This is our first featured photographer and we had to pick a good one! So we chose Brittney Kluse and asked her too many questions! Her work is bright, bold and fun! I know she would kill me, but I would love to give you the link of photographs she sent me to pick from! Wowza, she is talented!
Tell us a little bit about yourself: First and foremost, I'm a wife to an amazing man, and mommy to two fabulous kiddos - a boy, Braxton (3), and girl, Brynna (20 months). I am lifestyle portrait photographer specializing in natural light photography that brings out the fresh, fun, and colorful side of life. My contemporary and candid style mixed with my signature bold and colorful imagery, have helped set me apart in the industry. I primarily photograph High School seniors, young children, and families.
How did you first get into photography? Since I was a child, I have always loved taking pictures. It wasn't until after I got married that I really dove in and pursued photography in a full-time sense. I have always loved capturing moments in life for family and close friends, and thought that the perfect extension of that would be to have my own business and do it for others the whole year round! At first, I shot anything and everything to figure out what really resonated with me. After my third year in business, I found that the subjects I love the capture the most are young children, High School seniors, and families! Slowly, I started a year-long process of "phasing out" the other areas that I didn't feel as passionate about (i.e.: newborns, weddings, etc.). I am fortunate to have a close network of very talented photographers in my region and have friendships with photographers that specialize in areas outside of my interest. This allowed me the chance to refer clients to them when I would receive an inquiry in an area I wasn't focusing on any more!
Formal education or are you self taught? I didn't go to school for Photography! In 2003, I graduated from Washington State University with a degree in Business & Marketing. I worked for a national laboratory doing marketing and project management. I started to formally pursue photography in 2007. From then until late 2008, I was soaking up everything I could about the technical aspects of photography. From buying my first DSLR, to attending one-on-one workshops with photographers around the country, to watching YouTube tutorials about the exposure triangle, reading books, and more! In late 2008, Brittney Kluse Photography was born after a year-long learning endeavor.
What kind of photographs are you best known for? I am best known for my bright, bold, and colorful style of photography, as well as the emotion in my photographs. In my client follow-up surveys, I consistently hear how "genuinely happy" the subjects in my photographs appear.
Do you have any personal projects going on? Side projects? It is challenging to keep yourself ahead of the curve. I truly believe I'm meant to do this because I can just think up a million scenarios I'd like to photograph. Maybe a girl in a funky red prom dress and custom crown sitting on scaffolding in a downtown ally way. Or a little red-head girl in a field of yellow tulips blowing a giant pink bubble of gum. I never have a problem coming up with ideas to shoot --- it's finding the time to fit it all in!
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I also have found a recent niche in mentoring! Each mentoree's agenda is customized around what they want to learn, so I have to be able to pull together unique photo shoots, seasoned business management advice and so on to ensure they are getting valuable advice. I'm proud that I've built I have an established reputation in the photography community and well-known. I'm one of the few "Celebrity Photographers" with the Chic Critique Forum and also a "Pro" within the Clickin' Moms photography organization. I've done top-rated interviews for the industry-respected, Photography Business Toolsand my images have been published in leading photography magazines like, "Click" and "Mozi Magazine" and featured on blogs such as "Seniorologie," and "Lemonade and Lenses." Getting my work published in these places is inspiring (and flattering) and makes me WANT to keep growing as an artist!
What is the one thing you would like others to know about you? Well, I despise laundry so much, I only do it on an every-other-month basis! And, if I weren't a photographer, my secret dream would be to work for E! News or US Weekly as a writer!! Shhhhhhh, it's my dirty little secret!
If you had a time machine what would you tell your beginner photographer self? That you will never have it all together!!!! Every day when I started this business I would think to myself: If I just do X,Y, Z then I will be "caught up." HA. I don't think "caught up" is even in my dictionary anymore! Every single day is a struggle to find the right work/life balance. Sometimes I wish I had a normal 8-4 job that allowed me to "check out" when I left. My phone always has voicemails, I constantly have e-mail in my inbox that I need to get to, client meetings are always stacked up, location scouting needs to be done, editing ... and so forth. Sometimes it's hard to just turn those things off, but it's also necessary. I don't want my husband and children to feel like they have a wife/mom who works all the time, so setting boundaries was important to me. I have office hours Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am-1pm and hold photo shoots on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings. The rest of the time is dedicated to my family! The first piece of advice I offer to "newbie" photographers (and to my "beginner self") is to SET A SCHEDULE - and stick to it! It was the best thing I ever did for my business and family.
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What do you love to indulge in? Celebrity magazines! They are my guilty pleasure: US Weekly, Life&Style, InTouch, etc.
Your favorite film of all time? Sleepless in Seattle
Three words that describe you? Loud, Energetic, Happy
A inspirational website and/or blog you visit often? I'm a contributor to Galler.ee (https://galler.ee) and I love jump on and see what great design products are out there to help market my business in fresh and fun ways!
Where our readers can find out more about you: All these places:
My website - www.brittneykluse.com
My blog - www.brittneykluse.com/blog
My facebook - www.facebook.com/brittneykluse
My instagram - www.instagram.com/brittneykluse
Love her work!
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