Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Keating.
Hi Kate, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in the South Bay and started a photography class in high school after deciding the welding class I had originally been placed in would probably be a dangerous endeavor for all participating parties. That was it for me, I began with Photography A and haven’t stopped since! I majored in Art and Design at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a concentration in Photography and spent four years taking classes ranging from film photography, studio lighting and color theory (by far the most difficult class I have taken). It was clear to me from the get go that photographing people, real people in real moments, was my passion. I began working for a wedding photographer in SLO as his editor, then second shooter and eventually his associate. My husband and I moved back down to the South Bay after graduating and I continued growing my business in wedding photography. I loved working with couples and giving them an experience of feeling seen and celebrated in their notable season. I was forced to take some time off during my two pregnancies and once I had two little girls less than a year and a half apart, I felt that I needed to find a subject matter that was a bit more flexible to the chaos of little ones. Lucky for me, my newfound experience chasing around little rascals and appreciating the fleeting moments helped me to create a brand focused around capturing those gone too soon moments that we live for. I have been so fortunate to get to photograph hundreds of families over the past couple of years giving them a chance to be caught in the exact point of life they are in. Candid and wonderful chaos and all.
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?
I think, like any business owner, there has to be a lot of trust in what you are able to offer clients and it has taken me some time to grow into my confidence of what I am able to do for and offer my clients. Most of my hurdles have simply been trial and error of what locations work, the best time of day, how much I can really put on my plate. I don’t foresee those learning curves ever going away! The best part of my experience with clients lately has been the stage of life I am in, it gives me the appreciation of all of these big and little moments and extra intel of how to best work with those little babes who don’t have a lot of interest in sitting still for a family photoshoot. I’ve been well-practiced in fun and play and I think this is a big part of what makes me unique to my clients. I can help them all to enjoy each other- play together, breathe in those newborn baby smells, sigh into their finances, and be caught in genuine moments of their life.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’ve always been driven to be a master in light and colors and I believe that my background in design has helped to train my eye in creating unique and memorable images. My sessions are focused on moments together like playing with your littles, breathing in that intoxicating new baby smell and giggling sheepishly into your honey. Nothing about my approach is a staged or studio-like feel so the images that come from a session from me are meant to make my clients feel seen and captured genuinely. I specialize in hybrid film photography which is such a crazy passionate creative outlet of mine. Film demands a commitment to paying attention to and catching just the right moment and doing so in a cooperative partnership of light. The results are beautiful and always a surprise. I love working with clients who have an appreciation for film and for the film aesthetic and hope to continue shooting film more and more. Being in the life stage of raising a young family has softened my, now very sentimental, heart of just how quickly it all goes and just how short my memory of the details of it all is. ‘It’ is exactly the piece of you that will come through in a session so that clients will have timeless moments to keep when it all has seemed to have happened too fast. Each gallery I deliver that makes the client feel known is such an unbeatable feeling and why I keep going.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I think the quality of images I am able to deliver to clients will always be something I am striving to do even better than the session fore. I am to produce images that master light, design and the physical representation of what a client feels in the time that we spend together. This is what I believe will create a ‘can’t quite put my finger on it’ feeling of what makes a session with me memorable for families and couples. The more I am able to connect with my clients and create new relationships the more I will be able to do what I consider success; doing a beautiful job of capturing the dynamic moments we live for.
Pricing:
- 30 Minute Session $395
- One Hour Session $525
- Two Hour Session $900
- Weddings begin at $3500
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@katekeatingphotography.com
- Website: www.katekeatingphotography.com
- Instagram: @katekeatingphotography
