This morning I woke up and decided that I was going to start a blog. Why? Because not only do I want to share the love stories of my clients and every detail they have diligently planned to make their weddings the perfect day, but I also want to share my personal journey and knowledge that I have learned and continue to learn in the photography & wedding industry. This Blog will give me an opportunity to share my progress with my readers as an artist as well as share some awesome tips and tricks for new clients, rising photographers, and wedding enthusiasts. It will be a place where my current clients can view and share images I have captured for them and will also allow me to tell a more of a story about sessions and weddings and as an artist, being able to tell a story through images is the ultimate satisfaction.
Some of you may already know me, but for those of you that don't, a little background info is in order :) My name is Kassie, not short for Kassandra as I am often asked. I live in a small town, which I love and wouldn't want any other way. I love to travel but, to me, knowing your community means so much and it would be hard to do that in a big city. I always had dreams of being in the fashion industry tho originally I wanted to be on the other side of the camera, thats right, I wanted to be a model. Lets face it, modeling in SW Va isn't really a thing. I can remember having cameras in my hand and in front of my face ( yes selfies before cell phones were a thing) all through my youth . As I got older I realized that some of my "dreams" may have been a little unrealistic if I wanted the hometown life. I was blessed with my first child 2 days before my 20th birthday, and after a wild streak I decided it was time to do some serious future foundation building and I went back to school for a marketing and business degree.
While I was in school I worked full time at a popular wedding Venue in the New River Valley called the Pete Dye Rivercourse of Virginia Tech. This is where I discovered my love for the wedding industry. I couldn't tell you the amount of weddings I worked, as a bartender, server, setup and cleanup employee. Then I took on management positions with my catering company. I worked my way from the very bottom and by the end of my 6 years with the company I was the General Manager and was running all aspects of the wedding planning and catering for the company, other than actually cooking food. ( I am not so great at cooking.... my poor husband ) This whole time I was taking photos on the side for fun. I upgraded from Polaroids to point and clicks, then eventually came the DSLR. I started with Cannon back in 2010. After the first image I was absolutely starstruck. WOW All these years Ive just been clicking a button, with no interchangeable lenses no options, and now I had options.... to many actually. I had no clue what I was doing, but I was so intrigued.
I started buying book after book about DSLR's and photography and composition. Pretty much ANYTHING I could get my hands on. Did i mention that I hate reading? Its always seemed like work to me, but with this....... It wasn't. I was actually enjoying reading. Along with the books I watched Youtube videos, watched and read blogs, and followed multiple photographers both locally and globally. Then I shot, shot, and shot. I was taking photos of my kids, my friends kids, my cousins, friends. ANYONE. I would get so excited with every shot I took. Every improvement I made got me even more excited.
I eventually switched from Cannon to Nikon after lots and lots of research and consideration, and I was so happy that I did. I LOVE Nikon. I will get more into that in future blogs. :) Back on track....... I graduated with my associates in marketing and then went on to complete a Bachelors degree in business management. It was at the completion of my school degree that I realized I could turn my passion into a career. At this point in my life I was engaged to be married to an awesome guy , my Shawn, who supported me in every aspect of life. Shawn and I tied the knot and wanted to have a baby so after almost 6 years at my job I was ready to shift my energy into my art and family. Since then we have been blessed with a beautiful baby boy and now I am a mom of two handsome guys.
I have been able to put all of my focus into my family and into learning and perfecting my craft and now I am happy to say that I am a successful full time Photographer. It has taken a lot of work, time, funds, and dedication but I absolutely love what I do. Now I hope that I can not only continue to grow as an artist but also help others through my experiences as a business owner, photographer, Bride, and mother. Im excited to be able to share my journey with you guys!