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

Alright, Kathleen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

The pandemic pushed so many creatives to pursue their career dreams and being a business owner for 8 years while working three jobs, it felt like a now or never moment to focus primarily on my business.

As frightening as it was to rely solely on my business financially, I soon saw how many couples appreciated my wedding photography and how so many small businesses needed content creators.

While I tend to keep my wedding photography (@kathleenmariephoto) separate from my content creation (@kathleendarling_) both are photography art forms that allow me to capture moments, products, people and places in unique ways. If I had allowed the fear of the pandemic—the fear of failing—overtake me, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

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

A photographer’s work is living art; artwork that breathes, speaks, expresses emotion and is ever changing. Having the responsibility to capture a wedding day may seem a heavy burden, however I see it as a surreal honor to make a memory tangible forever. A decade into photography, I truly cherish every second behind the camera, regardless if I’m capturing a wedding day, product photography or an event.

Photography had always been a hobby growing up, as my father was a lifelong photographer and briefly taught college classes on the subject. About 10 years ago, while I was in my last year of pursuing my bachelors degree in psychology, a coworker at the time mentioned seeing some of my hobby photographs and asked me to capture her wedding day. I had barely any experience photographing people and only a simple point and shoot camera, but I decided to take the leap and try. I instantly fell in love with wedding photography.

I grew my very tiny business while completing my psychology degree and chose to take a year after my bachelors to pursue the business; if it didn’t take off I’d apply for a masters program in psychology. As challenging as it was, my business grew and I never went for my masters.

My goal as a wedding photographer is to create elevated, dreamy, fine art photographs that will be a couple’s heirlooms for generations to come. Whether I’m capturing an engagement, elopement or traditional wedding day, I put my whole self into the artwork. From posing, directing and lots of grooming (I always carry items to touch up my clients to ensure they look their best), I guide my clients to create authentic moments to capture and cherish.

As a content creator, I enjoy thinking outside of the box to showcase products, events and businesses. Content creation involves more than branding, more than flat lays, it’s asking what that business/event/product is as a whole and making their aesthetic a visual reality to reach customers.

I am most proud of my work when my clients tell me they feel beautiful or their vision was brought to life through my images. Being able to connect with a stranger to create a visual representation of their love or business isn’t easy, but I value those connections and strive to be best for each client.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Creative burnout is different from traditional 8-5 career burnout. While both are real and justified, traditional workday burnout tends to be from mental or physical fatigue, while creative burnout covers it all, from mental, physical, to emotional. Traditional careers can often times leave the stress and issues of the job at their workplace, but creatives sit with the stress 24/7, oftentimes feeling like empty wells continuously supplying and at times barely receiving.

Both careers are tiring, stressful and consuming, which is why it’s crucial to be supportive of one another when burnout occurs, even if we don’t fully understand the differences.

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

Client referrals and social media. The majority of my business comes solely from those two resources. When a client posts a photo or shares their happiness with a friend, that draws people to my business and I often book friends and family of past clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kathleenmariewardphotography.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/kathleenmariephoto
• Other: Content creation IG: @kathleendarling_

Image Credits
Myself. I’m a wedding photographer and this was taken for my own engagement session.