Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelsey Smith.
Kelsey, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Creativity has always been in my blood. It’s not only something I do for a living, but it is something I do to live! My interest in photography peaked when I was in middle school and received my first camera as a birthday gift. As I began exploring the world from behind my lens, I realized that while photographing nature was beautiful, photographing people was an act of storytelling that I fell in love with.
While studying in college, I would make my friends do photo shoots with me and eventually started interning with some rad wedding photographers in LA. I learned so much and branched out on my own the following year. My passion for photography shifted when I had my son. I realized not only how much I love photographing the lives of people, but how necessary these photographs became!
My most treasured possessions on this earth are photos of my babies when they were still freshly home from the hospital. My passion for creating these memories for other people just tripled, and today I am so grateful that I get to capture these moments for my amazing clients and encapsulate these precious and fleeting times in their lives!
The Wyco Collective is a combination of my children’s names because they are the reason I do what I do. They are why I know how special the services I offer are to other families. I love my job so much and consider it an honor when people share their story with me!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Most anything of value comes with hard work and obstacles along the way. Being an entrepreneur alone has so many challenges, adding in being a mother of two makes it even crazier. Finding my way to becoming The Wyco Collective has been an evolving process.
My skills, editing style and drive behind why I do I do has been an incredibly growing and stretching process. I feel like I’ve found myself along the way through my art, through telling other’s stories and through my own journey of becoming a working mom. The competition is fierce in this city, and it really takes hard work and creativity to make yourself stand out in a saturated industry.
Please tell us about The Wyco Collective.
The Wyco Collective is a lifestyle and family photography company and online print shop. It’s you and your story + me and my camera, and together we make art. I specialize in families, children, and births. I’m known for my quick turn around time and patience while on a shoot with kids (after all I have two crazy kids of my own!).
I’m most proud of maintaining my sweet clients who come back year after year! I know what an honor, privilege, and responsibility it is to be trusted with documenting these fleeting moments. I know how much work goes into gathering outfits, managing children’s naps, smiling at the camera while holding squirming monkeys.
I understand the anxiousness that comes with family photos, and I do my best to create a calm and enjoyable experience for my clients!
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I could go back and start over, I think the only thing I would have done differently is to not compare my art to someone else’s art in the beginning of my business. To allow my style to evolve naturally instead of keeping up with the trends.
In this digital world, we have constant access to everyone’s work and playing the comparison game only hinders our ability to see what our true art form is. I love where I am now, confident in my style, my work and letting it be unique and timeless.
Pricing:
- Family Sessions $375
- Limited Holiday Mini Sessions $225
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thewycocollective.com
- Phone: 6199975598
- Email: kelseylauren4@gmail.com
- Instagram: @thewycocollective
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewycocollective/?ref=bookmarks
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