Today we’d like to introduce you to Kylie Clarkson.
Hi Kylie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
Daniel and I met in 2016 after both leaving traditional middle school behind and looking for something a little more extraordinary. What started as a new adventure in art school, lead to a passion for photography and videography, and capturing real and raw moments that present the opportunity to hit “replay” on life.
We strive to create meaningful content that showcases real emotions, real experiences, and real people. We do not believe in photoshopping out wrinkle lines or freckles; we want to embrace the unique characteristics that make humans who they are. We want authenticity to shine in our work- real laughs, real smiles, & real facial expressions. Most importantly, we specialize in love-based storytelling, whether it be for one’s self, platonic, familial, or romantic! Love is the center of all life, and we believe that photos and videos should showcase the expression of love for the world and the lives surrounding a person.
Empowered by an incredible mentor, Travis Loving, we learned to see the world through a lens others could not see. We learned to live life untamed & free-spirited with the freedom to roam and connect with people. With the help of our mentor, we started KD Captures in 2018. We started with family & senior portraits, but have since expanded to offering wedding photos & videos. We have since been on an incredible journey that we describe as finding the essence of love in the sincere details of each small-expression, within a memorable moment. We are building a life and business on our terms and just like our foundation, we are once again skipping what is traditional for the extraordinary.
Our business really began to take off in June of 2021 after countless late nights putting together a website, lots of marketing, and a whole lot of love for what we do! We adore our jobs and take pride in the art that we create. We made the move from the Mile High City in Colorado to the Alamo City in Texas in late 2021 to give us the opportunity to start a new adventure with new people! We travel between both states frequently.
We are partners in life and in business, which we feel allows us to connect with each other on a deeper level to create beautiful pieces of art for our clients.
Random Facts:
A typical weeknight you can find us eating noodles on the couch, while binging The Office, Jane the Virgin, or Parks and Rec. We have three fur babies: our cat, Graham, & our dogs, Willow and Tae. We have over 80 house plants!
We are animal lovers (hence the three pets). We volunteer for numerous animal rescues here in Texas and use our art to help the animals by taking high-quality photos of them. These photos help them get adopted quicker!
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?
Being young small business owners is not an easy path, but we wouldn’t have it any other way! Photography and videography is not an easy market to break through, because many other business owners have far more of a reputation in the industry, so we have to work hard every day to show clients what we bring to the table.
Being only young entrepreneurs adds an extra layer of complication to running a successful business. We had to find ways to encourage clients to take us seriously! We have to put extra effort in to show that we are professional, knowledgeable, and take our jobs as seriously as a 20-year industry veteran. On top of that, we are constantly learning, engaging, growing, marketing, networking, posting, emailing, and editing.
We are a two-person team, and we do everything in-house! We are the owners, accountants, marketing team, social media managers, photographers, videographers, website designers, editors, and customer service representatives. It’s a lot of hats to wear, but it also gives us the opportunity to run our business how we want, which is what allows us to freely create our art!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are photographers and videographers.
We specialize in telling authentic love stories- whether it be love between friends, families, or partners! We LOVE love, and we prioritize leading with love in all parts of life. We believe this sets us apart from others! We are proud of the fact that leading with love got us to where we are today!
We followed our love for photography and found that we have the gift of telling love stories through photos and videos.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
We have learned to be adaptable and ready to adjust our plans! COVID brought the wedding industry to a screeching halt, and since the beginning, the cancellations have fluctuated with the outbreaks, but it has also brought on one of the busiest wedding seasons in years!
COVID threw a wrench in so many plans- graduations, weddings, birthday parties, and more, but people overcame, adapted, and adjusted. In my opinion, COVID presented us as humans with the opportunity to focus on what I consider to be the most important thing in life: love!
Weddings became centered around catering to the ones we love the most, and birthdays became more intimate occasions with loved ones. COVID allowed us to refocus on the center of it all: love!
Contact Info:
- Email: kylie@kdcaptures.com
- Website: kdcaptures.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/kdcaptures
Image Credits
@KD Captures LLC
