The UW grad’s startup idea goes into focusing on the digital marketplace for photographers
At a time when everyone seems to pull out their phone at every event imaginable, Sky Yang still sees the need for real photographers to capture the moment.
Yang is the founder of SnapMatePhoto, a Seattle-based digital marketplace that connects clients with photographers for graduation photos, weddings, maternity photos, and more.
A novice photographer himself, Yang developed his vision while a senior at the University of Washington. Friends kept asking him to take their graduation photos, even offering to pay him for his services. He realized that there are limited resources online so that people can easily find an affordable photographer.
“Many people couldn’t afford a professional photographer, but I think they still deserve a good graduation photo – because that’s an important time in their life,” Yang said.
Yang started building the website while at UW, initially focusing on connecting students with student photographers who wanted to build their portfolios. The startup entered the UW’s Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship accelerator program.
Yang, who is originally from China and majored in economics with a minor in business, has since graduated and now works in logistics at Amazon. SnapMatePhoto launched last October and now counts over 120 photographers in the Seattle area.
Photographers on the platform list their specialties, portfolio photos, and prices – from $35 to $700 – and customers can browse and book directly on the site. SnapMatePhoto handles payments through Stripe, charging approximately 15% to photographers and 11% to customers.
Yang sees the rise of AI-generated images as a validation for his business, not a threat. He said he briefly tried AI-generated videos to promote SnapMatePhoto early on, but pulled them a few weeks after pushback from photographers and customers, who called it AI slop.
“Real image, real human interaction is going to be very important in this era of AI,” Yang said.
The company was arrested, and Yang raised a small amount from friends. Revenue grew rapidly – from about $3,500 in its first month to about $7,500 in May. Yang said the company is also investing heavily in marketing and advertising and has yet to turn a profit.
Yang mentions competitors in the space including Snapr and Flytographer, as well as Airbnb. The short-term rental platform offers a marketplace for photographers under its various services, which Yang sees as another guarantee of what he’s building.
SnapMatePhoto works with a small team – Yang, one engineer, one designer, and a handful of UW students focused on finding photographers and reaching out to people. Advisors with the Buerk Center accelerator advised Yang to focus on Seattle before expanding soon, but he has his eye on California.
For now, Yang is leaning on the phone to build a startup while working long hours at Amazon, but he says the hard work really makes him happy.
“Yesterday I was reviewing the work of a wedding photographer, and seeing all the moments from the beginning to the end — the whole event brought me so much joy,” she said.
