Check Out Kaytee Smith’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaytee Smith.

Hi Kaytee, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My story starts back when you would take photos, drop them off at a drugstore, and wait for the film to be turned into photos. I have always loved taking photos – cliche, I know, but it’s true. In middle and high school, I would get dressed up with my best friends and take photos of them on my cheap little camera, all while using sheets and blankets for backdrops. There was a large amount of snow in 2004; at 14 years old, I took my friends out and took photos with them in the snow. My friends often bring up this memory! My love for photography and capturing the moments only grew from there.

When my daughter was born in 2015, I knew I wanted a camera for Christmas that next year – my husband surprised me with one! I began taking photos of her and sharing them with friends and family. From there, small shops reached out to me for branding photos – meaning they sent me free or discounted items to photograph with my daughter to share on their social media pages. I worked with some amazing shops from all over the US, such as Vagabond Boot Co. based out of Texas. It quickly grew from branding photos to local friends asking me to take photos of their children and their families. That’s where the spark really ignited. People wanted to pay me to capture their family’s memories! I was ecstatic. I crossed my t’s and dotted my i’s to become a small business and began serving the Kansas City and St Joseph communities. I learned so much during this time – how to better communicate with people, poses and prompts, editing, better learned my gear, ect.

I started with outdoor family photography for a few years. My “style” at first was very posed and “smile at the camera,” you know, the one that mom always wants to hang up on her wall. After I felt more comfortable, I found a small studio in a small classroom in a historic school building in Cameron (at this point, I now live about 10 minutes away from Cameron.) I found a love for lifestyle photography. Lifestyle photography is capturing the raw, genuine moments of a family together. I aim to not pose them, but to give them guidance and let them love on eachother while I capture the family. I like to tell the story of the season the family is in. I capture baby’s playing in mama’s hair, snuggled into dad’s shoulder, roughhousing with dad, and dancing with their mama. I love the storytelling approach, what better way to capture the kids than just letting them be exactly who they are. Since then, I have upgraded my equipment, invested into an amazing mentorship, moved studio rooms, and added many amazing clients, and captured some really amazing memories for families.

I recently took on my first wedding and instantly fell in love with weddings! It was obviously a ton of work and I felt like I ran a marathon the days following, but I really enjoyed spending the day serving the bride and groom all while capturing the moments throughout their day. The couple was beautiful, the venue, The Sycamore Tree in Savannah, was stunning, and the DJ, Music Mania Mobile DJ Services kept the party going. I really enjoyed the experience and it may have opened a new door for me to want to take on many, many more weddings! I truly just didn’t know how much I would enjoy photographing such a large event!

I plan to continue to grow and learn every day! I want to invest in my business and invest in those who are trusting me to give them a great experience with a professional photographer all while receiving beautiful artwork of their families.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Many of my challenges come from within my head. Am I good enough to charge a livable wage? Do people really want to pay me to do this? Wow, they do and I am flattered and take pride in each session I am hired for.
My photos are cohesive, but with each location, lighting, weather, season, and outfit choice, the overall look changes – some don’t love that, but that’s where the education and experience come into play – just knowing your camera settings and how to best capture, no matter the environment.
Still, I enjoy the ever-changing memories that are captured! It’s easy to get lost while comparing yourself to other photographers, but staying true to myself, my goals, and my family has always kept me on the path of comparing myself to myself.
Another challenge for everyone is getting established. There are many amazing photographers in the community; each photographer has their style and niche. Finding clients that still need to be established with a photographer they love has been a task, but I now have some very loyal clients and always love when someone new reaches out!
As for any working parent, finding the work – home balance has proven to be challenging for me. I now have 2 small children and we homeschool, along with after school activities such as cheer and speech therapy, it can be chaotic – but I like to think I thrive on chaos!
With all of that being said, I do feel like it has been a relatively smooth road since the beginning with some missed turned and wrong exits taken, but overall, I have been able to stay on track, and have stayed true to myself and my craft. Of course, there were days that you contemplate giving up and self doubt of just not being enough, but I have a very supportive husband that has proven to be my voice of reason many times. I am incredibly thankful for the support he gives me daily, as well as my family and friends.

We all have different ways of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Defining success for me? A few things – When I capture that one (or many times, multiple) photo(s), that makes the family speechless. This differs from the photo where everyone is standing and smiling at the camera. I’m talking about the photo of that family baby holding onto mama’s finger, or big sister fixing little sister’s hair, or just the little boy that always has a tractor in his hand playing in the dirt. I love it and it makes me feel successful for that session. Having my photos I’ve taken as their social media post, or being shared on a birthday, or hung above the couch, all of it I find success in. I feel successful when a potential client turns into a booked client, and even more so when they are a returning client! I appreciate them trusting in me and investing in my work. I want to grow, I want to be consistently booked, and I want to give these families the experience they love and look forward to the next session with me.
With that being said, I am hoping to travel for family sessions and elopements in 2023 and 2024. My goal is to capture clients in the mountains, desserts, and other locations outside of Missouri. Being able to check this off my list over and over again might be my biggest goal and would easily be a definition of “successful” for me! So, I am working hard to help clients see why they should hire me to follow them out of state in 2023 so we can make artwork with stunning views!

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KayteeSmithPhotographyLLC
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/kaytee.smith.photography
• Email: KayteeSmithPhotographyllc@gmail.com