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

Krystal, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of our favorite things to brainstorm about with friends who’ve built something entrepreneurial is what they would do differently if they were to start over today. Surely, there are things you’ve learned that would allow you to do it over faster, more efficiently. We’d love to hear how you would go about setting things up if you were starting over today, knowing everything that you already know.

If I were to start over I would immediately look for a mentor or second shoot for another photographer. There is so much to learn within the photography world and it can be so overwhelming. Trying to learn everything on your own is hard! The photography/wedding vendor community is so welcoming and you can learn so much from just watching others. So being open to mentorship and not being scared to ask questions is something I wish I would’ve done from the beginning.

Krystal, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve been pursuing photography for 14+ years and ventured into many different avenues of the photography world before I fell in love with weddings. I have had a love for photography since I was about 15 or so when I picked up my first camera. I would take photos of my brothers baseball team throughout the season and then give out cds (ageing myself here haha) at the end of the season. From there I expanded into newborn photography at the hospital taking photos of newborns. This branched eventually into weddings and I found my true passion there. Photographing and witnessing the biggest day in someones life is so special.

I absolutely LOVE what I do and will get super geeky while planning all the details to make the clients shoot and experience perfect. One thing I’m most proud of is the fact that so many of my couples come to me with worries of being awkward, uncomfortable or tense in front of the camera but walk away LOVING their shoot experience. It’s always my goal to make sure it’s a fun experience on top of getting great photos of them.

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

One thing we tend to do as humans is be hyper critical of ourselves which tends to make many of us not willing to get in front of the camera. However, time is so fleeting and all that we’re left with are memories. So, it’s so important for me that my clients love their photos and they really express themselves during our shoots because these will be the pictures their children and family will look back on. Instead of just choosing a park and going there for a backdrop I ask my clients more about themselves and their relationship so that we can document parts of their lives now. That’s why you’ll see a lot of in home couples shoots and activities throughout my portfolio. I like to lean into the story of what makes each couple.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Trying to force too many “perfect shots”. Wedding days are meant to be experienced, not styled. Worse thing you can do is try to force poses throughout the day. I’ve had to learn to really step back and take in the day to get the important shots. When you let it happen organically, you create something beautiful.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kruizphotography.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/kruizphotography
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/kruizphotography