Today we’d like to introduce you to Krystina Elder.
Hi Krystina, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I was always creative and artistic, even as a child. And I wanted to pursue a career in something creative, but when I became a mother at 22, it was more about what could provide us a secure life. I was a CNA for six years but when I became a single mom, I needed something more financially beneficial. I began working at a bank. During that time, I met my now-husband, and in one day sometime around 2018 I came home crying because my boss and her boss pulled me into a conference room to tell me they will personally make sure I never grow in the company. I’ll never be promoted and I’ll never make more than the entry-level pay. I said that I hated my job and that I wanted to quit. He told me that I could and I could try to do something that made me happy. So, for the first time since I was 14, I wasn’t working. I tried starting a daycare, I tried selling makeup. I didn’t really seem to know what I wanted to do. For years it was about what I needed to do. In August 2020, I had a friend that was getting married and wanted to keep everything as cost-efficient as possible. I was taking pictures with my phone for years like everyone and I enjoyed putting effort into making a good photograph. So, I offered to take photos of her wedding just as a friend. My grandfather (in-law) heard what I was doing, and he loaned me his Nikon 3400. It was the first time that I ever had a DSLR camera and I had no idea what to do with it. So, I dove into YouTube, Google, and social media to learn as much as I could about operating the camera. I took the wedding photos and a spark was lit in me. I already loved the results of working hard for a good photo, but now someone else had them too. And they loved them like I did. That feeling of showing someone the way that I see the world, and to have them feel beautiful, it’s unlike any other feeling. I started asking for models and now almost 2 years later I take clients, work for events, and some clients ask me to photograph all of their special moments, so I also get to see people grow. I have gotten to travel to my home state California as a hired photographer. I was born in Marin County, I spent part of my honeymoon in Northern California and I still have family there. I now live and work in the Pacific Northwest but my roots are California. KrysE Photography is currently in the process of expanding to videography services and adding a partner, my husband Jeffrey Elder.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The reality of starting, owning, and operating a business without a business education is challenging. The legal aspect of things (i.e., contracts, taxes, etc.) has been the most challenging process. It’s difficult to balance my joy for what I do and my desire to over-deliver because I love the power a photograph has. It can make you think of years of memories, or just one. It can make you laugh, or cry, or desire, or fear. A good photograph is good because you can feel what’s happening in it. But to survive and grow as a business takes a different set of skills that I had to learn; I wasn’t born with.
My favorite challenge of this career is getting better at it. Taking better photos in the moment. Fine-tuning my editing skills. Learning new ones. I enjoy the education of becoming a better photographer.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I think the better question is what don’t I do? I’ve done weddings, birthday parties, triathlons, proms, business portraits, celebration of life photos, vacations, boudoir, pets, senior photos, births, and maternity photos. I don’t specialize in a category of photography; I specialize in a style. I capture the real moments in life.
I try to have fun with my clients. I want them to forget that I’m there for a job. I want my clients to fully be themselves because that’s really what people want to remember. I love when I deliver a picture and the clients say “I didn’t even know you were there,” or “I forgot that you were taking pictures.”
What I’m most proud of is the same things as what sets me apart. I believe people hire me because my photos tend to catch the genuine moments of their lives. They don’t look staged; they look like a snapshot of their memory.
My skillset has progressed in such a short amount of time and that has hugely contributed to the growth of my business name.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I offer complimentary “saying goodbye” photos for pets who are getting ready to cross the rainbow. My best friend in the world happened to be my dog. I got him when my daughter was two and he was just three months old. A few months before he turned seven, he left us unexpectedly. I had two days to spend with him. I was in my first year of starting KrysE Photography and I took photos of our last days together. As confusing as it is that he’s gone, it’s comforting that I can go back to the days we were together. It made me think of all the other people that go through that as well that don’t have the equipment or skillset to capture those memories. And remembering a loved family member should never cost anyone.
Contact Info:
- Website: KrysEphotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krysephoto/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/krysephoto
