Cami Grudzinski persevered in her personal life and her career to one day leave behind a story of inspiration for her young son.

The mantra “be who you needed when you were younger” rings especially true for wedding photographer Cami Grudzinski (also known as Cami Zi), who persevered in both her personal life and her career to be able to one day leave behind a story of inspiration for her young son; a legacy of the passion that she poured into her work every day.

Born in Brazil, her passion for photography started early. Her grandmother gave her her first camera when she was in middle school, a Minnie Mouse camera that went with her everywhere. But things were not always rosy for Cami, whose story is full of obstacles that she was forced to overcome.

In Brazil, Cami was living with nothing. Her relationship with her family was strained, and at one point, she lived in a construction shed. She wanted to pursue photography, but her father said that he would only financially support a degree in business. 

When she learned about a scholarship that would grant her the opportunity to study in the U.S., she applied; she paused her studies in Brazil and moved to Florida at age 23 to study at Florida Atlantic University. Through the scholarship, Cami would earn two degrees: the first in the U.S. and after that, she would be required to move back to Brazil and complete a second degree there.

Cami never earned a degree and she never returned to Brazil. After a year and a half in the U.S., she decided that there was nothing for her in Brazil. Instead, she took advantage of a work permit and moved to Hawaii to work. 

While in Hawaii, Cami fell in love with the natural beauty of the landscape and the colors at sunset, which inspired her to organize her first “real” shoot. “I got a very good friend to pose for me on the beach, used a point and shoot camera, and a stool from my kitchen as my tripod, and took photos of my friend for hours,” she recalls. That was the moment she fell in love with photography and knew it was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. 

She moved back to Florida, got married and had a son. This should have been joyous time, but she was struggling in her marriage, which she quickly discovered didn’t support the person she wanted to be. On top of that, she suffered severe nerve damage during childbirth. She was told she would never be able to live a normal life anymore. 

Cami says this was a turning point in her life. She was never going to let anyone else tell her what to do—not a doctor, not her husband, not her parents.

At that time, she was living close to Disney World. She saw people working as photographers and thought to herself, I could be doing this. She decided to follow her heart. Even though they weren’t hiring photographers at the time, Cami got an interview and walked out of the room with a position as a photographer.

As a park photographer, Cami photographed up to 500 families at the park from open to close, working about 14 to 15 hours each day. In the beginning, it was almost impossible for her to make it through the day because of the physical symptoms that her neurological disorder created. Eventually, though, she adapted to working under this physical duress. Through eating well, meditation and learning to love herself, she began to heal her body. 

When her son was a year and a half old, she asked her husband for a divorce. She had proved to herself that she was stronger than she had previously thought, and she knew that she could live independently and live the life that she wanted.

“There was this one thing I loved that no one believed I could be successful in,” she says, “so I decided to prove them wrong.”

Disney World offered its park photographers the opportunity to work in other departments. She signed up to train as a wedding photographer. She was honest with her colleagues about her experience; she had never held any camera equipment or lights. Although she lacked technical experience, the photographer who she worked as an assistant for saw her potential; She was hardworking and passionate. 

She was paid $300 for her first wedding. When the couple from her first wedding referred her to her second wedding job, Cami was able to double her fee for her services. From there, her network of colleagues at Disney World  referred her to new clients. She was able to gain valuable experience and build the thriving wedding photography business that she owns today. In 2017, she was even named one of Rangefinder’s 30 Rising Stars of Wedding Photography.

She had attended WPPI, the premier industry event for wedding and portrait photographers, for the first time in 2015. Cami says she volunteered for the free lunch; It’s still hard for her to blieve that she went from being the woman who was hanging the photos to teaching and judging at the event. The first time she spoke at the event was 2018. She was a judge at the event in 2019 and she will be a judge and instructor at WPPI 2020. The conference opened her eyes to the possibilities of being a professional photographer and it gave her a network of people that support each other and mentors that she wants to make proud. 

In her business, her level of customer service is what differentiates her from other wedding photographers. “I think, aside from the quality of the work, people want to know that someone is going to be there for them,” Cami says. She has shot three weddings during hurricanes because of her promise to her clients that she’s “going to be there no matter what.” In fact, almost all of the client testimonials on her website include a comment about Cami’s personality and the relationships she builds with her clients, which she says is a huge source of pride. 

Cami’s only message for others is that they can get through almost anything to get to a place where they take pride in their work. If at least one person who reads this article is on the edge of giving up but changes their mind, she says, then she feels she has succeeded.

“My life is still a roller coaster but know that there’s so much beauty ahead of you.”

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