Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Niah Kalpak. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Niah, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?
“Success” can be measured in so many different ways to so many different people, especially photographers. It could be because of how much money you make, how many out of state/country weddings you get booked to do, how often you have sessions, or if you can afford the newest high quality equipment. While all of these are valid measures of success in the creative world, and I would love to do more of all of these, I don’t believe these make you a successful & (here’s the kicker) happy photographer.
The more I talk about this topic with other creatives, it gives me a sense of peace to see that we are all starting to become like minded about how comparison is killing us all. We all strive to be featured in Vogue or top dog Instagram photo companies, but does that really make you successful? I believe most would say yes! And I too believe that I would get a pretty big ego boost and have an “I made it” moment, but I truly don’t believe all of these things make you successful.
So, with all of that being said, what I think it takes to be successful is your attitude and mindset towards your job. As wedding photographers, we get caught up in the timeline planning and mundane-ness of weddings, if the flowers are fake or not, if they had a good budget or not, and rolling our eyes at the repetitive editing process, but we often forget that this is someone’s best day ever. I will be the first to admit that I sometimes hate editing the same poses, details, and venues in Georgia I’ve shot at handful’s of times, because I compare myself to colleagues out west or in Europe that must be having a much more fun and creative time than me, but I forget that this is someone’s WEDDING. Wedding! Me, myself, and I got chosen to capture the memories and moments for a girl that has been dreaming about this day since she was young. I get chosen to capture the tearful eyes of parents and grandparents, and laughs with long term friends. When I remember this, I find myself crying at some pictures I capture as I edit and I start to appreciate my own work and put in more passion and intention to each photo.
I believe that if your attitude is geared towards wanting to capture someone’s special day well and with intention, you will be successful. I have talked to some people who have made it to those super cool wedding destinations, and they are burnt out, and talking to them does not give off the vibe of success- but rather tired and bored. Mindset matters in this industry, and the good news is that it doesn’t matter if you have a $300 camera or $7,000, a booking in middle Georgia or Colorado, 2 week turn around time or 4 month, the thing that matters is someone chose YOU to be a part of the best day of their life, and even if one person has done that, you’ve made it.
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?
My name is Niah Kalpak and I am a wedding photographer and videographer! I specialize in capturing the most precious moments of people’s lives. I take pride in my keen eye for detail and a passion for capturing authentic, emotional moments. My style is a mix of documentary and fine art photography, which results in stunning, timeless images that capture the essence of the moment. I offers a range of services, including wedding photography & videography, engagement sessions, senior portraits, and lifestyle photography.
I take pride in my work and how I execute it! I started photography when I was 14 just looking at Pinterest and trying to recreate other’s work, but now I feel like I have figured out the trick. I actually love when couples say to me “We are so awkward, we don’t usually take pictures” because I know that they will be wowed with the results! I love fun prompts rather than stand still posing. I find that this makes the session more light hearted with less pressure, and you just enjoy each others company and I’m just like a professional third wheel. I bring a speaker with me (automatically Taylor Swift unless requested differently, but even then it will probably stay Taylor Swift) to my sessions and take this time to get to know you as a couple or what your plans are after school if you are a senior. My favorite it when I become friends with a client!
I think the most important thing for potential clients to know about me is that I strive to have a no pressure and 100% comfortable experience, and live and breathe The Golden Rule in my brand: treat others the way you want to be treated. When it comes to shooting with me I ask you what your good side is (cause I know I have one), I send photos with different facial expressions (because I know I am so picky about photos of myself), and I aim to have a fast turn around time (because I would be so excited to see the results!), I help with outfit consultation (I’m a girl- need I say more), and I probably say “Oh my gosh this is stunning” way too much in a session (cause we all need some confidence boosts and reassurance when we are getting our picture taken)! I love what I do, and it would be my honor to capture you and your life!
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
There are lots of technicalities to photography that you learn if you aim to shoot manually with your camera like never go below 160 on your shutter because your photos will be blurry, you have to stay one full stop above your camera’s minimum aperture to have the best photos, never have a high ISO or photos will be grainy, never shoot with the sun behind your subject because their faces will be dark, if you don’t “nail” the shot, don’t send it, and so many more. These are all technicalities probably could be true! However, I noticed that the minute I started to step outside of these rules my style and quality started to completely change. I for sure break all of these every time I have a session, and I’m fine! It works for me, and that’s all that matters. I have seen lots of photographers learn how to step outside of the box to keep up with trends and wants for their client and I think it’s great. Photography is all about trial and error, and you’re never going to grow if you don’t try new things. Your camera is capable of so much more than you know when you just watch older style photographers on YouTube explain how to set a camera (no offense lol).
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
Geez, I could go on and on about this question. I’ll keep it short and sweet with my top two comments that I have realized that only creative’s will understand the irony in:
1. “You’re camera takes such good photos!”
A simple, yet such mentally damaging comment. Which obviously they wouldn’t know that! However, no, it doesn’t, I do. This intentional compliment is a top struggle for new photographers because it completely takes away from absolutely everything the photographer did to take that photo: pose the client, set the camera settings to make it look like that, have the correct composition, etc. This is such a light hearted comment that truthfully should be taken lightly, but for someone who has no idea how photography works, it is something they will struggle to understand.
2. “You’re so lucky you only work 8 hours and just have fun at weddings and make “x” amount of money!”
No, actually I don’t. Yes I am lucky to not have a strict 9-5 and I am my own boss, but this also comes with LOTS of cons (especially for us Type B people). The amount of work I do per wedding is not equivalent to the wedding day hours alone. We must respond to inquiries, create contracts and invoices, have meetings with the client pre-wedding day, create a timeline, drive to location that can be hours away, shoot 8-10 hours at the wedding, drive back home, and sit and edit the wedding that can take 10-20 hours, account for upload time, create a carefully curated Instagram post that takes much, much longer than you think, all while having our weekends taken for work, as well as carrying that into the weeks, on top of multiple sessions per week with a similar process. In no! way! am I complaining about what all it takes to do this job, but it is also a process that non-creatives do not really think about, which leads to photography being seen as an easy job that takes minimal skill and it’s as easy as pressing a button!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://niahgraycephotofilm.mypixieset.com/
- Instagram: @niahgrayce.photofilm
- Facebook: Niah Grayce Photo+Film
Image Credits
Niah Grayce Photo+Film