We recently connected with Victoria Kelley and have shared our conversation below.
Victoria, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about the best boss, mentor, or leader you’ve ever worked with.
The best boss I had was back in Richmond VA, His name was Columbus. He pushed me to be not only a better employee but a better overall person. He knew exactly what to say to push me to work harder. Once I got my first big paycheck. I understood his “work hard to play hard” motto. I use that in my business now. Work hard in order to play hard. Honestly, Its like playing all the time it doesnt feel like work because we love what we do.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
We met 20 years ago through friends. In truth, Mike was more of a wallflower, while Victoria was the outgoing social butterfly! It wasn’t long before these two found common ground, including their love of photography.
Mike, an Erwin native who spent part of his childhood in California, first discovered his interest in the craft when he bought his first drone. Victoria, a Virginia native who spent most of her childhood in Abingdon, has been a picture fiend since middle school; she documented every year of grade school with a scrapbook album and then continued on to study photography in college.
Victoria is a people-loving perfectionist, who finds joy in connecting with clients and showing their unique personalities through her candid and free photography style. She specializes in portraiture, studio, and life candid experiences. She is not a “pose and shoot” photographer, but instead loves to prompt people to show their natural selves.
Mike is a technical and detailed photographer and specializes in aerial, real estate, and landscape. His passion is in the details; he loves paying attention to angles, highlighting the unique beauty and architecture of buildings, and pulling out the details. Both have a love for event photography
Their sense of humor and quick reactions to candid moments have made them the go-to photographer for local events, a recognition that they do not take lightly. They have made the Best of Johnson City 2020,2021, 2022 and now have been nominated for 2023. We’ve also won numerous different awards and have been featured on Fox Business on a show called “Earth”.
The passion and love of this dynamic couple show in every aspect of their business. Whether you are looking for an attentive photographer/videographer or 360 video wedding booth for your wedding, professional coverage of your event or the perfect angle for your real estate photos, both of them working together make the best team duo.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Not all of it was smooth. When the epidemic hit in 2020, Victoria’s portraiture side of the business stalled. She prevailed by finding fun new ways of setting up sessions without being close to others.
She found creative ways by setting up Facetime creative sessions, porch, drive-by birthday, and distant sessions with her 70-200mm. Mike’s side of the business soared through reality photography becoming an essential worker.
We also set up a new studio at the start of the epidemic, which was also a scary moment because of the doubtful time we were facing. Thriving through one of the toughest times in history showed us that we can withstand anything and reaching 7 years strong. They say only 10% of the photographers that start make it this long. We hope to continue coming up with new creative ventures.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
For both of us… its the connections we make with our clients. We don’t see them as a number we want to foster a place of friendships and connections. We want people to know we want to connect with them and help them grow like we did. If it wasn’t for our community we wouldn’t have been as successful as we have been. We had people that lifted us up and took a chance on us. That’s why we like giving back and planting seeds of life. That’s the most rewarding part of us being artist.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.johnsoncityaerialphotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnsoncityaerialphotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnsoncityaerialphotography
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-hensley-a4941742/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZjNeEv8pHdKvDjwu5vJpJw
- Other: https://jcap7.mypixieset.com/
Image Credits
@johnsoncityaerialphotography