We were lucky to catch up with Kellie Warren recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kellie, thanks for joining us today. Do you take vacations? Why or why not?

Absolutely, yes. You have to take vacations to refresh and keep life moving forward. If you own your own business and you’re not taking the time for yourselves at least once a year, you’re doing it wrong. When I started the business I felt like I was always too busy to go on vacation. We all have the “I’m too busy” syndrome today. If you want to do something, you should make time for it. There always is time if you schedule your time accordingly.

Kellie, 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?

I’ve always been a creative type of person. When I was 5 years old, I received my first blue 1st place ribbon in an art show. It’s just always been where I feel tend to get the most excited – anything design or art. At first, I loved animals and thought I’d become a vet, but once I learned you had to cut them open, I began looking into other more creative options for a career. I bounced around the art world, and started my first professional career as a graphic designer. I enjoyed it, but when it came to making layouts I really liked doing some of the photography too. Which ended up morphing into a side career until my brother insisted I shoot his wedding in 2007. I was a bit worried because I hadn’t shot a wedding, however with my background in editorial photography, I went for it anyway. It turned out really well and from then on, I started shooting weddings and making connections. I met my partner Lindsay in 2012 and we started a brand new business called Live Happy Studio. Shooting alone to then shooting with a solid partner made things so much easier. We could split the work load and do more.

I’m really proud how we have made our business a success. It’s been a lot of hard work over the years, but totally worth it for the freedom of schedule. Our goal is to always give the client the best customer service we can. It’s obviously about the quality of the photography as well, but tied at the top is excellent customer service. A wedding is a very personal event and we pride ourselves on giving them the best day.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I’d say the most effective strategy for growing your clientele is to align yourselves with vendors who have a similar brand ethos. We’re pretty laid back and fun, so we like to align ourselves with like minded people so when we work together it’s an immediate connection. You can’t neglect your brand and website either, these are the ways people find you. Think of it like your digital handshake. You’ve got a few seconds to impress them however they arrive to your website, so make it great.

How’d you meet your business partner?

Lindsay and I met after she was reaching out to photographers in the area. Lindsay was a professional skydiver and skydiving photographer and was looking to do more photography on ground level instead of up in the air hurling towards the earth. While it was an awesome career for her for many years, she did everything she wanted to do in the sport and was looking for a new challenge. She found me, our business ideals coincided and we created Live Happy Studio. It was a fun and candid approach to wedding photography without all the stuffiness we were seeing in the industry back then.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://livehappystudio.com/
• Instagram: @live_happy_studio
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/livehappystudio

Image Credits
(c) Live Happy Studio