Maybe she used it because of her management background, though a Google search shows the term usually comes up in reference to government jobs.

In any case, Daphne Taylor said she volunteered to be part of a “pretty serious RIF,” which in this case means “reduction in force.”

In other words, a layoff.

An accountant, Taylor stepped down from her job as vice president of finance at a Bothell bio-tech firm and — wanting it published only that she is in her 40s — took the plunge many talk of or dream of taking. She followed what she said is her passion, became her own boss and with fiance Craig Becker, launched her own small business in January 2009.

Using a sort of loft behind their Bothell home as a cozy studio, Taylor and Becker show off the wedding photos, engagement shots, portraits and corporate photography that now are the mainstays of Creative Image Photography.

“I’ve been a shutterbug my whole life,” Taylor said. “I think my dad gave me my first camera when I could barely walk… It’s been a lifetime passion for me.”

“She’s kind of the main force,” Becker said, though he also stepped away from his retail job to be part of Creative Image. He said he’d wanted to move in a different direction, possibly diving further into photography, for sometime.

“I just didn’t have the gumption,” he said. “She gave me the gumption.”

Taylor said the hardest part of creating Creative Image was realizing that while both she and Becker know photography, neither knew much about running a small business.

“I know all about high finance and I kind of knew marketing,” Taylor said. “I was a little bit naive in thinking if I took great pictures, people would hire me… Great photos don’t sell themselves. You’ve got to market yourself, otherwise I’ve got nice photos on my wall, but I want them to be nice photos on your wall.”

Taylor said she ended up taking some business classes at Edmonds Community College. Whatever she learned, it appears to be helping. Only a few months into the year, Creative Image already has four times the number of weddings booked than it did in all of 2009.

When shooting weddings, the pair always tag teams the affair. Logically enough, Becker follows the guys, while Taylor sticks with the girls. They decidedly like candid shots more than posed, staying away, for the most part, from the traditional group shots of the bridal parties and family members.

“I love weddings,” Taylor added. “Everybody is just happy and excited.”

Becker said they haven’t been to a wedding yet where they weren’t invited to set down their cameras and just join in the party. They resist, remembering they are there to do a job.

As for traditional portraits, Creative Image doesn’t really do those. They have a backdrop in the studio, but it apparently gets little use.

“The only time we come inside is for headshots,” Taylor said.

Instead, for example, a family might be photographed in a park or posed around a swing. For the most part, Creative Image portraits look like something out of a magazine ad rather than a routine family picture.

The duo is also expanding more and more into corporate photography: headshots for your Web site, location shots, product photos and so on. Creative Image also has become heavily involved with the Greater Bothell Chamber of Commerce, photographing chamber and city of Bothell events. They have a partnership with Bothell caterer Russell’s. Finally, they donate a lot of time to the local American Red Cross “Go Red” campaign.

As the business grows, it has become more and more a family business. Taylor said her daughter, Rebecca Weese, helps whenever she can. Weese even may pass on law school in order to stick around home and take pictures. As for the business part of the business, Taylor believes she’s getting the hang of it.

“I think sometimes I’m working 24/7, which I’m sure every small business owner thinks.”

Not incidentally, Becker and Taylor will become man and wife on a Friday in August. They are not slowing down much, though.

“We’ve got a wedding to shoot that Sunday,” Taylor said.