Daily Inspiration: Meet Katelyn Gardner

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katelyn Gardner.

Hi Katelyn, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I never really had a passion or calling – a thing that made me feel like “here it is, the thing I’m meant to do.” When I got my first real digital camera, I was going to a university in San Francisco, in an honors program for psychological research and considering going to Grad School in this field, but I was under a lot of stress and my heart wasn’t in it. San Francisco and the surrounding coastlines offer endless inspiration for a photographer of any level and going exploring for new places and things to photograph became my favorite way to unwind. The only place I showed my photography was to my small Instagram following, but it was fun to do something creative. After graduating, I moved back to San Clemente to figure out what my next steps would be and focused my new hobby on my happy place – the beach. If you grow up in San Clemente, it’s pretty hard not to develop a love for the beach, as it is the town’s lifestyle. I began documenting everything I had missed about my hometown and its beach centric culture (palm trees, the pier, surfers, vintage VW’s, sunsets, etc.) and I haven’t looked back since! I took a few classes to learn more of the technical side of photography and how to better edit my photos and gradually noticed an improvement in the quality of my work.

One day about a year after I moved back to San Clemente a local brewery, Lost Winds Brewing Company, asked me to display some of my photos in their taproom. That was the best thing that could have happened for my photography and I am so grateful. It made me turn my hobby into a print business, exposed my work to so many more people, and continues to bring me more opportunities to this day. Next, I got an opportunity to display a larger collection of prints at Zebra House Coffee, a coffee shop in town that hosts rotating local artists. As inquiring print customers began to trickle in, I couldn’t believe that people liked my work! I set a goal to start selling prints in a booth at local events once my time was up at the coffee shop. But before I could start planning, an event organizer contacted me out of the blue asking if I would do a booth at their upcoming art market! I scrambled to get everything together and it was more successful than I could have expected. I remember thinking that the timing was so serendipitous and feeling so surprised, grateful and validated that people felt drawn enough to my photos to buy them. I’ve never in my life felt things fall into place so well and so like the universe or some higher power was pushing me down the path I was supposed to follow.

In the Fall of 2019, I applied to San Clemente’s monthly Village Art Faire (a dream of mine for a couple of years) to begin selling prints at my booth more regularly. I wanted to expand my new business, so my goal was to get my prints in some local stores in 2020 and I began lining up more festivals and markets for my print booth that I had invested quite a bit in – but then the pandemic hit. With businesses closed, my main income as a server suspended, and public events for my print booth canceled, it was a hard year. It was almost impossible to get the word out about my work and difficult to keep my motivation and enthusiasm for my new small business without any sales. However, I used this weird downtime to design a better website with online ordering and got my prints in a local home décor store and a gift shop, as well as a gift shop in Encinitas. I was also fortunate to get opportunities for portrait and product photography work which has helped me expand my skillset. As the pandemic subsides and things reopen, I am beginning to book markets to sell prints and am hopeful that more opportunities will come my way.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I would say one of the challenges I’ve faced is my own confidence toward my ability as a photographer as I turned it into a small business. I’ve had to push past some self-doubt to put my work out there as much as I have, apply to art markets, and ask stores to carry my photos. To this day, I am always amazed and grateful that people like my work enough to hang it in their homes. That said, I have also been very fortunate to have opportunities present themselves to me at key points that encouraged me to expand my exposure and business. While the COVID pandemic has certainly been a challenge in many ways, including to my momentum and drives as a photographer and small business, it was also a blessing in some ways because it pushed me to expand my work and business in ways I may never have otherwise.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I classify myself as a landscape and beach culture photographer. My work of course includes beachscapes and sunsets, but I also find myself isolating the little moments and icons that represent the beach/surf centric culture of Southern California, with a focus on San Clemente. A surfer’s silhouette against the sunset oddly bent palm trees, the 1920’s stucco and terracotta architecture, vintage surf-mobiles – it’s things like these that add up to make our beaches, communities and lifestyle so great. Vintage VW bus, beetle, and woody shots have been some of my favorites to take and tend to be popular prints, so those shots have kind of become one of my signature things! I love color so a lot of my work tends to be very colorful and fun, but I strive to capture the authentic color and beauty of the beach without over-enhancing it after the fact. As a female photographer, I’ve noticed there seem to be more male photographers out on the beach with me. But I like to think that means I bring a different style or eye to beach photography than my male counterparts. For me, exploring the beach with my camera is an escape from whatever else is going on. It puts me in the moment, pulls my thoughts away from everything else and makes me focus on the beauty around me. It’s also a way for me to celebrate living at the beach and I love that it helps others celebrate living at or visiting the beach too.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
It sounds a little corny, but I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that if you don’t believe in yourself and put yourself out there, you won’t get what you want. It’s easy to get in your own way and doubt yourself as an artist or creative, but at the end of the day if your passion is something you want to pursue, you just have to go for it!

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.katelyngardnerphotography.com
• Instagram: @katelyn.gardner

Image Credits:
Katelyn Gardner Photography