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

Alright, Kelsey thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.

Living in Alabama, the LGBTQIA+: community is definitely underserved. Religion is a huge part of the culture here, which unfortunately a lot of times leads to the rejection of anything that does not fit in people’s personal ideals. When I moved back to Birmingham from Nashville, I saw a big hole in the wedding and photography industry not reaching the LGBTQIA+: community. Not only was that community being shunned, but they were also not being celebrated. I started searching for ways I could celebrate them and their love through my art. I believe every person deserves to love and be loved and have that love documented. Just by tweaking language in my social profiles, and website, and posting some images of gay couples, I saw a major increase in inquiries being people who identify with the LGBTQIA+: community. When talking to my couples, I found that they were having a hard time finding vendors and photographers that were openly accepting of all people, especially couples getting married in the South. It was eye-opening to realize that just by putting it out there that you are accepting, people will be drawn to you and feel safe. I really want to encourage more people and businesses to talk about this and make it known that they stand with the LGBTQIA+: community if they do.

Kelsey, 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 have been messing with a camera and a computer for as long as I can remember. There has always been an obsession with photographs since I was small. The way prints feel in my hands. The way they instantly bring back that moment in time to your mind. The way you feel when looking at them. Raised in the deep south, I developed a love for capturing people as they are in the life they are living. That has stuck with me throughout my life and career, and I continue to put that as my number one goal when photographing people.

Music has also shaped me in so many ways. You will rarely find me in silence. I have been singing and listening to music of all genres since I was a baby. In high school, I developed a passion for graphic design as well. My love for music and design led me to Belmont University in 2007 where I earned a degree in Design Communications with a minor in studio art. I studied graphic design, film photography, and fine art painting all four years of college. I started my career in Belmont right after college where I worked in a variety of industries in marketing departments. While working full-time, I continued to photograph weddings, families, and portraits on the weekends, growing my experience and portfolio. I also kept freelancing designing for small brands all over the U.S.

In 2016, I met the love of my life (as cheesy and cliché as that sounds), Craig Justice. I honestly never thought I would find that. He is a Marketing Manager for a soccer retail company but is also a killer second shooter for my photography business. We were married after a little over a year of dating via an epic elopement on the coast of Ireland. That experience was unbelievable and sparked a new passion in me to capture more weddings and elopements. While working my full-time job, I started capturing more weddings all over the South with the hope to join couples on their adventure elopements all over the world.

My greatest strength is my ability to connect to people. I believe this is the core of what has made my business a success. I create relationships with each one of my clients because I truly believe when I get to know someone, I can create a better work of art for them. I am most proud of being told I make people feel seen and accepted. That is my purpose.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I spent the first 11 years of my career after college working for different corporate marketing companies. I gained so much knowledge on business and people. I also learned what I loved to do and what I didn’t love to do.

I moved back to Birmingham, Alabama from Nashville in 2015 and started a job with a local lifestyle magazine, Birmingham Magazine. It was a dream come true and I learned an endless amount from working there. I met so many people, attended so many fun events, and grew as a designer and photographer immensely. I also continued to do freelance design work and wedding and family photography.

I moved on to another corporate job that I thought was going to bring me more success, but after being there for four years, I decided it was time to finally start my own business, which is what I have wanted since college. In January 2022, I became an LLC and now get to photograph people and help brands be successful every single day.

I have had the opportunity to capture over 100 people/families/couples plus design and provide marketing strategy for over 10 brands in just one year. It has been a wild and rewarding journey.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

ANYTHING Brené Brown. She is my ultimate inspiration for women in business. She has helped teach me to be more brave, realize my worth and strengths, and use them to the fullest. There are so many great quotes from her but a couple of my favorites are: “We are born makers. We move what we’re learning from our heads to our hearts through our hands.” and “Want to be happy? Stop trying to be perfect.”

As a type 2 enneagram and perfectionist, letting go of the idea of being perfect and not vulnerable is a tough one for me. But taking chances and letting go has done absolute wonders for my business.      

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.kelseyjustice.com & http://www.justicecreativeco.com
• Instagram: @kelseyjusticephotography | @justicecreativeco
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelseyjusticephoto & https://www.facebook.com/justicecreativeco
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelseyjustice/

Image Credits
All Kelsey Justice Photography