We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kate Kipfer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kate, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
I grew up with parents that valued documenting life. My mom was the family photographer and my dad was the king of home videos. Neither one of them did it professionally, but it felt like in any big (or little!) moment of our lives, there was always a camera out. I grew up in a low-income family, so we never had cable TV. Our entertainment was either movies, or constantly re-watching home videos – with the last one genuinely being one of my favorite ways to spend an evening with my family.
My dad was in and out of jobs growing up – never to his own fault, he just had to deal with companies closing down and a bad economy. But no matter what, I watched my dad give his all for his family. I watched him wake up before the sun was up, and watched him come home tired, exhausted, but ready to do it again the next day. He literally gave every part of himself to make sure we were taken care of & provided for. His work ethic was one based on integrity, excellence, humility and selflessness. I have never known a harder working man.
As I grew up watching the example my dad gave of hard work, photography was also always something I did. From taking pictures of bees and flowers, and then making my friends model for me in Jr. High & High School, my love for photography was always there as a result of watching my parents document everything. Graduating from High School, I genuinely never thought photography would become my full-time job, but it just kept growing organically. By the time I was finishing my 2nd year of college, I was starting to become booked pretty consistently with photography gigs and came to a crossroads – do I continue on in the education world, or take the risk and jump into pursuing something I was truly passionate about? I chose to take the leap of faith, and trusted that by following the example of hard work that my Dad showed me, I could be successful!
Almost 8 years later, I am continuing to pursue a mission of sacrificial service for my clients. Unfortunately, my beloved father passed away from cancer in January of 2021, but he has and always will be my biggest hero, as well as my biggest inspiration for the philosophy & mission of my business. My family has also always been a family of faith, and I ultimately came to understand that the level of sacrificial love and devotion my Dad showed us day in and day out was pointing to the sacrificial love and devotion Jesus has for us as well. And as a way to honor my dad’s legacy and also exemplify the same faith-based service, I am eager to continue to prioritize those two ideals for the future of my business! The Lord has been kind to bless this business of mine and bless the efforts I have put in to follow my Dad’s example. All glory goes to Him!
Kate, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
When I first started out back in 2017, I thought I had to have one specific style. I thought I had to be either entirely documentary, or entirely editorial. But as the years went on, I found myself struggling to fit in to one of those boxes. I genuinely loved BOTH concepts and that’s when I realized – who says you can’t have both candid and editorial wedding photos?
So for the last 3-4 years I have specifically prioritized learning how to marry (pun intended) those two styles of photography into my brand as Katelyn Rose Weddings. I specialize in documenting both weddings and elopements, as well as engagement sessions in this way. In addition to both digital photography, I also incorporate traditional film photography in my business as well as an ode to the nostalgia I always felt while looking at old film photos now/as a kid. There is something so special and unique that comes from film that can never be replaced! My desire is to approach the experience as one that truly represents the couple. I want whoever books me to not only be able to look back on these photos and feel like themselves, but to also go through the experience of taking the photos and feel that way as well. Doing so requires a give and take relationship between myself and the client. It requires that my clients trust me FULLY in the process and listen to my perspective and suggestions, but it also requires that my clients are willing to fully invest in the process themselves as well and remain open-minded, authentic and receptive to how to execute getting the photos of their dreams!
There are three main areas I have consistently heard from couples that they struggle with, during the process of finding a photographer, and I want to hit on those specifically!
First, is finding the right style.
I get it. Finding the right style for your wedding day can be tough. You are searching through a sea of photographers where each one seems to be either completely candid, or completely editorial. But what if I told you you could have the best of both worlds? What if I told you that it is 100% possible to balance both art and authenticity for your wedding day? Because I can promise you, that is absolutely something that can be achieved – and look no further than Katelyn Rose Weddings ;)
The second, is connecting with the photographer + trusting them.
Outside of even finding the style of photography you like though, you also want to feel like you can connect with and trust your photographer. After all, this is someone you are going to spend the entire day with, so making sure you vibe with each other and that your personalities match is extremely important, and a high value goal to achieve! And after looking at website and instagram after website and instagram – they seem to all be blurring together and sounding the same. Who can you actually trust?
And finally, many of my couples have expressed feeling worried about being natural, comfortable and fully like themselves while taking the photos AND looking at the final photos.
As if those two thoughts weren’t already stressful enough, I’m sure looking through photo after photo after photo also has you worried about feeling completely natural and comfortable in front of the camera. You don’t want to feel awkward in this process, and you don’t want your photos to look awkward either. Let me put your mind at ease, after almost 8 years and just about 300 weddings – I have continuously put thought and effort into this process of taking photos. I have analyzed, observed, made mistakes, and learned new ways to make this experience not only feel natural and comfortable, but also for the final photos to look & feel like you as well.
Throughout the entire process of doing these three things, the philosophy of sacrificial service and intentionality remains consistent throughout. I am most proud of the way I remain eager to observe, learn and apply over and over to always do and be better, and that by going the extra mile – in ways my clients may never even know, over and over – I am staying true to the type of photographer I want to be. One that is marked by kindness, service, intentionality, humility and hard work. Just like my dad.
By providing the experience and expertise necessary to achieve these goals, it has been an absolute HONOR to work with so many different couples who are looking for the same thing. So don’t be shy – if this sounds like I’m speaking your language, whether you’re a client or fellow photographer, reach out and let’s chat about how I can help!
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I think most business owners have a love/hate relationship with social media, and trust me, I am right there with you. But at the end of the day, it’s an essential part of marketing nowadays and I think if we just shift our mindset towards navigating that world, we will start to notice results.
The biggest thing I want to say around this, is do not buy followers. I think this “trend” is dying down now (though I could very well be wrong!) but when I first started out, I had so many people reaching out about buying followers. And sadly, due to the misconception that “having lots of followers makes me credible in the eyes of prospective clients” so many of us can fall prey to this idea of a “quick fix.” But listen to me when I tell you – in all the years of doing this full-time, I have never ONCE had a client who booked me tell me it was because I had lots of followers (or lack thereof). And I can promise you that if someone rejects you simply because you don’t have a lot of followers, then you dodged a bullet and wouldn’t want to work with them anyway!
With that being said, there is nothing wrong with desiring growth for you business in that way. I just wanted to establish from the start that at the end of the day, followers do not matter.
For the majority of my time as a full-time wedding photographer, I felt like I had “plateaued” when it came to followers. I was stuck at one number for what felt like the longest time. And I knew that if I did truly want to see growth, I would need to be willing to invest in getting help. Listen, it REALLY IS an additional full-time job to run a social media account in a successful way, and so I invested in a social media manager (Growing With Grace Media) to help me on my journey. She was on my team for nearly 2 years before we started to actually see growth, but I truly believe that growing on social media (in a way that is beneficial) is a long-term game. You have to be willing to be patient. But since October of last year, our efforts were finally rewarded and my followers have more than doubled since then.
So my biggest piece of advice? First, stay grounded in what really matters, and don’t get caught up in just having the numbers. Second, be willing to invest in yourself and in someone else to help you achieve your goals. And third, BE PATIENT. Nothing worth having ever comes easy or quick. Stay consistent. Keep your head down. Work hard, and I promise that with time, you will see results!
Bonus suggestion: be sure to only post content you want to continue to shoot, and be sure to post valuable content that your ideal client would resonate with. Be intentional and authentic in your presence, and don’t be afraid to BE YOU!
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Genuinely, one word. Consistency. It didn’t matter where I was, who I was with or what I did. I remained consistent in how I treated everyone. My philosophy for my business extends beyond just trying to reach prospective clients – it also applies to my every day interactions with fellow vendors, photographers, venues and anyone else in the industry. If the pillars of your business only apply to your clients, but you don’t also exemplify those in your interactions with everyone else in the industry, don’t expect your reputation to remain in tact. You need to be consistent across the board.
And that goes for fellow photographers as well! I truly believe the market isn’t “over-saturated” because there is only one you and no one else can be you, or provide the type of experience you provide. So rather than seeing fellow photographers as competition, be kind and extend help/advice when asked. I have never kept anything back from when someone has asked something of me. Again – the type of experience I want my couples to have with me is also the type of experience I would want anyone to have!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://katelynroseweddings.com/
- Instagram: @kaatelynroseweddings (https://www.instagram.com/kaatelynroseweddings/)
Image Credits
Katelyn Rose Weddings