Community Highlights: Meet Megan Vu of KLV Photography

Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Vu.

Hi Megan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Kevin and Meg met at Cal State Fullerton and start dating. Kevin shares his love for photography with Meg and teaches her how to use a camera in manual, coming out to engagements, client meetings and learning the craft of wedding photography. This unconscious training period was slow, intense and was a primary pillar of their relationship from the very beginning.

Opening a shared space in Fullerton, CA was a milestone for the company. Client meetings, networking events and showcasing the established style of KLV Photography started a new era of expanding the team, acquiring new skills with off-camera flash, video content, and more. Later, they would move into another studio space in Orange, CA, only to downsize to purely online client meetings due to the coming pandemic in 2020.

In the middle years, Meg had been building the business with Kevin but found it difficult to remain in her role. Numerous back injuries and a lack of passion for the role she found herself split many different ways, including a government job, a podcaster, a writer, a content creator, a systemizer. All in an effort to find her own passion and bring it back to the company in a new way.

Jenna started from assisting to second shooting to now leading her own weddings. She has done every job it takes to run this company and is an integral part of our team. She has been meticulously trained from the bottom up in what is now called the KLV Standard. In the same year, Kevin and Meg get married in Palm Springs, CA where Jenna also coordinated on the day and made sure the whole event went smoothly. She wasn’t even a lead photographer yet.

From 2012 to 2018, Meg had been in and out of the company in whatever role she was needed. During that time, she focused on acquiring new skills like content creation, marketing, systemizing, and recruiting to bring back into full force by the end of 2018. This new role freed up the time of the lead photographers to focus more on their craft and collections. This separation of roles was another milestone for the company and is integral to the success of the team’s ability to take on more weddings with a fast turnaround time.

With the global shutdown, the company had to close it’s latest studio, downsize the photo team, and eliminate the video team. All client meetings moved to online-only and work was still there, but hours were shorter, and fears were high. While the forced break in our bookings led to more free time; the core team would only be tested fully with the mountain biking accident Meg went through. Falling over the handlebars, breaking her spine, neck, ribs and teeth on Dec. 30, 2020. So many friends, famiy and clients rallied to support us during this time and helped Meg make a full recovery 1 year later.

With more than 15 years in the business of wedding photography, the KLV team has always tried to create a consistent photo product in a way that Kevin envisioned back in his college years when date nights also doubled as scouting missions and camera training. In all the ups and downs of the company’s journey, it’s clear that the brand they created isn’t just a business it’s a lifestyle.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The hardest part about this business has been team building. Choosing the right people to grow with has been a key part in our longevity in the industry.

When you’re trying to build a team without experience, it’s hard to judge someone without knowing the signs. And it’s also hard to hang onto an idea of someone who hasn’t shown their worth, but you want it to be true.

15 years in, and we’re better at reading people, when we can see the potential of someone growing or dropping off, but people can always surprise you. Trust has to be earned and I think we gave away our trust too easily in the beginning.

We’ve been impressed with KLV Photography, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We specialize in wedding photography. Our style is always balancing the wants of the client with our own standards of a timeless wedding photography collection captured in an almost cinematic way.

Our team consists of Kevin Vu, my husband, our founder and lead photographer. I schedule him for about 35-37 weddings a year. My sister Jenna is our 2nd lead photographer. I schedule her for about 30-35 weddings a year. Right now, we have a small circle of Second Photographers we train in our style that we rotate between the two leads. Nathan is also coming up and leading more weddings for us this year.

Our unofficial team consists of three lead photographers, 3-4 second photographers, and me as a general manager of sorts.

Our style can be described as natural, timeless, journalistic, and easy to work with.

Nowadays, we’re known for our long-standing status in the industry. It’s a full-time career, and we’ve devoted our first 10 years of marriage to this business.

I meet with clients regularly online and book them based on who I think will be a good fit for our team and availability. Over the years, I’m proud of the systems we have in place now, both qualitative and quantitative measures to make sure it’s a win- win situation for both us and the couples we serve.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is not to fight something’s nature. Whether it be a potential second shooter who rushes through details or someone who loves to talk, but not text responsively. All the “tells” someone gives you as to their true nature are all there for you to read appropriately.

Most of the time IF you can read the signals, you can make better decisions. And most of the time, you have to be aware that you’re the leader in those situations. But leading someone is difficult. And then, if you’re not a natural leader, you know YOU have some blindspots that you’re going to deal with later down the line.

The hardest part and the best part of this business is the people. In and out of the business, it is the people who make it go round. The trick is saying no to the people who aren’t a fit, and you can’t force it. Maybe forcing it works for a bit, but not in the long term.

Even our own roles in the company, if you run your own company you have to do every role yourself at first. So the first years of business should be finding out what your nature is and how you can lean more into that and work with people who can fill the blindspots you have. Just because you’ve been doing “x role” forever, doesn’t mean you’re the best person to do it.

Pricing:

• 8 hours
• 10 hours
• 12 hours

Contact Info:

• Website: http://klvphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/klvweddings/

Image Credits
KLV Photography