Today we’d like to introduce you to Kurt Boomer.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Well, it started during the financial and housing crash of 2009. I found myself out of work as a weatlh manager and no prospects for the future. Everything seemed pretty dim back then. I decided to take a solo road trip across the country to figure some things out. I bought a camera to document the places I planned to see. That started my love affair with photography. Shortly after I returned, a good friend of mine talked me into helping him shoot a small backyard wedding (knowing I didn’t have a lot to do and could use some extra cash). He also had no experience with shooting weddings and didn’t want to take it on solo. I thought it was an interesting experience and decided since I had nothing else going on, to pursue it a bit. Maybe a year, I thought. Just until I can get back to the old gig. Well, turned out the economy took years to come back. And during those years, I really started to take the wedding photographer gig seriously. Learned all I could, evaluated each wedding I shot to see where I could improve and just stuck with it. It hasn’t always been easy. In fact, I think it’s more a struggle than anything. But that’s life. So the small wins are great. Traveling for weddings is stressful. But on the other end, I have seen places that I know I would have never seen otherwise. I’m truly grateful that I was laid off back in 2009. Life is funny. The unexpected paths it takes you down.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Smooth roads are nice but, not necessarily reality when running your own business. Interestingly, you tend to meet other business owners when you enter the entrepreneurial world. The ones that have found lasting success I don’t imagine will ever say the road was smooth. For me, getting my brain off the 9-5 Mon through Fri schedule was tough. I didn’t want to lose my weekends to work at first. I didn’t want to answer emails at 11pm. But that’s just the reality of it. Waking up at 3am to catch a flight is very different than taking the same route to work every day at 8:45am. I love most all of my clients and most all of my interactions leave positive marks on me. However, there are clients that are tougher than others. All photographers deal with this aspect. Especially as an artist when we occasionally encounter criticism of our work. My job is art. Art is subjective. It’s just one of the realities of being in a creative field. With that being said, I feel like in the last few years, I have really been able to come through for all of my clients. That 10,000 hour rule is no joke.
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’m a wedding photographer by trade. I specialize in weddings with couples that truly envision beautiful events and hire vendors to make those visions come to life. When it comes to what I’m most proud of, I think it’s just creating a business from scratch and making it work for 10 years plus. Every business owner should and probably does feel the same. Because it’s not easy. There are many times I didn’t think it would survive or I was burnt out.
What sets me apart I think is having a truly global portfolio. There are some areas of the world that I still have yet to explore but I love having photos from many parts of the world.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I’ve tried to predict this a few times throughout my career. And I was usually pretty off. However, I’ll give it a go. If I had to guess, I think the style will change a bit. As film is dying out, a more moody and high-fashion inspired digital style will start to replace the dreamy film look. The ultra-editorial style so popular for the last 10 years will see a more photojournalistic style replace it.
The industry is cyclical in terms of style. Things that are old become new again. However, the industry is a mature one for sure. Everything has been done. The gear gets better but imagery is in the hands of the photographer regardless the camera in their hand.
Pricing:
- Generally 15k and up for weddings
- 3k and up for portrait
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kurtboomer.com
- Instagram: @kurtboomerphoto
Image Credits
@kurtboomerphoto
