We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Quinn Kirby. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Quinn below.
Hi Quinn, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
In March of 2022 I moved from my hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Pittsburgh, PA and took my photography business with me. I went from relying entirely on referrals from the clients I served and connections I built over several years to starting from the ground up. It’s been a challenge I’ve stared square in the eye, but it’s still a challenge, nonetheless.
In the time since I moved, I’ve focused my energy on networking and relationship-building. I made it a goal to attend two networking events a month and I’ve started to recognize fellow professionals who frequent the same type of events. I’m also inviting local creatives in photography-adjacent industries into conversation to discuss what respect from a photographer looks like to them – once I begin adding vendors to my client experience, I want to make sure I’m modeling respectful leadership. I’ve talked to several MUAs, including Danielle Mock and Bianca Black; Hair Artist Jenna Degol of Jenna Loves Your Hair; Stylists Chi Ilochi of Styling By Chi and Christina of Style By Christina; Photoshop Expert Michael Kropiewnicki and Creative Director Jessica Buchman. Listening to them speak on their expertise has reaffirmed that I made the right decision in moving to Pittsburgh. I highly suggest checking out their work.
Outside networking and relationship-building, I’m looking for ways to connect with soon-to-be college graduates from universities like the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and Duquesne University! I built my business on providing senior pictures in my home state and as my work for creatives and small businesses intensifies, I miss being part of celebrating graduates’ success. The marketing I’ve delved into since making my move has involved creating personal connections face-to-face and dabbling in organic social media marketing, but I’ll likely have to make the leap and begin creating paid social media ads to connect with the university audience.
All in all, I feel as though I’ve built a decent foundation in my new city. Much like a small fish in a big pond, I’m beginning to grow into the space.
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?
I graduated from Central Michigan University with a degree in photojournalism in May 2020 – straight into the COVID-19 hiring freezes. I applied to over 70 roles with unique cover letters, and only about five or so companies were gracious enough to respond to my application to tell me they would be moving forward with other candidates. While I did have the privilege of living with my parents during this time, I still needed to support myself and decided to put my entrepreneurship minor to work much earlier than anticipated. So, I made the switch from photojournalism to portraiture and launched Quinn Kirby Photography.
From August 2020 through 2021, I served mostly private clients (seniors, families, couples) and lived with the support of my family, partner, and a friend. Mid-2021, I began working with creatives and small businesses and started moving more of my offerings into the personal branding space. I’ve since worked with two companies on state-wide campaigns in my birth state of Michigan and am excited to have already started connecting with creatives and small businesses in Pittsburgh!
Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.
I started out photographing friends when I bought my first camera in high school. That Canon Rebel t8i bundle with a kit lens kept me going for a long time until I upgraded to a Canon 6D Mark II about halfway through my undergrad. I kept collaborating with my creative pals and doing senior pictures here and there while studying for my photojournalism degree, sometimes developing whole storylines for shoots. I enjoyed being able to connect with people face-to-face with creative portraiture versus photographing folks in the moment and having to collect their information later, as was often the case with photojournalism. The two genres bring me joy in their own ways, but once I graduated college, I turned a full 180 from the genre I earned my degree in and delved entirely into creative portrait and personal branding work. I incorporated in August of 2020, and the rest is history!
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
The older and more experienced I get, the more I see myself as a flipper in a pinball machine. I have my role and my strengths, and my clients come to me with momentum of their own. Together, we use that momentum to lift them up and then they can go crazy rattling around, exponentially gaining experience and points until they’re ready to find me and work with me again. If they decide to bypass my services and/or end their venture, they know they can find me at any time when they launch again.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.quinnkphoto.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quinnkphoto/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QuinnKPhoto/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/quinn-kirby-13921717b/
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/quinnkphoto
Image Credits
Quinn Kirby Photography