What Candid Studios does

Candid Studios is a private, US-based photography and videography studio founded in 2016 by Ryan Mayiras and headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado. The company provides full-service creative production — photo and video capture plus post-production — across four core lines: weddings and engagements, corporate events, business and branding shoots, and newborn/family portraiture. Coverage is nationwide through a distributed team, with active markets in 14+ cities across Colorado, Florida, Texas, Ohio, Illinois, and New York, and the studio has reported more than 3,000 events captured since founding.

The business runs on a direct-to-consumer motion: customers submit inquiries via candidstudios.net, receive quote-based pricing without a discovery call, and access a personal client portal that handles pre-production questionnaires, gallery delivery, and messaging. Underlying product infrastructure includes the web client portal, a dedicated client-facing mobile app with biometric lock and on-device processing, a separate staff/crew app, and an AI-assisted post-production editing pipeline. Revenue streams consist of project-based one-time fees for photo and video services, per-use commercial image licensing, and an affiliate Refer & Earn program offering 5-12% tiered commissions; customer segments are led by wedding couples and supplemented by corporate clients (logos include Deloitte, Harley-Davidson, Avient Corporation, Beacon, Sea Spice, Townsend Retirement & Investment Advisors, Want Branding, Life's Abundance, and Lash Co).

The company is bootstrapped, independent (no parent or disclosed outside investment), and led by CEO and lead photographer Ryan Mayiras. Headcount is 51-100 distributed creatives. Reputation is supported by a 4.94 Google rating across 609 reviews and 5.00 ratings on The Knot, WeddingWire, and Zola, alongside recurring recognition including The Knot Best of Weddings (2022), WeddingWire Couples' Choice (2024), Best of Zola (2025), and four consecutive NOCO Best Videographer awards (2021-2024).

Name

Candid Studios

Legal name

Candid Studios

Website

https://candidstudios.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Candid Studios is a Fort Collins-based photography and videography studio serving weddings, corporate events, and families nationwide across 14+ cities in six states. It runs a distributed 51-100 person creative team via a direct-to-consumer inquiry model backed by a proprietary client portal and mobile apps.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Collins

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Photography Services: Project-based one-time fees for wedding, engagement, elopement, corporate event, portrait, and commercial photography services. Includes RAW files and all usable images in final gallery.
2. Videography Services: Project-based one-time fees for wedding and event videography including cinematic film deliverables. Social-ready clips and full-resolution downloads included.
3. Image Licensing: Commercial licensing of photography (brand imagery, corporate headshots, event photography, real estate photography, select promotional photos). Per-image per-use pricing quoted after reviewing request. Commercial, paid, non-exclusive, non-transferable licenses. No fixed rate card.
4. Referral Program: Refer & Earn affiliate program where partners earn 5-12% commission on referred bookings (tiered by referral volume). Commission paid on final booking price after 5% friend discount.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Candid Studios is a nationwide photography and videography studio delivering wedding, corporate event, business/branding, and family/portrait shoots. Each engagement is delivered by a full creative team of photographers and videographers using a story-first methodology, in-house candid editing, and a client portal plus mobile apps for project management and gallery delivery. The company operates across 14+ cities in 6 U.S. states and supplements its services with commercial image licensing.

Product overview

Candid Studios is a full-service photography and videography company offering wedding, corporate event, and portrait photography as its core service offerings. The company operates a client-facing portal platform and two mobile applications (one for couples/clients, one for internal staff/crew). Additional offerings include image licensing for commercial use and a referral loyalty program. The product portfolio centers on creative services rather than software products, with the client portal enabling project management, questionnaire completion, gallery delivery, and team communication.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wedding Photography & Videography Full-service wedding photography and videography capturing ceremonies, engagements, elopements, destination weddings, luxury weddings, beach weddings, and receptions using a cinematic, story-first approach with a full photo-plus-video creative team on event day. Delivered with RAW files, all usable images, full-resolution downloads, and social-ready clips.
• Corporate Event Photography & Videography Professional photography and videography coverage of corporate galas, milestone events, and private celebrations, delivered with cinematic quality for enterprise and mid-market clients such as Deloitte, Harley-Davidson, Avient Corporation, Beacon, and others.
• Business & Branding Photography Professional headshots, product photography, and brand content photography designed to elevate business presence for corporate clients and entrepreneurs.
• Newborn & Family Photography Portrait sessions for newborns, maternity, families, and seniors that capture first moments and family bonds using an authentic, story-driven style.
• Image Licensing Commercial licensing of selected Candid Studios photography, including brand imagery, corporate headshots, event photography, real estate photography, and select promotional photos. Commercial, paid, non-exclusive, non-transferable licenses are issued on a per-image per-use basis with no fixed rate card.

Quantifiable outcome

• 609 Google reviews with 4.94 rating
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Refer & Earn PartnersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAffiliate referral program where partners earn 5-12% commission on successful bookings. Commission tiers: Bronze (1-4 referrals, 5%), Silver (5-9 referrals, 7%), Gold (10-19 referrals, 10%), Platinum (20+ referrals, 12%). Referrees receive 5% discount. Commission paid on final booking price after friend discount. Free to join.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• ShootProof: Photo delivery, gallery, and business management platform serving professional photographers. Competes in the same workflow software layer where Candid's client portal operates.
• Aisle Planner: Wedding planning and studio management software for planners and vendors. Adjacent technology competitor for the operational workflow tools Candid has built in-house.
• Pixieset: Cloud-based gallery delivery, client proofing, and storefront platform for photographers. Comparable technology adjacency to Candid's client portal and gallery delivery flow.
• WeddingRule: Wedding vendor directory and editorial site where Candid Studios is listed as an Editor's Choice vendor. Comparable as a marketing and discovery channel rather than a service competitor.
• HoneyBook: Business management platform (CRM, contracts, invoicing, payments) built for wedding and event professionals. Ecosystem enabler that competes for the same workflow stack Candid has built internally with its portal and apps.

Broad incumbents

• Zola: Wedding planning marketplace and registry platform featuring a verified vendor directory for photographers and videographers. Overlaps as both a customer acquisition channel and a competitive listing destination.
• Style Me Pretty: Wedding editorial site with a curated vendor directory (Little Black Book) and strong influence over premium wedding vendor selection. Comparable as a top-of-funnel discovery and credibility layer.
• The Knot Worldwide: Largest U.S. wedding marketplace and vendor directory connecting couples with photographers and videographers. Operates The Knot and WeddingWire platforms that Candid Studios depends on for lead generation and reviews.

Direct peers

• George Street Photo & Video: Large multi-city U.S. wedding photography and videography studio offering combined photo and video coverage nationwide. Closest direct comparable by service mix, multi-market scale, and wedding-plus-event positioning.
• Sound Originals: National wedding videography studio producing cinematic films for couples across multiple U.S. markets. Highly comparable on videography-led delivery and creative storytelling approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/candidstudiosphoto
• Xx.com/Candid_Studios
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/candidstudios

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Candid Studios