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

Kortney, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?

My entire life, my brain always worked in more of a creative and artistic way. Art classes, styling hair and doing makeup for friends at a young age for dances, taking photos, etc.

Something I would do often in middle school and high school (around the years of 2008-2014) would go do a group of peoples hair and makeup, then go photograph them. I did this often. Instagram wasn’t a thing, and so Facebook it was for sharing. It truly was just a hobby. I loved being creative, and putting different themes to each shoot that I did. I would post them on Facebook for fun, and not think much of it. Until one day I had someone message me asking to photograph their wedding…as a high schooler…I was so pumped to be considered. I charged them a whole $300 for unlimited coverage. (Which at the time, felt like SO much money since that was what I made in an entire paycheck at my part time job)

I ended up helping with hair and makeup, while also photographing. This is when it truly hit me. Hair, makeup, and photos. A one stop shop. I loved photography, and loved hair and makeup. I couldn’t choose one direction so I decided to do both.

For hair, you have to go to school and become licensed. Where with photography you don’t have to. So it was an easy game plan of graduating high school, go to cosmetology school out of state (to still get the college experience), then be a photographer that can also do hair and makeup for your sessions, weddings and elopements.

It was amazing growing into something I had never heard of anyone doing before. As time went on, It became one of the biggest perks of hiring me, especially for destination weddings. There I was, after school as a 22 year old, traveling the world for weddings while being the hair and makeup artist, as well as the photographer. It made the decision to go with me, that much easier for these destination brides, knowing they didn’t have to find someone to do their hair and makeup as well.

As time went on, I continued to photograph weddings & elopements around the globe. Because of how busy I was, I have slowly faded the hair & makeup portion out of my brand to niche down. But it still comes in incredibly helpful when needed. If the bride’s hair or makeup needs fixed mid day, I know exactly how to fix it. My attention to detail on “keeping the hair perfect” during portraits is intense because of my background. It’s all helped build what I now have today over 10 years later.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a destination wedding photographer that’s based in Boise Idaho. Majority of my weddings are out of state or destination weddings, but still enjoy having a few close to home in the beautiful state of Idaho.

I am the most proud of my ability to observe and be ready for moments to happen when I’m photographing. I always tell my couples; ” I photograph in a way that when you look back at your photos one day to FEEL the day and those real moments. Not feel like your wedding was a 10 hour long photoshoot” That’s so important to me. Being in the moment these days is hard. I want to fully grant that to my client, and have them know with full confidence I’m there documenting each moment.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

There was a few years that I actually became director of marketing for a real estate group. (while also doing wedding photography) This was such an incredible experience for me. It changed the way I think about marketing completely. Seeing how another industry works, especially real estate. One of the biggest things we focused on was in person networking. Seeing how the agents I worked with got into new circles, and were constantly grinding for their names to be in everyone’s mouth (in a good way) was everything. It taught me to work hard to stay top of mind, to try avenues of marketing where majority of photographers aren’t (example…Hand written branded postcards to all past clients). They also got me thinking of new ways to market myself with collaboration, which sprang up the idea of doing venue tours (just like my agents would do home tours!) and collab posting on socials with those venues. I’ve booked a ton of weddings from those alone. It forced me to think outside the box. I am forever grateful for that experience.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Becoming a mother was one of the biggest life changing experiences of my life. Not only to one baby…but I had two under two. It rocked my world. As a busy woman who knew nothing but working non stop because “work” was also her favorite hobby’s (hair, makeup, and photos), it was a quick slap in the face to slow down. The second baby was unexpected and was due right in the middle of wedding season. At the time, I had several destination weddings on the books. I was extremely overwhelmed with how I would make it work. As well as how I would move forward in the future. Being a mom was always a dream of mine. Being a destination wedding photographer was also a huge dream of mine. How could I do both?…bless my sweet husband for being so great. With his support, and the support of some amazing part time nanny’s and family members, I continued. Each baby ended up on a few destination trips with me & my husband while they were still under 12 months. I kept going. I had every excuse to stop booking destination weddings. But I knew my heart would ache at letting go of that dream, when I KNEW in my soul I was capable of doing both. I knew I wanted to show my daughters that being a mom is incredible, and following you dreams doesn’t have to stop once you become a mom.

One of the biggest things I had to learn was it’s okay to charge more. If you are leaving your kids for a destination wedding, It needs to be well worth it financially. It’s no longer “just cool for my portfolio”. So I raised my base price more than double to cover any childcare while I was out of town from my kids, and made sure I was making the same profit, if not more, at a destination wedding than I would a local wedding.

Over time, we have gotten into a great groove. My girls are now 2.5 and 4, and the balance is incredible. They love seeing the cool places I get to go to, and love when I come home and show them the “princesses in castles” I get to photograph around the world. Of course the busy months are hard. I miss them so much. But I would never trade this job as a mom for anything. Sure, I leave town in chunks through the year. But I get to be home with them 85% of the time, while also helping provide for my family. It makes it all worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kortneyjphoto.com
• Instagram: @kortneyjphoto

Image Credits

Kortney J Photo for all images.