Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Laurie Victor Kay Charles Kay Jr. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Laurie Victor Kay, appreciate you joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.
Charles and I have been working together for 25 years. I can definitely say that there are a number of things we’ve done differently. The photography industry has seen immense changes over this time. We’ve certainly had to adapt and be nimble, sensing change and being in front of it when we can. One of the things that has been important to us from day one is that we value our imagery, something more important than ever. From the very beginning of our process, we see the big picture while also paying attention to small details. Our creative process is farther reaching than just taking a photograph. This begins the moment we start the conversation with our clients. Visual branding is an area of expertise and passion for us. Beyond photography, the conceptual, the implementation and execution of ideas excites us. We are artists, photographers, directors with creatives passions in many areas. Being entrepreneurs has given us the ability to vertically integrate our brand. We each bring individuality to the collaborative process.
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 background and context?
Charles and I crossed paths in a photo studio in Omaha, Nebraska in 1996. He had just moved back from NYC and I had recently moved back from Chicago. The story of how we met is a bit legendary now- he asked me to marry him after just three weeks of dating. Trusting one’s instinct proved a very good thing indeed. We both formally studied photography and art. Charles is a graduate of Brooks Institute of Photography and I studied painting and photography at the School of the Art Institute of Photography, graduating from Columbia College. Before we met, we had each traveled extensively- Charles spent time in LA, Paris, Minneapolis working for legendary photographers Irving Penn, Annie Leibowitz, Mary Ellen Mark, Mark Seliger.
Charles’ late father was a professional photographer who learned his craft in Bangkok, Thailand before moving to the US in the late 1960’s. Charles’ first photographic darkroom experience was at age five. My earliest photographic passion was ignited when at age 14 I was given a Pentax K1000 for my birthday. I discovered through reading books how to use a camera.
When we met in 1996, we were also working side by side in a very cool downtown studio. At the time duo photographic teams were not at all common. We found ourselves helping each other and quickly realized that our visions together made great work and it made us incredibly happy doing so. “Laurie and Charles” was created organically.
One of the things we are proudest of after all these years is that we never gave up. We never stopped believing in ourselves. We never doubted our ability or creative process. We grew our brand far beyond the reaches of Omaha, Nebraska, a place we still call home. We have created campaigns on global levels and worked with the most interesting people from the most diverse places, backgrounds, and stories. During our time we have experienced life-altering events from 9/11 to the 2008 Recession to the recent pandemic. During all of this we are proud and grateful for the amazing clients that we’ve continued to work with, and the new ones that reached out.
One more thing I’d have to add is that we are also proudest of our grown children Miles and Evie, both recent graduates of University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering. Our creative/work/parenting lives are so intertwined and it is truly the best.
About the work we create: visual branding campaigns for Fortune 500 companies, fine art exhibitions for galleries and museums, public art, commissioned portraits and installations in homes for clients all over the world. We created visual branding for Accenture, AT&T, Tiger Woods Foundation, TGR, Mazda, Hallmark, American Express, Citibank, NY Times, 1800 Tequila, Mutual of Omaha, Opera Omaha, and many more. During the pandemic, we created videos which were 3D projection mapped onto an 80 foot building to thank healthcare workers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. I recently had a solo show at Gilman Contemporary, in Sun Valley, ID. In the fall of 2022 Charles’ first museum show ‘Unseen’ will open at KANEKO. We’ve seen our work in so many places: from billboards, book covers, websites, newspapers, magazines, product packaging, to multi-floor installation in buildings.
We are proud to have our work in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History.
A few things readers may not know about us:
We surf. We are Californian in our hearts with the deepest Midwestern roots. We love real people. We are down to earth. We love education and advocating for issues in our community and beyond. We love food. We love dogs, especially rescued ones. We love to discover new things and meet people. We think the most exciting projects lie ahead!
What do you find most rewarding about being creative?
By far the most rewarding part of being artists has been the freedom; creatively we have been able to do exactly what we are passionate about and love each and every day. We also had a tremendous amount of freedom in regards to our schedules when our children were growing up. We could literally sculpt time to be present in ways that we always appreciated. Travel was also something integral to our family. We traveled extensively and being artists allowed us to see the world differently. We feel truly fortunate to live an art-filled life.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
From the very beginning of our business creating quality work was most important to us. This begins at the very start of our process. We put all of our clients on a level playing field, treating each project with the same importance. We’ve never let anything get in the way of making the best work possible. This is especially important for collaborative teams who are also partners in personal lives. Our professionalism and respect for creativity drives us. We are each photographers and have strong opinions as artists which collaboratively is a strength. It helps that we approach with two different perspectives. Our process has never been formulaic- we allow time and we listen. We are perfectionists when it comes to how our work looks, whether it is framed prints being installed in homes or large-scale images for commercial projects. Because we live in a smaller community, we always knew that word of mouth was better than any promotion we could do. It has maintained our business and continued to allow us to grow.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.laurieandcharles.com, www.laurievictorkay.com and www.charleskayjr.com
- Instagram: @laurieandcharles @charleskayjr @laurievictorkay
- Facebook: Laurie and Charles Photographs
Image Credits
All images ©Laurie and Charles