Today we’d like to introduce you to Leanna And Dillon Coran Little Coran.
Leanna and Dillon Coran, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Our story really started back in 2005, when we became best friends in middle school. We grew up together through high school and our teenage years, never really imagining that one day we would be married and running a creative business together.
Our friendship has always been a huge part of our relationship. We aren’t just husband and wife, we’re best friends and creative partners. After 21 years of knowing each other, we pretty much know what the other is thinking without having to say much. That has become one of our biggest strengths on a wedding and elopement day. We’re not two separate vendors who happen to be working together. We’re a team, and we can look across a room and know exactly when the other needs to step in.
The business itself started in 2020. Like so many people, life felt pretty uncertain during COVID, and we ended up having to leave our little hometown on Mt. Hood and move to Eugene. At the time, it was honestly a terrifying change. Looking back, it ended up being one of the best things that could have happened to us because it opened doors we didn’t even know were there.
Moving to Eugene gave us opportunities to find jobs that helped us finally invest in the camera and video gear we had dreamed about for years but never could have afforded while living in our small mountain community. Once COVID restrictions lifted, I started taking a chance on myself and offering photography sessions.
Then a friend asked me to photograph their three day wedding, which they called Wed Fest. It was my first wedding and, to this day, still the biggest job I’ve ever photographed. It was basically a wedding festival spread across a beautiful property in Veneta, Oregon. I was running around in a dress, boots, and a camera hanging around my neck. It was chaotic, beautiful, intimate, and completely unforgettable. I was hooked.
That wedding made me realize how much I wanted to photograph weddings and elopements. I kept building the business from there, and eventually I asked Dillon to help me bring this crazy idea to life.
He said yes, and over time we grew into the husband and wife photo and video team we are today. Dillon’s background in music, audio engineering, and filmmaking naturally became a huge part of what we offer, while I continued growing the photography side of the business.
Being born and raised in Oregon has also shaped so much of the way we see and create. We’ve lived here our entire lives and have a deep appreciation for the forests, mountains, rivers, coastline, and all the wild beauty of the Pacific Northwest. It’s home to us, and it’s a constant source of inspiration.
It’s kind of funny to look back and realize that what felt like one of the scariest changes in our lives ended up leading us here. What started with two best friends, a camera, a guitar, and a crazy idea has turned into a career we get to build together. We feel incredibly lucky that we get to do something we love, with our best friend, while being trusted to document some of the biggest moments in other people’s lives.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely not! I think there have been a lot more twists and turns than we ever expected.
The biggest one was probably the move from Mt. Hood to Eugene during COVID. We had to leave a place we loved and start over somewhere completely new, and at the time it felt like everything we knew was being turned upside down. It ended up opening doors for us, but that didn’t make the transition easy.
Starting a business from scratch has also been a huge learning curve. I knew how to take photos, but running a photography business is a completely different thing. Learning pricing, contracts, marketing, SEO, social media, sales, editing, and all of the behind the scenes stuff has been a lot. There have definitely been plenty of moments where we’ve looked at each other and thought, “What are we doing?”
We’ve also had to learn how to grow without losing the reason we started in the first place. It’s easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing or what you think you *should* be doing as a photographer. We’ve had to figure out what actually feels like us and what kind of experience we want to give our couples.
There have been slow seasons, mistakes, disappointments, and plenty of moments where we’ve questioned whether we’re doing things right. But every hard part has taught us something. We’ve learned to keep going, make adjustments, and not be afraid to try something new.
I think the biggest thing we’ve learned is that building something you really care about takes time. We’re still figuring things out, and I’m sure we always will be. But looking back at where we started in 2020 compared to where we are now, we’re really proud of how far we’ve come.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Our work is centered around weddings and elopements, with me specializing in photography and Dillon specializing in videography. Together, we focus on documenting the experience, not just the event.
I think one of the things we’re most known for is our love of the outdoors. We specialize in outdoor weddings and elopements, not just because they’re beautiful, but because that’s where our inspiration lives. We both grew up amongst the Mt. Hood National Forest, so being in the woods, on a mountain, or somewhere a little off the beaten path feels like home to us. We know how to work with the landscape, the light, and whatever weather the Pacific Northwest decides to throw at us. Dillon is also an Eagle Scout, and we’ve spent a huge part of our lives exploring trails and places that aren’t exactly on the tourist map.
We’re adventurers at heart. If a couple has a wild idea, we’re usually the people who want to figure out how to make it happen. We can navigate through the elements, find hidden gems, and get a muddy if that’s what it takes. We love the drama of a huge landscape, but we also love finding the quiet little places within it that make an experience feel completely their own.
One of the experiences I’m most proud of was a Mount Rainier elopement we photographed and filmed for a couple who traveled all the way from Georgia. We spent months planning with them, from securing the permits they needed to get married in the park to building a timeline that would let them actually enjoy the experience instead of worrying about where they needed to be next.
On the day of their elopement, we met them at their Airbnb and documented them getting ready. We decided to all ride together so they didn’t have to worry about getting separated or navigating somewhere they’d never been before. They got to sit in the back, take in the scenery, and enjoy being chauffeured around while I could call the stops along the way for portraits and little moments. Dillon filmed, and even officiated their ceremony.
That day was honestly something I had dreamed about since photographing my first wedding. I love being outside, I love exploring, and I love creating an experience for couples that feels bigger than just showing up, taking pictures, and leaving. Being able to give them a day they had only imagined and then preserve the entire experience for them was incredibly fulfilling.
The other thing that sets me apart personally is my background in customer service. I’ve worked in the coffee industry for 15 years, and that has taught me a lot about people, communication, and how to handle pretty much anything that gets thrown at you. I genuinely love talking to people and hearing their stories, and I think that has helped me connect with my couples on a much deeper level.
At the end of the day, I think what sets us apart is that we’re not just photographers and videographers who happen to love the outdoors. We’re people who appreciate the outdoors, genuinely love adventure, connection, and the places we get to explore. We want our couples to have an experience they’ll remember just as much as the photos and film they receive afterward.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I don’t think there is one right way to find a mentor or build a network. For me, it has mostly been about being willing to put myself out there.
I’m naturally pretty outspoken, so if I find a photographer whose work, business, or way of thinking I really admire, I’m not afraid to follow them, join their Facebook groups, ask questions, or invest in one of their mentoring programs. I’ve found that the people I look up to are often incredibly generous with what they’ve learned, and being willing to learn from someone who is further along than you can save you from making a lot of mistakes on your own.
I’ve also listened to hundreds of podcasts over the years. Some of them have been about photography, but a lot have been about business, marketing, mindset, and entrepreneurship. Those have helped me learn how to think about this as an actual business and not just a creative hobby.
I think the biggest piece of advice I would give is to be curious and don’t be afraid to reach out. You don’t have to know exactly what you’re doing before you start asking questions or connecting with people. Find the people who inspire you, learn everything you can from them, and then figure out how to make that knowledge work for you and your own business.
You don’t have to build your business the way everyone else does. You just have to be willing to keep learning and keep showing up.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.leannalittlephotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leannalittlephotography?igsi=bmswbThuNW11M240&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/19T69ZFud4/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@leannalittlephoto?si=GoTf_frrNd13yofB
- Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/leanna-little-photography-eugene
