Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelli Wholey.
Kelli, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I began my journey into the field of professional photography out of a desire to create beautiful images while working in a profession that allowed me the flexibility to create my own hours. This flexibility was key in my decision as I wanted to spend more time with my children when they were quite young. Little did I know I would work harder in this job than any other position I have held in my past from technology sales to high school marketing teacher. While I always had a passion for photography throughout my life I didn’t begin to explore this as a possible career choice until after my daughter was born. As I took more and more photographs of her and my son my desire to create grew stronger. I knew that I wanted to do this for other people. Having gone to school for business administration I knew I couldn’t just declare myself a “business.” I wanted to approach this new venture armed with as much knowledge as I could. I worked closely with a mentor for a year, spending many hours with her perfecting my craft and gaining an understanding of the business aspect of things prior to launching my business. The time spent with my mentor was invaluable. My biggest take away was to always remember to value my time and work as an artist and to charge appropriately to make a living and contribute to my family. I am finishing up my sixth year of business at this point and I have loved almost every minute of it. Owning your business is not for the faint of heart, so of course, there are times of frustration, fear, and doubt. At the end of the day though, I love what I do. These days I photograph people including, newborns, children, families, high school seniors, and business professionals. I know that being in front of the camera is hard, so my primary goal as a photographer is to help my clients to relax so that I am able to capture them in their natural beauty.
Has it been a smooth road?
The photography market is saturated and at times it can be difficult not to compare yourself to others. It can also be difficult to stick to your prices when you see someone down the road charging a 4th of what you do. The reality is if I could charge less I would. However, the work is extremely time intensive as I work closely with each client from start to finish ensuring that they are enjoying their images in some tangible form. The time, the cost of doing business, not to mention the taxes, require me to charge appropriately so that at the end of the day I can still contribute financially to my family. Over the years I have learned to stop comparing myself to others, but given the image-heavy world, we live in today that can still be difficult at times. Owning my business as also pushed way out of comfort zone on numerous occasions, and while this can be difficult at times I am forever grateful for these opportunities.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I photograph people. That is my specialty. I work with people in various stages of life whether they are expecting a baby, celebrating the birth of a son or daughter, graduating from high school, or need professional photos for their business. I believe there is a beauty we possess in all stages of life and my goal is to capture this beauty for people, whether it be the beauty of the love present between a mother and child or the beauty of strong and powerful business person starting their own venture. I bring to the table a comfort for those being photographed in that I understand and relate to the vulnerability of being in front of the lens. I have not done my job until my subject feels relaxed and natural while being photographed. My goal is always to capture the essence of my subjects and I am never afraid to sacrifice my own dignity if it helps people to feel more comfortable.
I also believe very strongly that we are going to turn into the “lost generation.” People do not print photos anymore, they store them on the cloud or post them to Instagram. One day the cloud will go away and IG will be no more. What then? One day your hard drive where you store all your photos will be obsolete. What then? It is this belief that drives to go a step further with each of my clients to help them decide how they will enjoy their portraits, whether it be an heirloom album or a framed fine art print for their homes. I have sourced a collection of quality heirloom products that I create and deliver to each and every client. The portraits I create for my clients will never be lost in the cloud.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Nashua is a great location for my business. Most of my clients don’t live in the city, but the centrality of Nashua makes it convenient for me to get to all of my clients.
Pricing:
- Family Portraits – $700-$4500
- Senior Portraits – $425-$1600
- Headshots – $300
- Website Photography – $800-$5000
Contact Info:
- Address: Nashua, NH
- Website: www.luminanh.com
- Phone: 603-566-3820
- Email: info@luminanh.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luminaportraits/
- Facebook: https://business.facebook.com/LuminaPortraits
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LuminaNH
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