We were lucky to catch up with Kendall Aubrey recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kendall, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
Before photography I was a public speaking professor at a University. I supported undergrads to have confidence in themselves and face the number one fear in the world: public speaking.
Growing up I never imagined I would be speaking to a large group, let alone inspiring others to do such a daunting task, but the confidence instilled in me from my entry level public speaking course changed my life.
I was the shy person. I was the person no one knew had a voice. I had an intimate group of friends who knew me as a ‘good listener. My younger sister gave my order at the ice cream shops we frequented until I was 20 years old. No one believes me now when I try to explain how painfully shy I was, but my experience has shaped who I am today.
As I mentioned, my entry level public speaking course was what changed my life. I went in to the class telling myself I am not shy anymore, these people don’t know my past, I can be the person I always wanted to be. I didn’t realize how much fun it was to have a voice, to have people listen to me, to speak my opinions and beliefs and not be the listener for once. Having a voice opened up a whole new life experience for me and I made it my mission to help others feel as empowered and confident as I did from taking a public speaking course.
Fast-forward a few years–I received my Master of Arts in Communication and taught at a University for 2 years. I achieved my mission–I had 300 students go through my courses and inspired so many of them to grow in to confident public speakers that not only could give presentations in classrooms, but also be the friendliest dorm roommate, etc.
So how did I get to where I am now, as a photographer and educator? I moved to a new city and started second shooting weddings on weekends for fun. I worked alongside hundreds of photographers, learned things I thought were great and saw things that made me cringe, it all inspired me to create my own photography business to boost my clients confidence and enhance their natural glow. When first building my business I thought this is fun, but feels a little superficial — making people look pretty, so they are happy. But as I matured into my role as a photographer I learned more about what I was actually doing — inspiring and motivating people to feel comfortable in super uncomfortable spaces with a complete stranger.
I realized all of my public speaking professor skills put me at a unique advantage over my photographer colleagues because I saw the photoshoot experience for my client as a mini confidence boosting crash course. At the beginning of 99% of photo sessions my clients mention something along the lines of “we’ve never done this before,” or “we’re really nervous,” or ” we’re going to be so awkward.” By the end of the photo session they are smiling ear to ear wishing the sun didn’t set and they could dance around with the wind in their hair for longer.
Prospective clients mention, “Your couples look so relaxed, natural, happy. They don’t look posed, fake, uncomfortable.” The experience I create from a client’s inquiry to the last minute of their photo session is carefully curated to provide an intentional, comfortable, memorable experience for them to be reminded of every time they see their images.
My mission has and has always been simple: boost confidence and enhance natural glow and I am so grateful to say I get to do that to every person I interact with every day.
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 background and context?
I’m an intimate wedding, elopement, portrait, and lifestyle branding photographer based out of the Bay Area in Northern California. I welcome all travel near or far.
There’s NOTHING I’m more passionate about than client connection. Here’s a little bit of background as to the kind of experience I want to ensure you and all of my client’s have.
That’s right, this isn’t just a photoshoot, it’s an overall experience. The person you are choosing to document moments of your life is a person you want to be your friend. You want that person to vibe with you, to understand who you are, to treat you like they would their best friend, and you want to have things in common with them. So the most important part of this journey is establishing a genuine and authentic connection. That’s when the real you comes out–all the snort-y laughs and meaningful, tear-jerking words.
Maintaining a real friendship will help me to capture those magical, natural moments between you and your lover. I want to be that third wheel friend egging you on making you feel like a million bucks (cause you are) and I want to make sure you can be your truest, you-est you to capture those sneaky kisses and silly jokes that make you laugh until you cry every time. The better I know you, the better I can capture YOUR story. The perfect and imperfect and everything in between.
The most gratifying feeling in the world, what drives me, and motivates me to keep doing what I do—being able to take the moments that are irreplaceable and freeze them in time. Being able to capture the unexpected and the unplanned all in a very raw and organic manner, so that no matter the months, years or lifetimes that might pass…it will still look and feel…just like it did on that very day.
I take pride in my work and I value relationships with my clients (friends, families, couples) more than I can say. It’s my job and such an honor to create priceless and timeless work for you, all while making you feel as if we’ve been friends for a lifetime.
You know that feeling when you stumble upon a photograph of your parents when they were younger? The idea that someone took the time to intentionally freeze these moments saving the stories behind them in history forever brings warmth to my heart. This is what fuels my purpose for what I do.
My work is grounded in the belief that photographs are about remembering organic moments + experiences and I make it my goal to sincerely document how it ‘felt’ so memories stay fresh for years to come.
Behind every photo there is a feeling and a memory and I want to be there to intentionally capture it.
How did you build your audience on social media?
There’s one controversial thing that’s been pivotal in growing my business and my social media. And channeling this into how I approach Instagram has improved my relationship with social media and work like nothing else!
I’ve noticed that a lot of people make the mistake of keeping their strategies, tips, and successes under wraps because they think that by sharing them they’ll lose out. The truth is — it’s the opposite!
When I started truly believing in community over competition I realized that it’s the biggest thing in growing a successful business — not just that brings in enough money to go full time, but one that you LOVE.
Nothing is more soul-fulfilling for me than helping other people find platforms to make their dreams come true. It makes me feel the happiest because it means that in being a photographer I’m not only creating art and a life of freedom, but helping others achieve that so the world is filled with even more creativity where women have the confidence to do the things they love.
Sharing what makes you successful and giving other photographers a voice and more reach WON’T lose you clients — people book you for your unique style that they can’t find anywhere else! And it encourages people to want to work with you MORE because they see you’re a friendly person they need in their life.
The light and positivity that brings you will make you love your job so much that you’ll see it in a new light — you’ll be excited to learn more, shoot more and do better which is what it takes to improve and grow an even more wildly successful business.
Channel positivity energy, and share it with every creative you meet! Let go of the scarcity mindset that there isn’t enough success for everyone, and you’ll make room for more abundance to flow in!
Be the person YOU look up and dare to believe that you can share what you have and still be overflowing with all the success you deserve. That’s the mindset that changes lives.
These are my secret spots where I find my dream clients through Instagram!
When you’re looking for followers to build future dream-client relationships with, the first thing you need to be clear on is what sessions/products you want to be selling so you’re pouring energy into the right places. These are the places that have worked best for me in finding the clients of my dreams!
Grad pics: Local University geotags, local sorority IG pages, and the hashtag gradpics! — I love talking about outfits, their majors and how amazing their personal photography is — I’ve met soooo many amazing soulsisters this way and it’s my dream to shoot their weddings someday!
Couples sessions: Local ‘bucketlist’ guides or ‘things to do’ in your city IG accounts are PERFECT! If you see a post about a spot you love, go into the comments and see who’s tagging their partner to suggest a date! Then you can go to their page and tell them how they’re giving you amazing date inspo, have an amazing taste in food and how cute they look together!
Adventure sessions: Geotags for nearby trails, mountains and beaches! A sneaky tip to find couples is by tapping photos where somebody else was taking the picture because usually it’s a partner behind the lens. Talk about all your favorite spots, sports and memories from your own trips!
Engagement/Wedding sessions: These are the hardest because by the time somebody posts on social media that they’re engaged, the chances are they’ve already found their photographer!
Couples are looking for somebody they love and trust so this is why building long-term relationships is important, and they’ll come to you! A ton of my recent couples have started as grads/couples and a lot of my weddings come from referrals (so make sure you’re keeping the love flowing with people who are already your clients, too!)
Rich engagement is a long game and can’t stop when they hit follow — that’s just the beginning! The best is what comes AFTER that, and it’s not just for landing clients — it’s what builds a platform you love showing up for and friends you can’t wait to exchange energy with.
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Here’s how I’ve been growing my social media by 1k followers a month!
One of my biggest goals for this year is sharing education and mentorship to help new photographers build their dream careers, so last week I asked in my stories about what areas you struggle with the most when it comes to growing your social media and soooo many people said engagement!
— If I had to pick one thing that’s grown my followers the most it would be engagement and learning how to do a great job at it! Unfortunately it’s not as simple as some people think… spending half an hour commenting ‘love’ on posts is NOT going to grow your following.
Ask yourself this: What do I want to gain from these followers?
— Because if your aim is to find clients through Instagram, your aim should NOT be on growing numbers. It should be about focusing your time on building deep, meaningful connections with a small niche which hashtags and generic comments won’t give you!
Instead of spending half an hour liking and commenting in the hope for a follow back, pick 10 accounts that are your DREAM clients and love on their posts — get to know them like you’re making a new friend, ask them questions, tell them how cute the outfit in their story is and get in their DMs. Followers are only valuable if they’re engaged, and like any relationship it has to be give and take!
The key to finding engaged followers is alignment, and you know you’re finding that if they give you back the same energy you’re sharing with them.
…And when a similar group of people show up for your work, the algorithm puts your post on the explore page of people who follow them, and starts bringing a whole world of dream clients to YOU!
Even if you aren’t growing by 300 followers a month, the connections that stick are worth more than ANY number because they’re the ones perfect for YOU and that’s what counts.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Looking back and realizing so many of the best days of my entire life have been photo sessions!
I literally wake up every single day beyond excited to get to work and I feel so grateful to have that feeling in a culture where we’re almost made to feel like we hate our jobs. Soooo many friends, memories, and days spent dancing in the sand… every session feels like i’m having a day off!
My favorite thing is that every couple I’m lucky enough to spend the day with brings out a new side of me because each one is so unique! No two sessions are the same and I could never compare those feelings because they’re all so different and incredibly beautiful — but each teaches me lessons that make me fall deeper in love with myself and my work. Their stories inspire me and make my creativity RADIATE! I am who I am because of them, both inside and outside of my job.
When I was younger, I always dreamed I’d have a job that would let me leave a positive impact on peoples’ lives. But for the longest time I thought that meant I had to be a doctor, a therapist or a healer and I knew that those things just didn’t feel like me! I never thought that pursuing a creative path would allow me to help people (or even just brighten their day a little bit!) in the way that it’s starting to now, every day.
As I grow older i’m learning that sharing inspiration, light and tiny acts of kindness are equally as important and that I have so many gifts that I can use to share goodness with people!
When your energy focuses on kindness positivity flows in and out of your life like an endless stream to pour into yourself and everybody around you (and that’s something money can’t buy!). You don’t have to be rich or a doctor or a scientist to change peoples’ lives —everybody has unique parts of them that they can use to brighten the world in their own way. And I feel so lucky that I’ve manifested the BEST community to share those exchanges with!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kendallaubrey.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kendallaubreyphoto/
Image Credits
Kendall Aubrey