very rewarding; we have spent a lot of time building this brand, but we have built more of the clients that we want to work with. We are booked solely on reviews”

What’s Next for Van Buren Photography

Small businesses can be a lot of work, and we wanted to know what motivates Katie and her team at Van Buren Photography to serve their clients day in and day out. When we asked Katie what’s most rewarding about what they do, she said:

“Truly, we are capturing moments that our clients are going to have forever, and it is in the connections that we are making that gives us the ability to do what we do. I am also a mom. With this job, I have the ability to build my schedule the way I want, so that I can still be a mom and give attention to my family life to be able to do both.”

We were excited to learn about what comes next for this award-winning photographer, so we asked Katie what their goals are for the next year. She told us:

“We are really building out our newborn and our children clientele. I really see us building even more and more on our studio and the experience in the studio.”

As the owner of a second-time award-winning business, Katie has a lot of knowledge to share. When we asked what advice she has for the many new business owners out there who are just starting out, she said:

“Even if you think you cannot afford an accountant, hire one. Set up your business in the right way. Have the right guidance to build the foundation that your business will be built on.”

Katie ended our conversation with a couple of very important shout-outs:

“I was very lucky very early on that I had two incredible mentors, Tom Moore and Jim Maxwell. The two of them really took me under their wing. I started getting referrals from Jim when I was just getting into the business, and I received a lot of guidance. I owe a lot of my early success to these men. I might be the face of Van Buren Photography, but Su is the backbone. Su, our Studio Manager, is always beside me to back me up, from being silly with children during a shoot to calming a newborn to fulfilling all orders and communicating with clients. She does it all with grace and a touch of humor to keep it real and help in creating a delightful experience for our clients.”


Congratulations to Katie and the team at Van Buren Photography for a Top Rated Local award winner for the second year in a row.

When you need a photographer on your side in Littleton, we highly recommend Van Buren Photography! Visit their website today.

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