We recently connected with Megan King and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Megan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

Honestly, my hero, or should I say heroes, would be my parents. MY parents are very integral in my passion for business. My parents own a very successful automotive service shop here in my home town. They took over our family business, that my grandpa started in 1985 and have transformed into a thriving business. Since they bought the business from my grandparents about 10 years ago, they have expanded operations by double.

From as long as I can remember my dad was working along side of my grandpa and learning the ins and outs of running a successful shop. Then my mother joined him later on. I blame them for giving me my entrepreneurial gene. Watching them take on this endeavor while also raising a family really inspired me to start my photography business in one of the most stressful moments of my life.

When I first started my photography business my husband, fiancé at that time, and I were building a home by hand, paying all cash for the project, he was in his first year of starting his excavation business, and we were planning a wedding at the end of 2022. To say we had a lot on our plate would be an understatement. I felt like I had no other choice than to put my dreams aside, support my husband, build our house and not to take any risks myself. That was when I looked at my parents, they are literal super humans, watching them run a business while also raising our family of 6 gave me the courage to take on another venture along with all of our other ventures at the time.

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?

I am a documentary wedding photographer in the St. Louis area. I have always loved taking photos my whole life but really started to get into photography when my husband, boyfriend at the time, was racing dirt bikes nationally.

We were travelling 9-14 hours pretty much every weekend all over the country. When we would get to these races there was not much for me to do other than sit there and watch- I am not a very good sitter. So, I took my moms really old camera along one day and really fell in love. So, my parents bought me a starter camera on my birthday and I started to take photos at the races that we were travelling too.

It wasn’t until my sister was graduating school and wanting pictures taken that I really fell in love with taking portrait photos. As I built my portfolio with seniors, I wanted to expand into couples. That was when I was hooked. I loved portraying a couples’ story through this visual art.

I didn’t know yet if I wanted to get into weddings until I was offered a position as a second shooter at a large company that has a multitude of photographers. With this position I would be following a main shooter along on wedding days to get different angles and such. I worked with this company for about 6 months before I just felt like I needed more. I needed more connection with the couple, not just their name and location the week before the wedding.

That was when I branched out on my own. I was scared that I wasn’t going to book wedding clients at first but as I posted more couples photos on my Instagram, more wedding inquires were rolling in. I really started to get to know their story- who they were as a couple, what they liked to do together, how they met, their proposal story, etc. This has really helped me connect more with the couple and capture their as if I were apart of their love story all along.

For how I approach their wedding day compared to other is I really try to tell their story and capture the essence of the day. Yes, you can have the traditional photos and be perfectly happy, but I want someone to look back on their wedding gallery and FEEL every single detail.

So, I take a step back from the moments and observe. I observe the couple in the in between moments, the flower girls twirling in their dresses in the corner, or grandma tearing up as the bride comes down the isle. I think that these photos truly emulate the feelings in the day. As someone who was recently married, I would’ve loved to see photos that as a bride I would not typically see happening.

With the in between moments captured, I also try to capture and edit my photos in the way that will capture the vibe of the day. Such as the joyus feeling of after the ceremony to the dark drunken slurry out on the dance floor. I think it is so important to revisit photos on your wedding day and feel something, not just look back on it.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Instagram has been a huge source for clients that I did not know. To be honest, I am not sure how it happened really. I have a crazy story on a client that found me on Instagram. She reached out about 9 months before her wedding that was happening in St. Louis, they lived in Texas. I have a section on my inquiry form on how you found me and she clicked Instagram. At this moment in time, I was only second shooting and did not have any wedding content on my page other than maybe a couple of posts.

Well, everything goes swimmingly through the planning process and we get to the welcome party and it was the most extravagant welcome party I have been to- with a mechanical bull and all. I was talking to the someone attending the party about how amazing it was and come to find out the grooms father was a Senator in Texas.

I could not believe it- THIS WAS MY SECOND WEDDING EVER UNDER MY OWN BUSINESS. I was overwhelmed with so much love that they chose ME to shoot their wedding and it was such a crazy experience to know that social media brought me this wedding!

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

Being a wedding photographer, couples book photographers a year plus out so there is a lot of downtime in between booking and wedding day.

I strive to create a personal connection with all of my clients, in little ways and in large ways. I check in with them every so often on email or text, but to really get that personal feel I try to connect with them on Instagram.

I think I speak for everyone when Instagram knows what you are into. So what I like to do is get with my clients and know the style of wedding that they are going for. Since Instagram knows I am a wedding photographer I am flooded with TONS of wedding content. When I see something that my client might like. florals, art installation, an idea, I send it to them. It is such an easy way to foster a relationship and show that you care about them and their day!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.megan-kingphotography.com
• Instagram: @megankingphotography_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/megankingphoto

Image Credits
All photos are taken by Megan King Photography