Meet Dawn Kelly | Professional Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dawn Kelly and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dawn, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
This question is particularly pertinent to the current times we are living in. I am currently rebuilding my business for the second time. The first time was during the housing crisis around 2008. Suddenly there were no clients. My business was totally dead for a few years. It was time for a new website and new work. I had never worked that hard before, until 2020 when COVID tore through my industry, which still has not completely recovered yet.

The majority of my business was in Yosemite National Park as an elopement specialist. The park was closed for months. We weren’t allowed to work. I was faced with rescheduling twelve couples from April and May alone. I worked tirelessly, diving into education and pouring every minute of my day into marketing and trying to figure out how to recover. All of my couples from outside the US had to cancel. In the end, left with mostly cancellations, I lost the business. My account was empty and I was barely able to pay my business expenses. I certainly couldn’t pay myself, which meant I couldn’t pay my bills.

I left the wedding industry last year. The public has changed. The landscape of wedding photography has changed for the worse. Many of us quit for the sake of our mental health.

Now I’m still rebuilding, specializing in boudoir photography, portraits, and editorial. This is where the rubber meets the road. I’ve done so many shoots, some unpaid, to rebrand and start over with something I really love. I have never been happier.

It’s worth it to keep going because this is my passion and I know I wouldn’t be happy doing anything else. When you give up on doing something you love, you give up on your dreams. When I thought my photography career was over, the grief over losing something I spent 16 years building was very heavy and it almost crushed me.

But I just couldn’t give up. I wouldn’t. Because I’ve rebuilt before, and I will rebuild again.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
In addition to weddings, boudoir, and portraits, I used Polaroid cameras and film. I have a Polaroid land camera. These cameras were discontinued in the 1970s. I’ve created some incredible pieces of art using double-exposures and creative light. I plan to complete a gallery showing by the end of next year. The show is based on traumatic events and times in my life. It has been very healing.

It was absolutely not easy to get where I am today. Of course, as you saw in my previous answers, I’m in transition right now. I’ve been in business for seventeen years and I worked extremely hard to build the clientele I have now. Because of these loyal clients, I’m able to successfully rebuild now.

For the first five years shooting weddings, I charged under $750. I started at $500 with unlimited time. I was conservative with the film I used. I concentrated on taking unique and artistic portraits of the bride and groom. Customer service was number one in my business from day one.

I knew I wasn’t the best photographer, so I had to make the experience the best it possibly could. I went way above and beyond with the best consultations, helping with timelines and prep, keeping things on time at the wedding, bringing drinks and food to the couple, meeting every family member to thank them for having me as their photographer, and countless other ways. One time at a wedding, the bride’s hem fell out of her dress. Everyone panicked. I called the front desk for a sewing kit, then got down on the floor and sewed it back in.

The most valuable lesson I’ve learned along the way is the photos don’t matter as much as the way I make people feel. As a photographer, you can deliver the most gorgeous photos on the planet, but if the couple didn’t have a good experience, they won’t like the photos. Take good photos and go above and beyond before, during, and after a wedding, and they will love their photos.

I’ve been doing boudoir photography for ten years, mostly for brides. My philosophy is different from many other photographers. I don’t believe the photos are for their men. I’m passionate about boudoir because it gives women confidence. Every client tells me it was one of the best experiences of their lives. The session and photos changed them.

I want the world to know how dedicated I am to making people feel amazing about themselves and how important it is to capture memories that would otherwise be forgotten. I’ve photographed hundreds of grandparents and parents who are no longer with my past clients. I get emails years later thanking me for capturing the moments between them and their late loved ones.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
In Arizona, I would take her to Sedona! We would hike and explore the national park, camping for at least three days. We would explore Crescent Moon Ranch, put our feet in the river, and pack our faces with natural mud. I absolutely love watching sunsets, so searching out every sunset spot is a top priority. We would sit and watch the sunset every night, talking about life and the beauty of creation.

I personally love healthy food and Sedona is full of it. My favorite place to go is Conscious Meals, with a close second being Giving Tree Cafe. Both restaurants offer vegan and vegetarian options with incredible quality.

We would also visit my favorite jewelry store, Soul Stone Vibrations. They are experts in gem therapy and human energy. All the jewelry is hand-made by the owners and other local artists. The owners are incredible people who are very kind and generally cool. Downtown Sedona is full of artisan shops and interesting restaurants, and we would spend an entire day there.

I love meeting other artists, so we would definitely plan our trip around an artist event, like an art fair. It would bring us a lot of joy to talk to others who are passionate about art, health, and the planet. I’m a big conservationist and the environment is very important to me.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Sal Cincotta was the first photographer I looked at as a mentor. He’s an incredibly successful photographer and entrepreneur in O’Fallon, MO. I walked into his class at my first WPPI conference, and he was talking to the others who had arrived early. He was so encouraging, cheering us on and telling us stories. When he spoke during his presentation, he was honest and upfront about how hard this business is and how hard he had to work to get to that point. Honestly, it was so long ago I can’t remember what his class was about.

What really touched me was speaking with him afterward. When he teaches, he always sticks around to talk to whoever has questions. I introduced myself shyly and told him that I shot weddings on film. I was looking down, almost ashamed. Others had put me down, saying film was old and digital was far superior, and that soon, film would “go away.” The ones who said that were very condescending about it. But when I told Sal, he lit up and said, “That’s amazing! Wow! That is so cool!” I opened up to him and he really encouraged me to continue to be “different” because that’s what made me special. That conversation really boosted my self-esteem.

Through the years I saw him speak at other conferences, and every time I stuck around to talk after. He published a photo of mine in Shutter Magazine, which would be one of many published by him. Several years passed and he told me, “You know what… I am SO proud of you. Look how far you’ve come? When I first met you, you were hanging your head and so self-conscious. Now you’re killing it!”

I’m still in contact with him. Ten years later, I’m still shooting film, which makes me very desirable to clients. It was the best advice I had ever received.

Website: www.dawnkellyphotography.com

Instagram: @dawnkellyphotography

Facebook: www.facebook.com/dawnkellyphotography

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