Local photographer aims to find the magic in every moment

Meghan Diemel

Contributor

September 1, 2025

WAUSAU – After months of planning, a new photography studio and boutique has opened its doors in Wausau.

Located at 215 Stewart Ave., Owner Carissa Photopoulos said Photopoulos Family Photography aims to build memories through keepsake photography, but without the hassle and chaos that can sometimes accompany these sessions.

Carissa said she encourages children to play, explore and be cuddled, which is exactly what they need to feel themselves.

In return, she said the photographs show their real smiles, their silly faces and their big personalities.

Carissa said her commitment to providing families with a positive photography experience stems from disappointment with her own wedding photos in 2016.

“I look back at those pictures, and instead of thinking about our beautiful wedding day, I think about how this guy made me feel like I wasn’t important, and that our day didn’t matter,” she said. “I don’t want other people to have that same experience of someone who doesn’t care about them and is just looking for a paycheck when you’re there to capture important moments in other people’s lives.”

Finding joy in the little moments

After two years of taking photos of family and friends, Carissa said when clients started reaching out, she began embracing her newfound profession and launched her business in 2019.

“I just kept learning and practicing and taking general photography courses to really perfect my craft, and it just kind of snowballed from there,” she said.

Carissa said for her, photography is more than a profession – it’s something she takes personally. 

She said she has learned firsthand how important it is to capture life moments – from the mundane to the monumental.

“Back in 2019, not long after I started my business, my dad actually stopped by one morning, and before he left, I asked him to take a few pictures [of him] with my son [outside], who was about three [years old] at the time,” she said. “My dad hated pictures, and he hated the cold. It was starting to snow, but he humored me anyway.”

Knowing a formally posed session on the fly wouldn’t work for the temperament of her dad or her son, Carissa said she instructed her dad and son to simply play together.

She said her dad tipped her son upside down, tickled him, laughed together and had real-life interaction.

Carissa said those photos are now some of her favorites.

“What really hit home for me is that ended up being the last time I saw my dad,” she said. “He died unexpectedly in 2021, and we hadn’t been able to see him through COVID-19… so, [it was] the last time my son got to play with his grandpa, [and] I was able to capture real moments and real memories.”

Though her edict for photography clients may be more relaxed and laid-back in comparison to others in her profession, Carissa said she firmly believes the most important thing is that when clients look back at their photos from a session with her, they are accompanied by memories of those moments when everyone is laughing and being silly.

“I think you’re going to enjoy that so much more than just fighting with your kids to not get dirty and not mess up their hair… and then you capture all those real moments,” she said. “You get real smiles, instead of the forced, ‘say cheese’ smiles.”

Trusting her gut, taking the leap

In her sixth year of business ownership, Carissa said she continues to expand her skills and embrace lifelong learning – which has led to additional services, such as business and branding photography.

She said she has even explored motorsports photography.

Throughout her journey, Carissa said she’s followed her instincts – a path that’s been often unconventional but one that has served her well.

After enrolling in college and dropping out multiple times, realizing it wasn’t the right fit, she said on a whim, she joined the military.

“I thought it sounded like a good idea, so I went and did it, and that’s how I met my husband and how we started our life together,” she said. “We’re very much ‘go with the flow’ [people]… [If something comes up], let’s try it. Let’s see if it works.”

Using this approach, Carissa said, led to owning the new studio location.

She said it was originally a property her husband, Allen, a realtor, was trying to sell.

Located on the main route to downtown Wausau, she said they decided to purchase it and put the elbow grease needed into making it a studio space.

“We thought, ‘Well, we might as well do it,’” she said. “I think it [was] calling to us. We just like seeing where life takes us.”

Carissa said having the studio on Stewart Avenue has worked like a giant billboard, getting Photopoulos Family Photography’s name out in the community.

She said it’s also nice to have an indoor space to take photos in when the weather isn’t cooperating.

In addition to taking client photos, Carissa said she sells her landscape photography in the studio’s boutique area, as well as gifts, like tumblers and posters with her artwork on them.

“I like being able to provide affordable, unique artwork,” she said. “A lot of it is taken right here in Wisconsin, so it’s very local, too. And I know people usually like having artwork that represents their home.”

Passion meets profession

Having listened to her intuition, Carissa said turning her creative passion into a career continues to inspire her daily.

She said she marvels at the variety of work she’s able to do from day to day, from family portraits to weddings, to rebranding campaigns for professionals and many other opportunities in between.

“It’s hard to get stuck in a rut when you’re doing all kinds of different sessions – it keeps that fun and that challenge alive,” she said. “[I recently photographed] little kids running through a field, and photographed an aviation event. You’re just doing so many different things, you don’t really get a chance to be bored.”

Carissa said she loves capturing those little moments that go by so fast for all of us, including her own family.

Being a photographer, she said, helps her slow down and appreciate the details and memories of life’s big and small moments alike.

“You’ll never regret the pictures that you take – only the ones that you don’t,” she said.

Check out photopoulosfamilyphotography.com for more details.