Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Kelly
Hi Megan , please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve always had a creative spark to me, making stop motion movies on powerpoint as a kid, and my notes in class looking more like a doodle board. I always loved things like art class, yearbook, and anything to do with creation but it all took off in college. I had a professor who saw my potential and she took me under her wing and fast tracked me with everything she could! I was tutoring 3rd year college classes in my very first semester! I majored in Visual Communication (which teaches you graphic design, social media, marketing, photography, illustrating, branding, code, website building, several different design programs etc) and I particularly loved the photography side of things. I definitely made my fair share of mistakes along the way and was not amazing to start out with but in time I grew a photography business from the bottom up and now make more than I thought photographers ever could! I also credit my amazing husband, who always supported me furiously, and effortlessly took on more of the mental load at home and with our kids. He is truly an equal partner giving more than his 100% sometimes. I was able to be a young mother and keep growing the business as I had room, and without him we would not be here! Now I can support our family, take them on adventures with me, and live my dream all at the same time.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think I’ve made every mistake a photographer can make. But I think that’s what has made me so good, each mistake or lesson learned is like a stepping stone, the next level unlocked. Some mistakes I will never admit and hold onto forever, as is the nature of art being your job, you take it so personally and intimately.
I think the hardest thing right now is the balance of it all. I don’t have set 9-5 hours, and still have a very full and active motherhood life. Running your own business takes more time than they tel you, and trying to do that with cute little humans running into the office every 10 minutes asking you to open his fruit snacks can sometimes pull you out of your stride. I have had to learn to give my family the time and memories they need, and fill in the cracks with my business which can sometimes be draining and slow moving. Am I spending enough time with them? Where will I find the time for expanding my business ideas? But having a partner like I do makes everything work out, we are truly a team and it helps that we never tire of each other =)
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a world traveling, adventure seeking, award winning photographer specializing in weddings and elopements. My photography skills are well established but what I am truly known for is my editing. My TikTok has endless examples of me editing out exes, taking out double chins, fixing hair, removing people from the background, adding in people to images, anything you can think of and more with editing, I’ve done it. It’s like a video game to me, I think it’s so fun and I have gotten extremely fast at it. I love that people can come to me and feel comfortable in their insecurities. That if a problem arises like a stain on a dress or a streaker in the background, we can take care of it and still get images that we treasure forever.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Definitely the surprise that was covid. Photography slowed down a little during covid (it’s pretty easy to go outside and take images of people from far away with a zoom lens haha) so I was looking for ways to expand in my spare time. I saw TikTok was trending and thought, what the heck I’ll give it a go. I ended up picking up 100,000 followers in the first few months, and grew it to be around 750,000 followers. It allowed me to gain more business around the world, but also gave people a good laugh with watching the edits while the world was having a hard time. I think the timing of it all was very lucky, and it made a perfect place to get my skills out to be seen.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thelightseeker.photography
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.lightseeker
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.lightseeker
