We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Katelyn Byng. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Katelyn below.

Katelyn, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I started photography when an obsession with Steve McCurry’s work in NatGeo inspired me as a child. The way he looks at people as art is incredible. Preserving the colors of their culture in frames always amazed me – and I decided I wanted to do that with wedding photography.

I capture weddings with a photojournalistic perspective. I’ll always love the unposed, imperfect moments more than the posed ones. I tend to connect with the artful couples who want the moments they loved and the moments they missed preserved forever in their wedding gallery.

I learned to do what I do through practice, study, and the experience making mistakes provides. Shooting weddings for over 7 years has taught me what (and what not) to do. My uncle gifted me his old 80s film camera a couple of years ago, and I’ll never forget that first wedding I shot film at. It changed my business and my artistic perspective. It gave me the “level up” I didn’t know I needed.

Based in my experience, I’d say the skills needed to truly successfully thrive in the wedding world are kindness, grit, and the ability to ask questions. I treat my clients like friends I care deeply for, and I treat my business like a houseplant – with constant care and room to grow.

Hindsight is 20/20 – but I think everything happens the way it’s supposed to. I don’t know that I’d be the person I am today if my business had gone any differently in the way of success. I’m happy I learned what I did when I did.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As a photographer based in Washington, DC, I serve those with an appreciation for creativity, film, & a little party. I’m a documentary style wedding photographer who combines fine art photography with an authentic, art-forward style. In addition to spending time at home with my scottish fold kitten, Lupin; I love to visit her grandfather on Whidbey Island, Washington often and I consider Coupeville a second home. I takes any chance I get to fly out to the West Coast, and happily consider myself a Whidbey Island “local.”

With a trained eye for light and portraiture, I tend to capture a wedding day authentically, and true to color. I document the imperfect, blurry moments with editorial quality and never fail to deliver a stunning gallery. On a typical wedding day, I shoot four to five rolls of 35mm and medium format film, alongside digital and polaroids.

I photograph a variety of wedding celebrations from large multi-day events to intimate elopements across the world, always bringing an individual and artistic perspective through film and digital mediums.

With over 7 years of professional experience and with 16 years of love attributed to photography, my photographic journey has taken me to 13 different countries. As an avid traveler, I am available for worldwide hire and I prefer to be by the sea.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Getting a mentorship from an expert.

There are so many free education resources out there for new photographers – but gaining insight to how a true expert runs her business has been invaluable.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Let go of all the rules you thought made luxury wedding photography. Your photos are your own (literally, you own the copyright). It’s our job as wedding photographers to honestly capture a wedding day. Show those beautiful laugh lines, frame those stunning florals up nicely, capture that tear rolling down the groom’s cheek…it all matters. There’s no limit to what we can do for our clients so ignore the rules of photography and just get in there and grab those memories. Your clients will love having those documented 30 years down the road.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.katelynalexandriaphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katelynalexandriaphoto
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katelynalexandriaphoto
• Other: https://www.zola.com/wedding-vendors/wedding-photographers/katelyn-alexandria-photography
  https://wezoree.com/vendors/profile/5337-photographer-katelyn-alexandria/