Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Mielke
Kelly, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started college taking Art History, Human Figure and Photography courses. The Arts as a whole inspired me, but I couldn’t see a clear path for myself anywhere. I studied at The University of California, Santa Barbara and my passion for Social Justice, Civil Rights, Feminism and LGBTQ studies flourished. Through Women’s Studies at UCSB, I was able to continue exploring the arts to an extent with Film, History and Anthropology courses. When you are an artist, you see and feel art in everything.
Like so many young adults, I found myself looking for direction after graduation and found a stable job that felt responsible and promised a paycheck every other week. After years in the corporate world, I was becoming increasingly anxious and dissatisfied, so I picked up the camera my father gave me for graduation and started shooting. I found peace and fulfillment in creating images. So much so, I enrolled in a Community College program for photography and I’ve been a full time Photographer since 2016.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has definitely been a rollercoaster – but a really exciting, gratifying journey to say the least. The moment I went from nearly a decade of bringing in guaranteed money in the bank (for showing up to work Monday through Friday) to not having a defined path or means of income was terrifying. I have worked for a lot of photographers along the way and have learned a lot about who I do not want to be which I believe is actually more important than learning the minutia of the industry. It is so easy to get caught up in the social media and ego aspect of being a Photographer that you can lose sight of the humanity of the work. I have struggled at times to quiet the internet noise of the photography world. But I always find my way back to the people and remind myself that I create personal art for posterity and that there is tremendous value in that.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Weddings are my specialty and I have spent almost a decade fine tuning my craft. I observe and listen more than most photographers I encounter and that is what sets me apart. I am constantly hanging on every last word of the vows, the speeches, the conversations in those intimate moments that I am so privileged to be documenting. The human story is the reason I do this work and my appreciation for everyone’s personal history is what makes me exceptional at what I do. I make it my goal to know all the VIPs, to know the sensitive family dynamics, to know why there is a little table off in the corner at your wedding reception that holds a framed portrait of a beautiful 20 year old man. I want to know because it helps me consciously create. I’m here for it all.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
To anyone reading this wishing they could change directions in life – it is possible. If you can close your eyes and see it, you just have to make that first big move. Then continue to make steps toward that goal every day. Repeat.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kellymcdanielphoto.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellymcdanielphoto/
Image Credits
These are all my photographs
