Today we’d like to introduce you to Wendi Kesler.
Hi Wendi, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have always LOVED photography. Taking pictures and capturing moments of the people I love has been a part of my life and my passion for as long as I can remember. It was always just a hobby, and until the digital age came along, there wasn’t really a way for the average hobbyist to learn the art and technical side of photography!
I was an Elementary Education Major from Baylor and taught 5th grade in RISD for 4 years. In 1996, I stopped teaching to stay at home with my first son! That’s also the time that I got my first “real” SLR film camera!
My husband, David, and I have 3 children! I was a Stay-at-Home mom of 3 (boy, girl, boy), and I was ALWAYS taking pictures of them! I would set up Christmas Card backdrops or pose them on the front porch or in little chairs etc.
Fast forward to 2004, and I bought my first DSLR camera! It was finally at this point I could start to learn something! I wanted to get better! I wanted frame-worthy, great photos, and I wanted to know how to get my settings off “auto” and how to get that “blurry” background!
I became interested in the technical side of photography and began reading books, talking to friends, taking online classes about HOW to make photos LOOK more professional. Slowly, it worked! Within a few years, I was being asked to take photos at my kids’ school events, 4th-grade graduation, Father / Daughter Dances, Cheerleading competitions, team banquets, birthday parties, Cousin Photos; you name it, I took photos ALL the time but always in a “mom-volunteer” kind of way! I truly couldn’t stop learning, and my desire to learn was purely to take better, more memorable photos of my kids, never ever thinking I could start a business!
It was 2014, and my oldest son was going to be a Senior in high school. I had literally never thought specifically about High School Senior Photography until he was a Senior and needed photos. There were two main catalysts that set me on the road to starting a business. The first was a good friend asking if I would take her son’s Senior photos!!! I truly had NO IDEA what I was doing, but they turned out good, and my friend and her son liked them. Those photos were a turning point because someone believed in me. Without that friend asking me, I’m not sure I ever would have asked someone out of the blue to take their Senior photos!!!
That rolled into taking my own son’s Senior photos and then another friend and then another friend, which turned into the second catalyst. It was sometime in the Spring of 2015, and my Senior Son and his girlfriend, who is now his wife, said to me, “We think when Ben (my 7th grader at the time) graduates from high school, you’re going to start a Photography Business!!!” I had never thought of starting a business!!! I knew I was a little over the top with my “hobby” and was wanting to upgrade to a new camera or add in a new lens, but what a great idea, maybe I could do enough business just to get that new Full Frame camera I wanted! I couldn’t stop thinking about the idea and decided, why not start now, start slowly, and see how it goes. So, I technically started with the Class of 2016, and I think I only charged about $50 for a session, but I was thrilled to make any bit of money doing something I loved!
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?
I wouldn’t call it smooth because I was teaching myself photography, Lightroom, Photoshop, and figuring out how to run a business as I went! Remember, I was an Elementary Education Major, not a Photography or Business Major. However, I wouldn’t consider it necessarily bumpy either! I think the expectations of myself were so low that I was happy anyone would trust me enough to take their photos, much less have it actually turn a respectable profit. So, when my schedule completely filled for the Fall in my second year, I knew I needed to start taking it more seriously and figuring out some workflows and business systems!
I think my biggest struggle was having too much doubt in myself. I thought, “No one would actually pay me money to take their photos, and certainly not enough to have it as a business!” My Official business opening was in March of 2016 by starting an Instagram Page and calling it Wendi Kesler Photography! No website, no branding, nothing, I simply began posting some of the photos I was taking!
I will say I have a very strong faith, so I look at obstacles and challenges as opportunities. Seeing the things God has done in my business has only made my faith stronger. God has been by my side at times when life has been really hard and taken me by surprise or just been unfair!
In fact, at one point, I had such a crisis I thought it might end my business. INSTEAD, within a year, the event that I thought was a crisis actually doubled my number of clients!!!
Every year when I re-evaluate my offerings for the next Senior Class, I have such a peace that the next class will either sign up for sessions or they won’t, and if they don’t, that just means another door will open up.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in High School Senior Photography!!! Pretty much equally, Guys and Girls! I would say my work is Vibrant, Bright, Timeless, and I would even call it Lively!!! I would also say my work is more of an “experience” than just showing up for quick photos!
I offer Senior Portrait collections that include wearing 2-4 outfits and going to 1-2 locations, and possibly spending 2 hours taking photographs!!! There is a whole process before and after the photo session. I am a firm believer that I have to know my clients to get great photos. We can’t show up, meet for 10 minutes and get amazing, authentic photos, but rather, there has to be a connection, a trust!
I would say I am most proud of my relationships with my clients! I think raising two boys and a girl has made me a natural for working with both high school girls and guys! I am also a firm believer in communication. My clients hear from me several times throughout the process, from the time they first inquire until weeks after their products are delivered! We talk several times before their session, and my goal on photo day is to make them feel like they matter, they’re important, they’re worthwhile, and they have something to offer the world. I don’t want to just take photos and move on to the next client, I want a friendship that means they will want to use me again for photos in the future. I have a sincere, genuine interest in my Seniors as people, and I think I have a knack for connecting quickly with high schoolers because of that sincere interest in them!
I would also say I am easy to work with, flexible when sticky situations arise on a session, and for lack of a better word, just fun! I have a silly side, I’m not afraid to make fun of myself, and I am willing to do what it takes to get the best photos possible, even if it means climbing onto ledges or fences! =)
In fact, my truly proudest moment was this past year when one of my first High School Senior Clients from 2017 asked me to be her WEDDING photographer!!! Wow!!! I was blown away that she would trust me for such an important role! I said yes, and I loved it! I don’t know if weddings are something I’ll do more of down the road, but it sure was affirmation that I am fulfilling my “why” of Wendi Kesler Photography!
Who else deserves credit in your story?
ABSOLUTELY!!! I would never have had the courage to begin this journey without the encouragement of my family and several of my close friends. My husband especially has been so supportive! Starting this business meant he would have to pick up some of the responsibilities at home that were typically mine. He has never complained once about me going maybe a little overboard on too many sessions or editing until late at night! He is an entrepreneur too, so maybe that helped his understanding of what I wanted to do!
I also had specific clients in the beginning that really spoke up for me, told their friends about the experience with me, and recommended me. Those friends and new friends I’ve made are STILL the reason my business has been successful and still the ones I owe the credit to!!!
My latest big change came about 2 years ago when I decided I needed to level up my business. I felt like, from the beginning, I was always playing catch up. I needed to spend the time to automate systems and streamline my business because I was running ragged!! I hired a Website and Branding Designer (Thank you, Carrie, at Hello-Story), AND I went to my first in-person photography workshop! BOTH of those things were total game-changers! I made REAL photographer friends through the workshop (Thank you, Cindy Swanson), and with new branding and a new website, Wendi Kesler Photography became a something a little more personal and special! I also streamlined my Session Packages, and I made one of the collections something that really allowed me to be a part of my clients’ Senior Year in both the fall and the spring!
Now currently, WKP has taken another turn in that I have actual employees working with me!!! My daughter, Courtney, and my sister-in-law, Stephanie, both work with me a few hours a week, culling and editing. These two ladies have given me the gift of time and have helped me keep the workload at a more manageable level!
Pricing:
- High School Seniors starting at $800
Contact Info:
- Website: WendiKeslerPhotography.com
- Instagram: wendikeslerphotography
- Facebook: Wendi Kesler Photography
Image Credits
Courtney Kesler
Weiss Stephanie
Kesler Enlow
Trinity Martin
Owen Sibley
Lauren Deaton
Blake Mitchell
Cole Mitchell
Olivia Wilson
Gunner Stokes
Cece Bogda
