Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristen Pierce.
Hi Kristen, 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.
For eight years I taught High School English in the New York City area, working to inspire young people to develop their own creative voices. As I furthered my photography education in my spare time, taking classes and pursuing my own creative projects, I found fulfillment in visual storytelling. Ever since my first photography class, I have not been able to see the world the same. Whether I am playing pretend with my girls, visiting a new place, or working a session, I see moments of color and composition, beautiful light and contrast intimacy, and wonder.
That said, it was when I moved West, to the mountains, that I became obsessed with portrait photography, particularly environmental portraiture. Having no interest in landscape photography, I became inspired to try to capture the incredible landscapes of the Western mountains, but with a focus on the people in them. I want my images to showcase the personalities of my subjects but also balance the portraits with beautiful, natural settings. I strive for my images to have the feel of a painting. Nature, and especially the mountains, is a character in many of my images. I look for texture and patterns in nature and use them to tell the stories of my subjects.
As my business has grown and expanded, first from Telluride, Colorado to now Park City, Utah and across these two states, I’ve looked for new ways to continue to create and challenge myself as an entrepreneur. One such way that I am expanding is with Elope in Park City, an elopement-specific service that provides couples with planning and vendor-coordinating services. As I am also passionate about the business side of photography and providing my clients and exceptional experience, I am starting to offer VIP services to other photographers who are looking to grow or fine-tune different areas of their business, such as client relationship management and time-saving workflow strategies.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not! But every slip-up has been an opportunity to find a way to fine-tune a different aspect of the business. I have struggled with growing my business at a pace that also works with my work-life balance. Fortunately, my kids have been growing at a similar pace as the business and as they’ve grown I’ve had more time to spend growing the business. A lot of that process, however, involved learning to say no to projects that weren’t a good fit or were outside my area of expertise.
There’s an incredible community of photographers as well as female entrepreneurs who are devoting their time to exploring and providing insight on strategies for dealing with the struggles that creatives/entrepreneurs/photographers face. I would never have been able to grow my business and tackle many of the obstacles that came along with it without these resources. Annemie Tonken, The Click Community, and the Biz Chix podcast are a few of my go-to’s.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I believe that I am known for delivering photographs of people in amazing locations. Developing my own voice and style has been a process and, as I believe all creatives do at some point, have struggled with imposter syndrome and comparison. I combat those feelings by learning. I learn everything I can about my locations and my subjects, I practice my art every chance I get. I put my nose down and grind away at the editing process and experiment with new lenses and styles.
I continually revisit my process and business strategies so that I am ensuring that I am offering the highest quality of services and experiences to my clients. I am proud of the business and experience that I have built for my clients, one that is reflected in the joy on display in my images. I capture the vibrant and cheerful spirits of my clients, while not sacrificing the background of the magnificent locations in which I shoot.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love so many things about Park City! It is rich with other professionals and creatives who are excited about living, playing, and thriving here. Every week I meet someone with whom I can imagine collaborating. The creative spirit is well and alive here. And of course, I am inspired by the beautiful scenery. I feel that I’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to exploring new locations to bring clients.
Elope in Park City is also being built on the idea that adventurous couples will also want a location where they can tie the knot and have images taken in a breathtakingly scenic spot while also spending the night at a world-class resort. It can be as adventurous or luxurious as they want. And everything they need in the planning will be provided by local, knowledgeable vendors, thereby giving back to this amazing community.
Pricing:
- 1-hour portrait sessions start at $295
- 2-hour elopement packages start at $2000
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kristenpiercephotography.com
- Instagram: @krispiercephoto and @elopeinparkcity
- Facebook: @kristenpiercephotography
