Today we’d like to introduce you to Katy & Morgan.
Katy & Morgan, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Our names are Morgan and Katy, and we are a couple that run our own photography business together called Keyfinder Photography. For both of us, our story starts the same as most, we were both working normal 9-5 jobs we hated and were looking for something better. Being artists at heart, we longed for something that would let us express ourselves creatively. By chance, we both picked up cameras and gave photography a try and fell in love with it. Not long after that, we both got jobs working at a local studio (where we met!) and there we learned more of the professional side of photography. After working there for a while and training our skills, we decided we wanted something that would permit us more creative freedom. We wanted to give ourselves the opportunity to showcase our own styles and photograph the things we were really passionate about. So, we started Keyfinder Photography where we would have the chance to really connect with our clients as well as take and edit all of our own images to match our styles. Not to mention that we recently had a baby daughter and not only does running our own business allow us flexibility with her, but it has also opened our eyes to how precious these passing moments can be, so it’s important to have a way to preserve those memories when the days are long gone.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No! Lol. For one thing, this industry is hard to break into. Plenty of people are out there taking photos and nowadays, everyone has great cameras right on their phone so the need for professional photography falls into specific areas that if you’re not shooting, you’re not making money. On the other side of that coin, one thing we learned at the very profitable studio we worked at was that their priority was quantity over quality. Taking the picture and taking the money. There was no genuine passion behind the company and photographers were feeling restrained because we couldn’t express ourselves creatively or give the clients what they wanted because there were strict guidelines to follow that couldn’t be broken. So, finding that good balance where you’re able to do the thing you love but also support your family is hard. We love what we do, and we genuinely care about everyone we get the opportunity to photograph. We don’t just want this to be a business transaction, we want to establish a real connection with our clients and just hope that they can see that too.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We photograph just about anything and everything because we love it, but our specialty lies in portrait photography because alongside photography, we also have a passion for people. Sure, anyone can get someone to pose for a couple pictures, but we never want our clients to feel like they’re just models to be moved around. We want to get to know them. Who are they, what do they enjoy, what are they like, etc. We cater every session to the individual and not the other way around. Your images should practically shout “this is me; this is who I am” and so we want to do that. The studio we worked for primarily had a clientele of teenagers who are some of the most self-critical individuals out there, but that never stopped us from going out of our way and ensuring that by the end of the session, they were seeing in themselves what we saw in them. What sets us apart is that we take time and care to ensure our clients come out of their sessions feeling seen and heard with images that we can all be proud of.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Work with what you have! Don’t wait around. If you sit around thinking “I’ll start once I do this or once I have this” then you’ve already lost. As I said, nowadays amazing cameras literally are in everyone’s pocket. Start with that if it’s all you have and remember that a lot of the education is free. Look to YouTube and you can learn lots of amazing tips to get you started. Then just get out there and take pictures. Lastly, don’t be hard on yourself. Even the best photographers sometimes take garbage shots, and it takes a while to figure it out. Lots of factors have to be accounted for at every shoot. If you take something you hate, just let it go and keep moving forward. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad photographer. Eventually, you find your own style, and everything becomes easier from there. Allow yourself the opportunity to be bad and learn from it.
Pricing:
- Individuals: $75
- Couples: $85
- Family: $125
- Maternity: $100
- Events: $175+
Contact Info:
- Website: Keyfinderphotography.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/keyfinderphotography
- Facebook: facebook.com/keyfinderphotography
Image Credits
Disney PhotoPass
Keyfinder Photography
