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

Kristina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with what makes profitability in your industry a challenge – what would you say is the biggest challenge?

When you say, “I work in wedding photography” most people’s first reaction is that they know someone or have a friend who does it on the side. The industry literally ranges from iPhone users to professionals who bring thousands of dollars of equipment. One of the most challenging aspects of the industry can be differentiating the hobbyist from a professional while in a casual conversation relating to workplaces. Easy casual conversation generally starts with asking about each other’s work and livelihood. In an industry that is saturated with non-professionals, hobbyist, and side hustler wannabes the challenge to actually set your company a part is enormous. Our small business operates Tuesday through Friday and works events on the weekends. Wedding photography/videography is more than just pulling out a camera and cashing a check. It is hours of contract negations, timeline assistance, wedding planning, marketing, and responding to emails/calls/text. It’s a full time office job with weekend responsibilities. The actual event itself takes a very small portion of the job title. Most of a professional wedding photographer/videographer’s roles are marketing guru, advertising specialist, contract negotiator, wedding planner, counselor/hype person to the bride and groom, software editing professional, and more.

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 back background and context?

Love is so attentive to every detail. A soft focus kiss. Colors in our lovers eyes. How light plays across a white dress. The pen gliding across certificates. When we take in all these elegant glimpses of love, we are swept away in the moment but also wish to make those moments stand still. That is why 10 years, and a hundred thousand pictures ago, I knew photographing weddings wasn’t my career, it was my life. Along the way I fell in love with my best friend, and met the incredible members of our team at Kristina Kaylen. We are in the business of making moments stand still because, what else can we say? Love is our life!

Our team has spent over 700 hours fine tuning our relationship with light, cameras and design. When the moment is perfect, we anticipate it, and effortlessly capture the magic while it is in motion. We celebrate every one of our five-star reviews proving we have practiced to make you look perfect.

The Midwest is our country’s best kept secret. Our team members are hometown experts who have photographed weddings at over 32 popular wedding venues around the Midwest.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I started photographing on the side when I was 18 years old to help pay my way through college. Turns out after school and a decade later this is now my full-time career with 5 team members! I graduated with my Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration from Thomas Edison State University with a focus in professional photography. The more I looked into the corporate world the more I realized I just wanted to be a small business owner. I love being on the ground level talking with my clients and helping them in any way I can. What started out as a simple hobby of taking headshots and family photos has now turned into a full time career supporting multiple team members and my own growing family. We are excited to announce that we are expecting our first little one this year!

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

One of the biggest comments that comes up on bridal pages is communication. As a company we strive to provide fast communication with our couples. After a wedding has been shot and everyone goes home, our team reaches out to keep the couple informed on how far along their photos are in the editing process.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.KristinaKaylenWeddings.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/KristinaKaylen
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/KristinaKaylen
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/KristinaKaylen

Image Credits
Copyright Kristina Kaylen Weddings