Meet Cade Wesley | Photographer, Cosmetologist & Makeup Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cade Wesley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cade, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I was born in Lufkin, Tx, a small town with a whopping population of 35k. I’m sure many haven’t heard of it, other than the occasional “oh yeah, I drove through it one time but don’t remember much about it.” Well, that might be because there’s not much worth remembering just passing through. You could say we have a love-hate relationship… Technically I am from Pollok, which is 16 miles outside the Lufkin city limits, and that’s the place I’d call home. I grew up surrounded by family, and I am forever grateful for that; my grandma, whom I called Nanny was my best friend, my aunt Cathy – she’s my second mom, to this day, and then my cousin Anna, my favorite cousin of all, let’s just say we are probably the most alike in the whole family. All of which played a vital role in – I guess how I would describe my heart. Wow, I literally just realized this from saying it – my childhood and closeness with family is what made my heart so overly abundant! My mom & dad played the most significant role in who I am today. I didn’t realize (nor did I admit) this as early on as I wish I had, but all they’ve ever wanted for me was to be happy and to follow my dreams. I am so lucky to have that; my relationship with my parents is fantastic, and I most definitely wouldn’t have made it this far without them. Nor would I trade them for anything in the whole world. Now, was it always rainbows and butterflies? Maybe not, but there was never a doubt in my mind about their love and support.
Onto Lufkin, it’s mostly a retirement community and not all, but I’d say the majority of its occupants have the condition – “small-town syndrome.” I am glad I decided to get out while still fully intact and sane, for the most part. LOL – It wasn’t easy for me to live in a town where most folks didn’t entirely accept me for being who I am. The sad part is they’re the ones missing out on potentially getting to know someone who could change their entire perspective on life in so many aspects. I’m not saying everyone in Lufkin is just a straight-up bigot, but I will confidently say there’s at least one in almost every family. So the hate that I endured gave me the strong backbone that I have today and pushed me to dig deeper into my photography. In a way, it became an escape for me. I mean, I was 16 years old driving to Houston on a Friday to photograph a wedding, leaving right after the exit and driving straight to Austin, checking into my Hotel, diving in bed, and waking up the following day to photograph yet another Saturday night!
I did this same routine two weekends out of a month; granted, they weren’t my clients – I was second shooting for whom I like to call my sister/mentor, Jackie Ray! I worked alongside her for 11 years, and she played a substantial part in molding me into the photographer and person I am today. She also helped me find my voice in being who I am and doing so unapologetically! Anyway, I’m not saying I was just plain miserable living in Pollok/Lufkin, but I had to contain parts of myself to avoid being made fun of, having a beer bottle thrown at me, or having someone yell “fag**t” out of their truck driving by.. etc.
You get my point, I’m sure. And I do realize hate is not subject to just one zip code; it can occur anywhere on this planet. But I’ve only experienced it once within the seven months I’ve lived here in Houston. Whereas in the big L, it would happen at least seven times within one month… Long story long, if I didn’t have my family, friends, support system, and photography, I probably wouldn’t be here rambling on and on. (I get that from my mother) So the moral to the question, in a town that showed me so much ugly hate, I persevered my way through it and turned my passion into a business that allows me to spread even more beauty and love to all the screens my photos come across. I hope that inspires so many to spread just that – love and kindness to everyone they encounter! Listen, there was a time when I let the hate consume me, and it turned me into an ugly person… I was miserable, so I inevitably wanted everyone else to feel miserable too. Hurt people, hurt people; however, they hurt themselves more. We don’t need to feel hurt in the process as they take themselves down. We can rise above – and hopefully, bring them up with us.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
So if you had asked me this question 4 years ago, my immediate answer would have been, “my style of photography is definitely light and airy, clean, natural lighting, that remains consistent throughout my sessions.” That might have been true spot-on back then. Now, depending on the session, I still might fall in that light and airy category, but I am going back to my roots in a sense to where I want to bring in the contrast to meet it. I want to bring in textures, sharpness vs. the blown-out, soft look, super-bright look. When I turned 15 my parents put me into modeling, I worked for Page Parkes or Page 713 here in Houston, building my portfolio with them, alone, introduced me to a whole new world! After doing my very first session with them, and getting back my 9×12 portfolio book with actual prints in it – blew my mind! That’s when I decided, “I think I want to be on the other side of the camera, I want to create beautiful images of people, and make them feel this empowering feeling that I felt looking at those images for the first time!” I was able to see myself in many different aspects and in multi-faceted ways and ever since that day, that’s all I’ve wanted my clients to experience when they get their photos back. My joy comes from seeing my client’s genuine emotions when they look at their photos for the first time! And that’s the hardest part of my job, because some people have so many layers of walls they have built up throughout their life, that it’s almost impossible to sense the slightest emotion from them. But I have succeeded in busting through those walls with many and it’s the most fulfilling emotion I’m able to experience and I am so thankful for it every single time! I love a good challenge if you haven’t caught on to that! Lol

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Mmmmm. 😋 Well I would say we would start with lunch at my FAVORITE Italian restaurant, North Italia! When I first moved to Houston and my BFF Holly took me for the first time, I literally would order it 2 times a week… 😳 So yeah, definitely start there, and have a couple of their famous Sangria’s to get the vibes right for the rest of the day/night. Then we’d probably travel over to the Galleria, can’t go wrong there. Next pop over to one of my favorite boutiques, More than you can imagine on Westheimer! If you haven’t been there yet, you literally haven’t experienced LIFE. So do yourself a favor and skip on over there! At this point, we may be a little exhausted and need to recharge so back to my place to relax then have a good night’s sleep because tomorrow’s Friday and it’s time to PARTAYYY. Spend the day getting beautified with the one and only Skinetics – the goto for Medical Aesthetics. Holly will get you right and tight, in more ways than one! 😉 And now it’s time to get ready for a night out! My go-to bar in Montrose is hands down, JR’s! I love the different sections, they usually always have something different in each one. You might see a drag show when you first walk in, then Karaoke in the next room over, then the AMAZING patio, where I probably spend the majority of my time. When I am out I like to chill, drink, and meet new people. Now in doing so, I don’t want to have to scream for someone to hear me, which is why their patio is the perfect place for that, because the music is never busting your eardrums and you can hear the person across from you without having to overpower a speaker/subwoofer. My next favorite destinations would be, Ripcord, Eagle, Tony’s corner pocket, and Papi’s. Now if we make it to all those places in one night, I’m shook! Ha

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
1st and foremost, my parents, Kelly & Elizabeth Wesley. They have spent countless and ridiculous amounts of money on any venture I decided to take, whether they worked out or not… 2nd, Jackie Ray for taking me under her wing at the age of 15, I had to take my mom to the job interview because of my age. Lol, and what do ya know? She stuck with me for 11 whole years! 3rd, last but not least, Sara Williams, another beast photographer whom I’ve worked with going on 6 years now, second shooting for her as well, she has also taught me so many amazing things, the main one being – how to put the I in IDC. Lol inside joke..

Website: cadewesley.com

Instagram: cadewesley

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cadewesleyphotography

Image Credits
Cade Wesley Photography