Hello BP4Uers!! We are introducing Kelly Broyles today. We hope you enjoy her work like we have!! Keep reading to learn more about Kelly Broyles Photography!
Kelly Broyles is a wedding & portrait photographer including seniors, engagements & general portraiture located just outside of Charleston, WV. She’s also the odd ball who shoots with a Sony a99 instead of Canon or Nikon. Kelly lives with her husband who is a professional radio personality & event DJ (www.djnickscott.com) and their toddler daughter.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a photographer? I cannot remember a time in life when I didn’t want to be a photographer. I remember my dad had a 35mm camera that in the 1980′s probably cost a small fortune and when he would allow me to play with it I was in heaven. Naturally I rarely got my hands on his camera so I usually settled for shooting with a disposable camera. When I was 9 I shot a photo of my brother at my Mom’s 10 year reunion that to this day is an 8×10″ in my parent’s photo albums. After that my love grew. Of course life happened and while my dream stayed alive I got busy and let my passion take a back seat until after college and getting married.
When and how did you start out in photography? I began my adventure into photography as more than a hobby a few months after I was married in 2009. I found a Sony Alpha DSLR on clearance (I’m thrifty! Don’t judge me. ;o)) and I remember calling my new husband on the phone to BEG him to allow me to purchase it on my lunch break. Since he hates to tell me no, he caved quickly and I went to purchase my camera! Since that fateful day I have upgraded cameras, purchased lenses, and bought a multitude of other equipment and fun items for my photography obsession.
How would you describe your style?
Clean and timeless. I spent the past year focusing on creating a consistent style that looks fresh, clean and will not go out of style. Editing fads seem to pop up every few years and I want to make sure that once a fad goes away my clients still love their photos so I edit very clean, crisp and without a lot of extra post production work.
What’s in your gear bag? (If you don’t want to list everything just tell us what brand.) I am an absolute oddball in the fact that I shoot Sony. In my bag I carry two camera bodies plus an array of lenses including at the current time 35mm 1.8, 50mm 1.4, 135mm 2.8, 28-75mm 2.8, 70—20 4.0 (If you shoot Sony this lens is a gem!), Lensbaby Composer Pro and lots of other fun goodies (speedlights, light modifiers, etc…)
One lens you can’t live without? At the moment my favorite lens is my 135mm 2.8. For the longest time I neglected it and left it sitting in my bag but it’s by far one of the sharpest lenses I’ve ever shot.
How did know when the right time to start charging was? I can honestly own up to the fact that I started to charge too early. It seemed right after I became comfortable understanding my camera and shooting living subjects friends started to ask me to shoot their photographs. I didn’t know better at the time so I started to shoot for them and now looking back I shake my head knowing that if I had waited another 6 months I could have spent that time learning more and not had some of the struggles I had in the beginning.
How much did you charge for your first session and how much are you charging for the same type of session now? If I’m remembering correctly I want to say that my first paid session I charged approximately $50 and I gave them the disc complimentary. Crazy, I know! My sessions now start at $75 and do not include prints or disc of images.
How did you market yourself when you started out? Facebook. Facebook. Facebook. I lived off of Facebook and word of mouth.
We are going to play a game… name the first person that comes to mind when you think of… Write down the first person, no cheating!!
- Newborn photographer: Baby as Art
- Wedding photographer: Jasmine Star
- Lifestyle photographer: Autumn Branscome – She’s a friend of mine in WV but she has introduced me to the amazing world of lifestyle photography in the past few months.
- Most inspiration person: My little brother & dad. First of all without Dad’s 35mm camera and my brother posing for a photo when I was 9 I’m not sure I would have fallen in love with photography. Secondly, they are both amazing men who serve our great country in the military.
Did you go to school for photography or were you self- taught? If self-taught, what helped you the most? Technically I am self-taught but 90% of what I have learned has been from the help of other photographers, programs such as Creative Live and Kelby Training, hours of countless reading of book/websites and practicing!
What has been some of the hardest things to overcome in your business? Time management. I work full-time and photography is my part-time business plus I am married and expecting our first child in the Fall… combine those things together and learning to manage my time was crucial. I had to find a happy balance between being successful at my full-time job, growing my business/passion for photography and having a personal life.
The thing that helped me the most was having a set schedule. I do not shoot on Sundays unless it’s an absolutely must for a client which keeps a free day open for my husband & family. And when things get extremely busy I outsource editing. I used to almost feel like outsourcing editing was “cheating” but sometimes it’s nice to know I can take a breather, walk away and let someone else handle the basics then I just do artistic editing once they’ve done the lifting for me.
Do you have any tips for photographers just starting out? Learn to shoot in manual. I have talked to so many photographers who are intimidated by shooting in manual and allow that to stop them from learning. You will never understand your cameras full capabilities or your potential unless you push yourself to learn. Once you’ve learned to shoot in manual then you can use shutter or aperture priority but you’ll always have manual in your bag of tricks in case you need it!
If for some reason you couldn’t be a photographer what do you think you would be? I am so beyond blessed in the fact that I have been able to do photography and if tomorrow I had to stop I would continue to work my full-time job in marketing & training and be satisfied knowing I had fulfilled my dream of being a photographer. I can honestly tell my children someday that I followed a childhood dream and made it come true.
What’s the best lesson in photography (business or shooting) that you’ve learned so far? Be nice and treat others how you wish to be treated. There is a lot of competition in this industry… Do not allow yourself to become a victim to those who try to bring you down.
What are your thoughts on: flash? Flash scared me for the longest time. I fell into the “I will only shoot natural light” trap and I regret it to this day. Learn to use flash off camera, even if it’s only a speedlight and you rarely pull it out of your camera bag. It never hurts to have an extra trick in your bag if you need it!
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