We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Katherine Gibb a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Katherine, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

Between personal experience and many horror stories from friends and family I know how stressful getting pictures of your kids can be. You’re investing in these memories and you want them to be amazing and capture all the amazing things you love about your tiny human exactly as they are now- and that usually translates to stressed out parents on shoot day- which means stressed out kids- which means mediocre photos. A big piece of my mission in my business is to cut the stress for parents AND kids. I take care of styling and wardrobe in about 90% of my sessions- and I don’t impose time limits on my sessions. Kids need time to play and explore and adventure- expecting any kid to sit still and smile for a camera is a big ask. I have the kiddos take lots of play breaks during our sessions (and these breaks lead to some amazing images!) I rarely ask a kiddo to smile- instead I MAKE them smile. Animal sounds, terrible Dad jokes, fart noises- I will make a fool of myself to get that genuine smile!

Katherine, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I couldn’t tell you the first time I picked up a camera- just that I never wanted to put it down again. Photography was one of those things I always loved but for some reason never thought was an option for me professionally. Once I had made a tiny human of my own I just knew I had to go for it- in those first years of her life I spent every spare moment honing my craft so that I could create amazing images not only of my own princess- but everyone else’s too!

I specialize in whimsical portraiture- I love to play dress up with my clients and I have a whole room full of fluffy princess dresses, sparkly crowns, fairy wings- even some superhero costumes! I love to spark the imagination in kids and watch them light up from within- that’s when I get my best images.

Photoshop is tied with photography for my favorite things in the world. With it I can fill in the blanks of what the child sees and what was actually in the room with them. Creating magical worlds and whimsical details is so much fun and the results leave my clients beaming which is the ultimate goal.

Creating a lasting memory that can go on a wall and take a parent back to that extremely fleeting moment of their child’s life is what drives me. My baby is almost 9 and it feels like every time I blink she has changed a little more. Watching your babies grow is the most bittersweet experience in life- having physical memories from each stage of that process is something you just can’t put a price on.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Your reputation is what you make it- literally. How you treat your clients, the quality of your work, the overall experience- everything you put into building a reputation is exactly what you will get out. I take the time to give each of my clients a customized experience- I never want a client to feel like they’re getting a cookie cutter service. I encourage all clients to message me any time with questions, I treat their kids like they’re my own, and I only deliver images that I would be happy to put on my own walls.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Putting my own voice into my social media whenever possible is a big piece of how I build my following. Creating beautiful content is obviously an essential piece, but social media platforms allow you to build a relationship with your client before you have even booked them. I take the time to like and comment on my followers posts and I’m religious about tagging any vendors/designers who helped me create my images. Sometimes it’s a challenge to just be myself on my business account- I’m afraid I might scare off potential clients with my sometimes “extra” personality- but ultimately my client is hiring ME- and my ideal client is looking for exactly who I am and what I do- so being myself is the best way to connect to that client and build a following of all the right people.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.WonderstruckPhoto.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/wonderstruckphoto
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/wonderstruckphoto
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaleigh-gibb-3b3236178/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDgLEsxbfCxGQM151XEAFHg

Image Credits
Wonderstruck Photography