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

Kelsey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share a story with us from back when you were an intern or apprentice? Maybe it’s a story that illustrates an important lesson you learned or maybe it’s a just a story that makes you laugh (or cry)? Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style.

During my internship at USF, my mentor (Jason Swisher) and I were talking about my future. I told him that I wanted to label myself as OGKILLAKELS but I wasn’t sure if it’d be received as “professional.” At the time, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to design or if I wanted to shoot. He asked me if I really cared about that? The people who are going to support you will support my brand because I AM a professional–no matter the name. I’m not sure if Jason realizes how much that gave me the confidence to be who I wanted to be as a creative. As much as he doesn’t want to take credit… he’s always going to be a part of my journey of me being as successful as I have been in my field.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am Kelsey Martin (also known as OG) and I’m a twenty nine year old mommy, photographer, and creative director. Graduating from the University of Saint Francis, I received my bachelor’s degree in Communication Art and Graphic Design with concentrations in Media Entrepreneurship Training in the Arts (META), Photography, and Computer Graphics. I have been shooting for seven years and have been designing for ten years. I do a lot of things like host events, curate art shows, and the host of OG & FRIENDS PODCAST. My inspirations consist of black culture, contemporary art, and music. I am very passionate about collaborating and elevating artists to their fullest potential.

Photography is a passion of mine. Portrait photography is what I specialize in—but I dibble and dabble in group photography, branding, headshots and more. The goal is to make a digital photo feel nostalgic.

Black culture is what inspires me to piece together visions down to the socks you’d wear. I gain inspiration and put my own twist on it. My favorite thing to do is take an idea a client has and make it come to life. From album rollouts to clothing brands, we will take the steps to make sure you have enough content as well as a concise plan to roll your project(s) out to the world. Aside from taking photos and directing, I am the host of OG & FRIENDS, I shoot behind the scenes for music videos/commercial projects, host events and curate art shows…jack of all trades right? I love to have my hands in everything. Expanding my talents is important; being able to bring an idea to life successfully is even more important to me.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

What helped me build a positive reputation within my market is my customer service. I’ve been in the service industry since I was 14 and feel as I am a people person. I’m always striving to make working with me an experience. From the look down to final product–I will do everything I can to make sure your final product is what you wanted it to be. I’m also just a nice person, love conversation, and genuinely want to make sure you enjoy what I produce for you.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Word of mouth and social media. More of it comes from word of mouth, which ties into my last answer of excellent customer service. I’ve had my instagram since high school and a lot of my followers have seen me grow as a photographer. A lot of the times when I ask how they found me, I’ve been referred by a previous client. It’s a good feeling to know that I’m leaving good enough impressions that people pass my business along.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ogkillakels.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ogkillakels/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ogkillakels/

Image Credits
Image of OG on the mic: Tywell Williams