We were lucky to catch up with Kristie Bradley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kristie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

My hope is to build a legacy that has made an impact on my community and family. I would like people to know that every act of kindness is important. I would like people to know that they can make an impact even in the smallest of ways. When I am gone I hope that people will say that I showed kindness and empathy. I hope that my children can show those same qualities and know that they are capable of making an impact on others in a positive way.

As a business owner I realize that my name can make an impact across our community. I use my ability to be in the public eye as a way to spread kindness and support. I hope to be remembered for making others feel confident, supported and loved.

Kristie, 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?

Like many other photographers and artists, I always enjoyed and found art and photography in my life. However, I would have never guessed that I would be a small business owner specializing in high school senior photography and fulfilling my passion of community service through my business. I have also discovered my love for supporting, mentoring and cheering on other photographers and small business owners.
From a young age you could find me creating. My love for photography continued into my studies at George Mason University and again as I began my career in advertising and journalism with a small company in VA. Soon, I found myself missing my work with children and teens and changed paths to pursue a teaching career. I was able to combine my love for art and teaching becoming a middle school art teacher and soon a high school photography teacher. During these years teaching I found that the combination of working with teens and creating my own imagery was a true passion. I opened the doors to my business in 2010 while on maternity leave with my first son. I began specializing in high school seniors in 2013 and began the heart of my company, my senior ambassador program. This program allows me to combine photographing teens and seniors with giving back to the community. The KBP Ambassador program serves as a place for teens to spread kindness, compassion and empathy, while gaining confidence through these activities, as well as new friendships and of course photo shoots.

Seeing my clients smile is my favorite! Whether we are breaking the ice for a senior portrait session, designing beautiful wall art for their home or coming up with a plan for your small business my heart is all in! Not only have I been specializing in senior portraits for 10 years, but my background in education and building a business from scratch has allowed me to help other small businesses owners build their dream. As a Mom of two boys, I can relate both to my senior parents and the hard working Mom’s trying to build their dream business.

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

Instagram has been the main marketing platform for me since day 1! My one stable and not so surprising piece of advice for building your audience on social media is to be consistent. Show up each day, even if it’s in small ways. Social media can be so daunting and overwhelming causing people to just not show up. I have found that creating a consistent and easy way to post(Canva is my favorite design tool!) can save time and brain power. Create a workflow with your clients that includes social media. For example, this is what my workflow looks like for each of my clients:

1) Behind the scenes reel released 1-2 days after their session.
2) Sneak peeks of finished images released 2-4 days after their session and before their order appointment.
3) Final image post released after their order appointment of their favorites.
4) Final product social media post(albums, wall art etc) to show the service I offer for my clients. This includes stories, reels or feed posts.

By working this into my process it allows me to be consistent with each client and my audience loves to see the process!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

There are two main goals driving my journey and business:

1) My family. I shifted to being my own boss for the freedom it allowed me to be flexible for my children and family. It allows me to be home when I need, be at their activities and still provide for them financially.

2) My legacy. I am grateful that as my own boss I get to choose how I give back. I have the opportunity to use my platform and audience to be a positive impact on my community!

Contact Info:

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

Image Credits

All image by Kristie Bradley Photography