Conversations with Serenity Ohlsen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Serenity Ohlsen.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have been a photographer since 2014 and an artist my entire life. My business began to blossom in Kansas City in 2018 after I got married. I have lived in the Kansas City Metro for six years but my journey began in South Florida where I was born and raised. Down in Florida, I was homeschooled and knew from a very young age that I would be an artist and work for myself, no one could ever tell me what to do. I started with graphite drawing and sketching and later explored clothing design and graphic drawing. Around the age of 12, I moved with my family to upstate New York where I began exploring photography. My Grandad bought me a small digital camera, and I began teaching myself. I studied photography and learned everything I could. After some time, my Grandma gave me her old Nikon D50, my very first DSLR. I took photos of everything and was a second shooter at my first wedding at the age of 14. I began selling prints to locals at farmer’s markets and in the parking lots of small businesses. At the age of 15, my family packed up again and moved to Kansas City. My sweetheart since Florida moved to Kansas City to be with me and we got engaged shortly after. We saved up all the money we could and bought a house and got married. From there, I told him I wanted to really take my business full time, I had been doing portrait work since we moved to KC but I hadn’t really gone all in. So I upgraded, purchased one of Nikon’s best cameras. After a couple of years, I built up the courage to start shooting weddings, and I fell even more in love with my work. My true passion is helping brides and grooms capture their weddings beautifully. Getting married was the best moment of my life. With every wedding I work I feel that spark for my passion come alive!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One of the hardest parts for me is not having grown up here in Kansas City. Having come from Florida and then New York, I feel like my social circles are far more limited than those who grew up here. I also couldn’t afford college so I am fully self-taught. It has been a very long and bumpy road trying to figure out how to run a business by myself. And not having much money, I try to do everything myself. I designed my own website, manage all of my social media accounts, and advertising all while shooting portraits and weddings and then editing for weeks after each one. There have been plenty of times where I felt like giving up, like I couldn’t handle it anymore, but I keep going forward. I work hard every day for my business, and nothing will ever truly push me down.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a photographer who specializes in weddings. I would say I am most known for being unique, I like to be different. I’ve really never liked walking with the crowd, I have always wanted to stand out. I think I do that with my work. I spend a lot of time trying new things and looking for creative angles and lighting. I think one of the big differences between me and other photographers is I am truly an artist, I always have been. Photography is an art and I treat it as such, every photo a painting I want to sign my name to.

What were you like growing up?
I was loud, wild, sassy, creative, weird, the list goes on… My mouth has always been too big, I like to say what I think and crack jokes while I’m at it. I am also a truly hopeless romantic, when I picture my childhood I picture my husband. We met when we were just kids, by 12 years old I knew I would marry him one day. My interests have always been those of the art world, I have been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember. When I went through some hard times as a teenager, I let it all out through my art, it is definitely what got me through my pain. It has made me who I am.

Pricing:

• One hour portraits, $200
• Two hour portraits, $300
• All day wedding, $2000

Contact Info:

• Email: serenity@serenitystylesart.com
• Website: https://www.serenitystylesart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/serenitystylesart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/serenitystylesart/