We were lucky to catch up with Kati Hewitt recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kati thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I truly enjoy being a small business owner despite the inevitable rollercoaster ride that comes along with it! I sometimes wonder what it would be like to have a more traditional job, but I am constantly reminded how lucky I am to be able to create my own schedule, have complete autonomy over my systems and processes, etc. Overall as a creative, I’m actually happier juggling many different roles because it keeps my job feeling dynamic and exciting. I have a new set of tasks everyday, can work in any location, make my own hours, and scale my business however is needed depending on my season of life and my sales goals. I also value having the ability to make important changes or pivot the trajectory of my career whenever I deem fit. These are all enticing aspects of being an entrepreneur that keep me excited about my career even in the hardest seasons!

I often think that work-life balance could come easier with a traditional 9 to 5 job, but the beauty of entrepreneurship is that you have the freedom to implement routines and processes that work the best for you and your unique lifestyle. One of the hardest things about being an entrepreneur is that you can’t leave your work at the office. Your business is embedded into your life, so you have to learn to be disciplined in your set working hours and give yourself grace when you don’t finish all of your tasks by your self-imposed deadlines. Sometimes the best way to protect the spark and passion behind your business is to give yourself permission to distance your work from your personal life, even if it’s only for a small amount of time. It gives me peace to know that I can take a day off to unplug and reconnect with friends and family when needed, and then I can return to work feeling rejuvenated again!

One lesson I’ve had to learn is that sometimes the hardest person to please is yourself. Sometimes I wonder if it would be easier to pass a performance review at work than to be satisfied with my own progress. However, the desire to improve fuels my passion to keep growing and continue honing in on my craft. At the end of the day, I appreciate my mindset that there is always room for improvement, though perfection is not necessary. It took me years to realize that I am my own harshest critic, so I have to be kind to myself and not lose sight of the beauty of my chosen career!

Sometimes I do miss the idea of having coworkers, but I’ve been lucky enough to connect with several wonderful, industry-specific networking groups that make me feel like I’m not alone with my entrepreneurial endeavors. These fellow business owners offer shoulders to lean on and listening ears when I need them most. Finding a community of like-minded individuals has truly been helpful along my journey!

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?

Our business, Kati Hewitt Photography, is based in Houston, Texas. We are a husband and wife team who photographs joyful wedding days all over Texas and beyond. As of 2022, we are celebrating our 10th year in business! Wedding photography has a hold on our hearts because we believe in true love, the power of authentic storytelling, and the importance of family heritage. We also offer engagement photos, bridal photos, and family photos.

One thing that sets us apart is our husband and wife dynamic. While I’m blogging weddings and working closely with clients and vendors, Alex is researching the latest camera equipment and pushing us to explore the more technical side of our craft. I love that our brains work in different ways because it means we can each bring a unique perspective to every wedding day. Our favorite part of photographing weddings together is working as a team to ensure our couples receive the best coverage of their wedding days. At the beginning of each wedding day, Alex photographs the groomsmen while I photograph the bridesmaids. Then, we come together to tag-team the ceremony and reception. We are constantly reminded of how sweet it is to be able to work together every weekend!

We’re known for our colorful, natural imagery and our calming presence during the hustle and bustle of a wedding day. We are passionate about creating beautiful art while also providing our couples with the resources they need to have a memorable and enjoyable photography experience. When we photograph wedding days, we focus on how we can best tell the story from beginning to end as artfully and thoroughly as possible. One thing that makes us different is that we place equal importance on both natural light portraits and candid reception photos. We think there is beauty in the posed and the unposed, and we are passionate about showing that in the way we document wedding days!

We are most proud of the legacy we are documenting for our couples, and we hope they will pass down their wedding photos from generation to generation. Memories are indescribably important, and to be able to capture those fleeting moments for our couples is an incredible honor!

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

As a wedding photographer, I have the unique privilege of being a part of couples’ wedding journeys for over a year as they bring their dream wedding days to fruition. We get to stay connected with our couples on social media all along the way which allows us to celebrate all of the exciting wedding planning milestones, like saying yes to the dress, with them in real time! We strive to foster a relationship with each couple from the moment we meet until the moment they have their keepsake wedding albums in their hands after their dream wedding day. However, it is important to us to stay in touch with our couples long after their wedding days as well, so we created a digital newsletter to announce business updates, upcoming holiday promotions, etc. We love knowing we are only an email away if our past couples need additional photography services in the future!

We also expanded our photography services to include maternity photos, lifestyle newborn photos, and family photos so that we can continue to serve our couples as they celebrate even more milestones in their lives! The biggest honor is when I am meeting a past wedding couple’s newborn baby for the first time, and they show me a photo wall in their home that displays all of the other sweet memories I have captured for them throughout the years!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being a business owner is having the ability to create a business that glorifies God and sharing that love through acts of service with everyone we work with. As an artist, it’s exciting to know that I can use my gifts to create something brand new that can add value to the world. When documenting events and people, I always remind myself that I am sharing my own creative perspective through a unique lens. It’s rewarding to use my talents to tell other people’s stories and create a family legacy for them to look back on. I truly believe that photographs will live on forever and leave an impact on the people who cherish them.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.katihewitt.com
• Instagram: @katihewittphoto
• Facebook: @KatiHewittPhotography

Image Credits
.Kati Hewitt Photography