Life & Work with Alexis Chai of KJ Portraits

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Alexis Chai.

Hi Alexis, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have always been a creative/artsy person – thanks to my wonderful mother! My mom used to dress me up and take photos of me and my little sister in our backyard when I was just a little girl. I can remember having our family photos taken, and I, at ten years old, was ordering my family on how to pose!

My photography journey started in 2022, a little after I had my son, Kyrie. After having a baby, I was taking photos and videos of EVERYTHING that involved my son. His first smile, his first laugh, first crawl, you name it! I became obsessed with the idea of documenting everything I could so that I could look back on these precious moments as time passed.

When my son turned five months old, my incredible bonus mom gifted me her old Nikon DSLR camera. It was from here that I started to take my love for photography and story-telling a bit more seriously.

My first time using this camera was for my son’s 5-month-old photos. I will insert a picture of this below! From there, I created an Instagram account named after my son (KJ Portraits) and offered free photo sessions in hopes of building my portfolio.

Thankfully, I had plenty of family and friends who were kind enough to let me take photos of them and continuously referred me to their own friends/family! I had my very first paid Family photo session during Fall 2022. The photos turned out stunning and are still something I am proud of today!

A little later, I started receiving numerous inquiries on photo sessions from family/friend referrals. I primarily focused on families and children, as this was something that I had the most experience with!

I have since shifted my focus to all things Lifestyle! Pregnancies, families, events, engagements, and I’ve even booked a few weddings this year!! I also volunteer my photography services at a few local animal shelters, as this is something I am truly passionate about as well.

I am still educating myself on all things involving my business and camera, as you can truly never stop learning in this industry! I’ve found it to be extremely rewarding to partner with other fellow photographers and learn all the amazing tips and tricks that they have been so kind to share!

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?
Starting my business in the PRIME photographer season, Fall did not prepare me for what the “off-season” would be like.

EVERYONE wants updated family photos, Christmas card photos, etc, during this absolutely stunning season. Thus, I was fortunate enough to have full books very shortly after I started my business.

I was not ready for how hard it would be during December, January, and February, as it’s not the most popular time of the year to want to withstand the frigid temperatures that we experience here in the Midwest. I found myself going weeks without a single inquiry, which was very frustrating for a newbie photographer who did have “full” books a few months prior.

However, this off-season gave me a chance to expand my knowledge of different marketing techniques AND learn even more about how to run a business successfully. I truly don’t know if I would have learned everything that I have been fortunate enough to learn if I didn’t have the time that I did to focus on the basics rather than the actual photo-taking!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I consider myself a Lifestyle photographer. I love to focus on the candid moments, as these images truly capture the personality and relationships of my clients in their rawest form.

I offer Family, Maternity, Fresh 48, Birthing, Event, Engagements, Senior, Etc. I have also recently started to offer Wedding photography.

I truly am proud of every session that I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of. Each session is uniquely their own, and I have fond memories of every single session I’ve done!

Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
The photography business is full of risks. You as the photographer, are hired for the purpose of freezing time by capturing photos that usually cannot be re-done. Wedding photography is a great example.

There is SO much you must think about when photographing someone’s special day. What happens if your card stops working mid-wedding? What if your camera malfunctions during the kiss, and you miss the entire shot? What if your camera stops working entirely? What if the lighting is something that you don’t have experience with? This is something that every photographer has to have a plan for.

Taking on big events like a Wedding or Graduation comes with many risks. However, it is the job of the photographer to have a solution/plan for what to do if those risks are presented.

It is extremely rewarding when I have finished a session/event, and in fact, I am happy with what I was able to create, given all of the possible risks involved. It only motivates me to continue to take more risks as a result of being able to create something even more beautiful.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.kjportraits.com
• Instagram: @Kjportraits__
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551209692523&mibextid=LQQJ4d