We were lucky to catch up with Kait Haynes recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kait thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later?

I wish I could go back in time and do the things that scared me sooner. I’ve always been a creative person, I’ve always enjoyed drawing, taking photos and videos, editing images, and putting together displays and shows. I took 3 years of video productions class in high school and absolutely fell even more in love with the art of photography and videography. Whenever I was applying to college, I felt like I needed to choose something safe and something that would guarantee me an income. I went to school for Healthcare Administration and earned my degree. I went on to work a corporate job for 4.5 years until I was laid off after returning from my maternity leave from the birth of my son. I was so upset by this, I really enjoyed my job but now I understand it was a blessing in disguise.

I took whatever job I could find after that because I needed to bring in an income to help support my new family of 3. The week that I started my new job I found out I was pregnant again with our daughter. This new job I had made me so miserable. I hated going to work, I hated missing out on so much time with my son because of my hours and commute and I didn’t know how I was going to do this after having another baby.

As scary as it was for me, nothing changes if nothing changes, right? I remember talking to my husband one night and a lightbulb just went off in my head. I love the art of photography, why did I never try to make this my career? I know I have the eye, I’ve always had it. I’ve always owned different cameras and I was never not taking photos. So I bought my first “expensive” camera as I like to say and I started practicing and learning as much as I could about my new camera settings. I started taking photos of family and friends and editing them so that I could have examples of my work to post and hopefully attract some potential clients. It took off like crazy! I was booking so many sessions I couldn’t believe it. People actually loved my style, they trusted me to capture their precious moments.

It spread like wildfire from there. The moral of my story is, it’s okay to change your mind a million times. Go to school to be lawyer but graduate a teacher. It’s fine. You don’t need to everything right now. I wish I would have been more open back then!

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?

My parents bought me my first little digital camera when I was 8 or 9. I took it everywhere with me! I even took it to concerts and tried to take pictures of the performers on stage all the way up in my nosebleeds seats. I was just always obsessed with freezing something in time, creating art and viewing things differently than most people.

I’ve always been a creative person, I absolutely love pictures and being able to orchestrate something I can feel through my lens. There’s just something about being able to capture something just as it is, right now. You will never be the same as you are today, your kids will never be as little as they are today. When I take those photos, I’m capturing something so perfect and unique that will never be that exact same way again. I appreciate the art of holding on to memories.

When people trust in me to capture these moments for them it gives me an indescribable feeling. I can’t believe that I get to be so lucky to do something so precious for others.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Word of mouth has been huge for my business. In a world full of follower-obsessed people, there’s nothing like a good old fashioned referral. I’ll do family photos for someone who will refer me to a co-worker who’s expecting who will book me for maternity, newborn and first birthday photos.

It’s not just the end result of the images. I know I’m passionate about what I’m doing and I feel like my clients can really understand that when they’re working with me. It’s about the experience I give them, that’s what makes them come back again and again and refer me out to others. It’s the biggest compliment.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Making people cry happy tears of course! When I deliver a gallery and the client responds to me with the most heartfelt and appreciative messages, it makes me so happy. I get to deliver these memories that families will have forever. 40 years from now when their grandkids are looking at old photo albums, they’ll see my images. That’s amazing to me!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kaithaynes.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaithaynesphoto
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaithaynesphotography

Image Credits
The photo of myself was taken by another photographer named Callie Master but it was edited by me. All of the other images of my clients were taken by me and edited by me.