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

Kayetlynn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

I love being a small business owner, I get to create real personal connections with my clients and that is truly a blessing. But I would be lying if I said that I haven’t reminisced on what life was like when I worked an hourly job. When you are a business owner, work never ends. It’s the weekend? Got to work. It’s a holiday? Got to work. It’s my birthday? Got to work. When I was younger I never understood when business owners would call their businesses their “babies.” Now I completely understand, I have birthed the idea of my business and nurture it everyday to make sure it is successful. I will keep myself up at night having a million ideas running through my head or overthinking what someone said about something small in accordance with my business. So yes the thought creeps in mind every now and again about working an hourly job because it would be so nice to leave work AT WORK. But I love my business and I love being a boss so I expel the thought pretty quick.

Kayetlynn, 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?

Hello everyone, my name is Kayetlynn Johnson I am a photographer currently based out of the San Diego area. I work in pretty much all areas of photography, but my favorite is definitely photographing couples and maternity!
I was gifted a camera at 11 years old on Christmas by my Grammy, and again at 19 by mother. I come from a family of creatives so I was so lucky to have such an amazing support system. My husband is in the military and gone often so at first I used my camera to document what was happening at home while he was gone. After photographing my friends engagement, she told me I needed to start taking pictures professionally and the rest was history! I am proud to have photographed hundreds of families in and around the San Diego area in the past year, from weddings to motorcycle pictures I have covered it all and have thoroughly enjoyed every second. One of my biggest and most scariest challenges was during a wedding when it seemed that everything was going wrong. The makeup artist for the bride was hours late and the bride asked me to do her makeup (it turned out beautiful by the way), I had not 1 but 2 SD cards break before I could use them, along with a slew of other unfortunate events. Luckily the bride and groom were able to enjoy their day to the fullest and I was still able to deliver a beautiful gallery of photos despite the challenges of the day!
Something that sets me apart from others is that I will go above and beyond to get you the best photos and make the photoshoot perfect! I have done makeup and hair on several instances, I have literally given a client the clothes off my back because she didn’t feel confident in her outfit, and I will do that for any client.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Something I think many photographers can relate to is comparing their work to others. I struggled with this so long before I found my own identity as a professional. The truth is every photo is unique and will be edited uniquely, as long as you add your touch and are proud of every photo you deliver you are doing great. When I first began I was constantly changing how I edited photos because I wanted to be like someone else, it wasn’t until I began finding my own style that I really began loving my photos and my work began to flow.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media was the scariest part for me. I was scared to start from zero, I was scared of the judgmental people, I was scared that it wouldn’t take off at all. When I began my page my friends and family followed and began sharing my work, their friends would follow and it became a snowball effect. the more clients I gained the more followers were brought to my page. My clients would post their pictures and tag me and people from their pages would come to my page and follow me and many times inquire about booking with me! The scariest part of social media is starting it, after that your audience will find you!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kayetlynnjohnson.smugmug.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kayetlynnjphotography/profilecard/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094604162739&mibextid=wwXIfr

Image Credits

Kayetlynn J Photgraphy