Sometimes I feel hopeless being a photographer in Utah. If you haven’t noticed, everyone in Utah has at least one photographer friend, cousin, uncle, sister, mother, etc. Every day I see a new Facebook page pop up on my newsfeed of another photographer joining the Utah market. There are so many new photographers that are now charging less than I do. I get it because we’ve all been there. We all had to start with our small session fees to build trust, a portfolio and clientele. I feel like I’ve finally moved on to a pricing structure that is competitive for the experience and portfolio I have. But now all the clients are gone.
I just want to take pictures. I was at a point where I just wanted to go back to charging the bare minimum prices just to get clients so I can continue to do what I love, but I know I’m worth more than that. My friend, Casey of Casey James Photography, sent me and a few other photographers a message the other day about CreativeLive. I became curious and started watching some of the workshops with Jasmine Star. I have finished the first day of a 5 day wedding workshop and the first session of her 2013 reSTARt series.
This has inspired me to keep moving forward instead of taking a step back, so thank you Jasmine and thank you Casey. I’ve expanded my learning, updated my equipment and signed up for many more courses over the next few months. Brody and I have spent the entire week learning new things.
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” It’s time for me to start taking risks and putting myself out there. I’m re-branding and reconstructing the fundamentals of my business. Also, I’m looking to expand my portfolio and opening up the doors to birth photography. Jasmine told us to choose three brand words. I’m not going through my past two years of photos to come up with these words. I’m using three words that I want my business to become. I want people to use these words when they describe Kylee Ann Photography without them knowing that that’s what I’m trying to be.
So here’s to 2013. I start this year as a wife, a new mother and as a photographer at Kylee Ann Photography – romantic, candid and fun. Come follow me.
Kylee started Kylee Ann Photography 9 years ago, and has since grown from a one woman amateur show to a full associate team. We shoot 50-75 weddings a year, and thrive on kindness and service. After a year of teaching Intro to Photography at the local technical college, she discovered that helping other entrepreneurs create thriving businesses is what fires her up! She hosts semi-annual Kylee Ann Sleepovers all over the US, speak at conferences and teach online courses about running a small business and marketing.
January 10, 2013
Kylee Maughan
