Kate Craft Photography | Duluth Photographer

Twenty years ago I would have never guessed that someday I would be photographing my childhood friends beautiful babies!  Mrs Love and I grew up together, her dad took me out for my first motorcycle ride (not sure if my parents even knew about that one LOL).  I remember sleepovers at her house and feeding her horses.  I’m pretty sure we were in photography club together in middle school .We ran track and cross country together in high school.  So many memories I could fill up pages and pages.  And now I get the honer of capturing photographs of her latest addition….. thank you for a wonderful morning of cuddling baby and learning about Poke-Mon.

This year has been the best crazy wild ride I have ever been on! I could not be happier that I decided to dive in head first and chase my dreams of becoming a photographer. I have been shooting for 2 years as of this May and the last year and a half of starting my business has been a whirlwind of fun, excitement, and most of all learning. I have learned so many things throughout this journey that have changed the way I run my business and life.

#1 Listen to the voices in my head (LOL)

I started off photographing what I thought clients wanted to see. Once I started “shooting for me” and taking pictures of what made me want to do lil’ happy dances and processing in a way that made me feel all giggly and happy, I knew I had hit something. Since then, I have been working at developing my own style. I want my clients to trust in me that they will get images that mirror the ones on my blog and website and great new ones as my style grows and evolves. While I love to incorporate clients ideas and get creative with shoots, I am hesitant to shoot things that do not represent my work. Please never hesitate to share your ideas with me as I want to work together and find a balance between your wants and my ideas. Part of the fun is the challenge of working together on new ideas!

#2 My time is more valuable then anything you can pay me

I am by nature a people pleaser. I am a classic middle child: I want everyone mhappy, to like me, and most of all to keep the peace. I love to give, however after a lot of necessary giving at the start of my business I realized that my family was suffering and I was taking away from them and myself. On average I spend about 15-18 hours per a session from the first email to the delivery of products. That’s A LOT of time away from my lil’ ones for one session. Step one in the “new plan” limited number of sessions a month. I can’t get back these years with my babies! I put a lot of time and attention into each client’s session and want them to walk away not only having beautiful images to cherish, but a wonderful experience that they will remember for years. I truly believe that paying for Custom Photography might be a stretch on your family’s budget, but it is an investment well worth the effort. Photos of your family, children, and loved ones are NEVER a bad investment. These photos are family heirlooms that not only hold their value, but become irreplaceable memories that only grow in value.

#3 Getting to know you …..

I absolutely adore meeting new people. I want my clients to not only be customers, I want them to become my friends. I work hard at making clients feel comfortable with me and most of all in front of them camera. I am a goof and I want our session together to be fun. I love showing clients poses and making a fool of myself first so that they feel comfortable loosening up in front of the lens. Most of all I want my clients to enjoy the photo session as much as they love the pictures: it’s about the journey not just the end result.

#4 Being a photographer is hard work

Don’t get me wrong I love the work but it is defenitly not as glamorous as you think it would be. The part I love, the part that makes my heart race, and puts a smile on my face is only a tiny fraction of the whole job. Shooting clients (that’s the part I love) is actually the smallest fraction of my time spent on my business. There is marketing, editing, business planing and stratigizing, ordering and delivering, quick-books, and taxes!!! Never ever did I think that I would need to learn how to design websites or read computer code to be a photographer. Turns out I am really bad at those things, thus the disappearance of my old photography blog posts ..oppppsy! I’ll be re-blogging some of my favorite sessions over this winter. All in all tho that part of the job I love, the part that makes my heart sprout wings and soar, makes all the other necessary evils tolerable!

So in short I have learned a lot in a year and a half and hope to continue and grow. I strive to learn more everyday. There is one thing that I know for sure: I love being a photographer and I’m not going in anywhere anytime soon. Thank you to everyone for the support and help in this first year, it has meant the world to me to have friends, family, and clients who value what I have chosen to do.
Of course no post is complete without some pictures, your lucky I don’t have the external drive hooked up tonight…..

Keep your eyes here for an exciting announcement …very soon and a contest! Can you say freebies:)