We recently connected with Keyara Washington and have shared our conversation below.

Keyara, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I was going on my 6th year as a medical assistant at a pain clinic. I had 2 small children, one was in school but the other was in daycare. We were expecting another child and once he arrived I had to get back to work and he had to go to daycare. Two children were in daycare and at that point I was only working to pay for daycare. Photography was just a hobby for me at the time but my husband always pushed me, he knew it would be more than just a hobby for me! So after much discussion, thought, and the fact that my husband was leaving for training out of town for 2 weeks, I took a risk and quit my job to be with my children and to really pursue photography. Before I knew it my skills improved and I had a full schedule. I quit my job in 2019 and my business is still blooming even after relocating 2 years ago.

Keyara, 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?

Hi! My name is Keyara Washington, owner of KW Photography. My husband and I went to best buy because he wanted to buy a camera and thats when it all started. Our very first camera was a canon 70D and believe it or not I was not the one behind the camera at first, my husband was! I was a new but I lacked so much confidence that I didn’t want to be responsible for peoples messed up images. Eventually I gained enough confidence to start charging and taking on clients for a whopping $85. In the beginning like many other photographers I photographed everything, baby showers, seniors, weddings, etc. until I figured out what I loved. In 2020 I invested in a mentorship for newborn photography and from there baby’s first year (maternity, newborn, and first birthday) has been my main focus since. I started out taking pictures in the living room of my home and then my very own studio in Michigan. Once we relocated to Georgia in 2021 we converted our garage until I found another studio space March 2023. I pride myself on providing excellent customer service and offering a full service studio. When clients book a session with me they bring very little to their photoshoot. I have gowns and accessories for my expecting moms, all the props, outfits, etc. for my newborns and customs sets, outfits and cake for babies first birthday. My ultimate goal is to make sure my clients feel heard, I want their experience to be top tier and stress free, exceed their expectations and bring their vision to life.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

You’ll see me talk about my husband a lot because he plays such a big role in my success! I was pushed by him to be more present on social media. He always told me “people don’t know you’re working if you don’t post”, “make sure you post on every platform”. I was great at posting of facebook but I only had about 400 friends on instagram. I didn’t even know how to work the thing. My husband signed in and started networking. He added people that were relevant to my line of work, ultrasound techs, event planners, other photographers, etc. There was a comment and like on every post he scrolled past. That and the proper hashtags, I’m at 1,766 followers! The best advice is to POST and be consistent! You’re potential clients will forget about you if you don’t stay in their faces.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is having happy clients that appreciate all that I do and just being able to create in general. I amaze myself when I see what I come up with.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kwphotos.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kwcamera_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KWCAMERA
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsSOGsbvcLiFVe3HJxUvOAg
• Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/biz_info/aAByY214q4-3NURlS59bAw

Image Credits
Keyara Washington KW Photography, LLC