We recently connected with McKenzie Berquam and have shared our conversation below.

Hi McKenzie, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I have two major meaningful projects I have been working on and they are both very different.

The first one is diving into Couples Connections with photography sessions that are outside of the traditional. They are date nights, fun times, and intimate and passionate moments. I have really found a love for this side of my photography because I love to show the true connection between each couple and how their unique interests support their growing and evolving love.

I also recently started a passion project called: Morning, you. It is focused on complete documentary style photography of people’s mornings from the time they get up through the process of preparing for their day. This isn’t curated for certain people, but rather is to showcase how different and sacred our mornings are no matter what season of life we are in. I have done families so far, a single mother, and have an “empty nester” coming up as well as other unique scenarios that I am eager to get into and show. I am intrigued by the fact that all of us go about our mornings and basically nobody outside of our home unit will ever see our morning routines or just how we live in the morning. It is extremely interesting to me and has already been so fulfilling to see how each client starts their day differently and what works best for them.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am McKenzie (a lot of people know me as Kenz), a couples and wedding photographer and recently began diving into baby milestones and documentary photography. I started this business when my first niece was born and didn’t grow up with a passion for photos like most others, it sort of just blossomed into something unexpected.

I specialize in unique couples sessions and love what I am doing for my clients who are looking for unique photos to capture who they are together. It has really been a healing journey of capturing love both for myself and for my couples.

I am extremely proud of my ability to truly and authentically be myself without needing validation from others. Most of my clients and friends have found and love me because I am unapologetically me, and I think that shows clear as day in my business and my work. I am not perfect, I struggle with mental health, and I work hard 100% of the time and that is why people love being apart of the platform I am building. It is a safe space and sometimes it isn’t always easy, but I will always be transparent about it all.

A random fun fact, I have been in business for about 6 years and a lot of people thought my name, KNZ Photography, was said like, “Kenz Photography” but really it is said like, “K-N-Z Photography”. That really shocked everyone!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

A few years into my business I caught myself going through the motions, specifically at weddings. I would just go down the checklist because I had a ton of anxiety about missing something and my creativeness was out the window. Now I have a “creative” checklist I go through on every wedding day and session that has really brought my work to the next level and helped it stand out creatively.

I always look for interesting light, unique architectural perspectives, or sneaky mirror shots to name just a few ideas and this has been super helpful to get my creative mind flowing on every session or wedding.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

When I started my business I was from a small town in Iowa and fresh into the world of social media. I had no idea that there were Facebook groups for literally anything you need, I didn’t know about mentorships and photography workshops, I didn’t know about a dual slot camera or needing a second shooter at weddings. I photographed my first wedding for 14 hours and $400, if that explains any of this to you! It was a major learning curve but all of these things have helped me tremendously.

I always recommend finding a group you feel comfortable in and following photographers who inspire you to help you grow and you can also reach out to them to pay for mentorships or education.    

Contact Info:

• Website: www.knzphotography.com
• Instagram: @theknzphotography
• Facebook: @theknzphotography
• Tiktok: @theknzphotography
• Pinterest: @knzphotography

Image Credits
KNZ Photography