ABOUT CAT FORD-COATES

PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER

Cat Ford-Coates is an Accredited, Award-Winning Fellow Master Photographer & ICON awards Associate, and print competition judge who helps portrait photographers build sustainable businesses that allow them to master their craft, create art they love, and have the freedom that comes with a profitable business. 

Cat is a Speaker, Educator, and Mentor for Photographers and photographs clients worldwide.

In addition to her local clients in western North Carolina, she has photographed clients in: Italy, Barcelona, Bali, Munich, Paris, London, New York, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Charleston, Mexico, and Costa Rica.

In addition to her education here on The Studio Takeover, Cat is also a co-host for The 12 Month Startup for The Portrait System.

Cat and her work have been featured by affiliates for FOX, NBC, & CBS, as well as in Photographic circles with: The Portrait Masters, Infinite Color Panel, The Color Lab, Vlada Backdrops (NYC), and has judged for the largest photography print competition in the world with WPPI/EmeraldX.
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Business & Your Creative Purpose

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Cat Ford-Coates speaks on evolving as an Artist AS a photography business owner.

About Atelier Unforgettable

Based in Asheville, North Carolina Cat Ford-Coates and her team strive to give only a customized experience to each person they photograph. Tailoring each session to the client and their needs and dreams of being photographed allows them to hold not only a safe space, but one that allows the client to feel as though they are able to step into their best self to create portraiture that will outlive them. For their children, and their children's children. We are Atelier Unforgettable.
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The Portrait Masters 2022

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Podcast Interviews
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Cat Ford-Coates

Awards and Accreditation

Fellow Master Photographer with The Portrait Masters

Cat Ford-Coates received the highest honors of being awarded Fellowship status with The Portrait Masters in September of 2020.
Internationally awarded Portrait Photographer Cat Ford-Coates has been steadily submitting her body of work to The Portrait Masters Awards and Accreditation program. In 2018 she was awarded Associate Photographer, and 2019, she received her accreditation for achieving the ranking of Master Photographer on their international awards platform and is now, as of September 15th, 2020 a FELLOW Photographer; the highest honor bestowed upon Photographers in their Awards program and one of five Photographers in the world to hold such a status.
I’ve heard many Photographers discuss how they don't have time to submit work for awards because they’re too busy running their small businesses and I will admit, when the idea was first presented to me, I was also skeptical. I'd always run my professional photo studio to generate revenue when creating imagery, not paying to have others determine its value, right? Well, I thought about it and tested the theory that submitting work for judging would somehow make my ship go faster (as it were).
What I found was that my photography as a technician and more importantly, as an artist was improving exponentially and VERY quickly. My portrait work for clients was transforming in ways I hadn't even considered and over the next year even, the dynamic range of work I was producing both for myself and for my clients was so dynamic I couldn't help but take notice. As an entrepreneur, I was also taking notice at how being able to present my clients with a wider range of work was also improving our revenue stream as well. They were in LOVE with the portfolios we were creating with them and the standard of quality in those portfolios was certainly raising the bar. Suddenly I was even able to submit client work instead of simply models to the accreditation process and my client work was winning awards left and right! It seemed like a dream!
Normal text.As I worked to approach Fellow status with The Portrait Masters, I realized that as an award-winning Photographer that I can also leverage these awards in my marketing and in turn, consider myself a successful entrepreneur in this institution. These prizes are giving me the opportunity to deliver creative, beautiful, and decorated works to clients making them that much more valuable in the long run. Not just for them, but for me too and I couldn't be more proud. It is a privilege to not only share in these honors with my business, but with my clients, and everyone who support me in mastering my craft. I am an accredited, and award-winning Portrait Photographer. That is absolutely something I can stand behind and with pride.