Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelsey Wilson.
Kelsey, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I always loved art from an early age, and in high school I discovered photography. While in the photo program at UNT I uncovered the commercial side of the photo world and absolutely fell in love with it. After school I moved to NYC to start my career as a fashion photographer, however, a few circumstances led me back to Dallas, and here I am shooting mostly lifestyle and food (instead of fashion) for different editorial and commercial clients!
Has it been a smooth road?
When the economy crashed in 2008, I was living in NYC, and it was really hard to get assistant jobs or photo work in general. I think the art world really took a hit (along with other businesses) at that time. I was flat broke and discouraged, but that led me back to Dallas, where there are a ton of ad agencies and other awesome opportunities.
Also, there aren’t as many photographers in Dallas as there are in NYC, so it’s a little easier to get noticed. I had a friend who was in the design department at UNT who was working as an art director/designer in Dallas and she kept asking me to shoot food. I resisted for so long, and then I finally realized that I actually enjoyed shooting food a lot more than fashion.
In its own way, I still consider food photography fashionable, because you’re making it look beautiful by dressing it up! It was really a love affair with a piece of bacon that did me in…no turning back now!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Kelsey Wilson Photography – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I am a freelance lifestyle and food photographer. I shoot for magazines and ad campaigns for lots of different clients. This year specifically seemed to be the year of drinks for me! In the spring I shot over 75 different cocktails for 3 different major companies.
Aside from the actual photography, I think the thing I am most proud of is how people say I am easy to work with. I really believe in this industry you should not only be good at what you do, but you should also create a fun and easy going environment on set with your team. I love the people I get to spend a lot of my shoots with because they are talented, hard-working, encouraging and fun. I think the knowledge and the ability to assemble relaxed sets is so important! That’s not a pat on my own back by any means, but just something I think a lot of photographers forget to think about.
What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
Earlier this year I did a 5-day shoot for 7UP. That week was so insane and crazy, but everyone worked so hard and I am very proud of what we accomplished. We had 30 something recipes to shoot and produced around 100 final shots in 5 days. That is crazy! Could not have done it without everyone involved, and I was just so proud of our set family after that feat!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kelseywilson.co
- Instagram: kelseywilsonphoto
- Twitter: kelseyfoster
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