Today we’d like to introduce you to Katelyn McNamara.
Katelyn, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve definitely always had a creative soul. Prior to starting Freebird in 2013, my background was in journalism, branding, and advertising. From second grade through college and then professionally, I loved telling stories through words in print. In advertising, I loved telling a business’ story through branding and marketing. But what I really have fallen SO deeply in love with, is telling the story of real, raw human relationships through still, visual moments.
I started Freebird almost four years ago and it was the best decision I ever made. Up until this March, I juggled a corporate job (learned a lot, grew a ton, gained invaluable experiences), but in the end, it made me feel hollow inside. I now wake up every day and I’m genuinely happy. While I don’t always feel “worthy” to have this opportunity in my hands, I’m so appreciative of it. I find myself constantly falling more in love with this business.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?Overall, I feel extremely fortunate.
Juggling a full-time salaried job with a growing business was a GRIND. There were many, many nights where I would stay up editing until 2 a.m.only to wake up at 6 a.m. to work a full day in the corporate world. At that point though, I was so determined to be self-employed that it became a way of life for me… it was something that just had to get done and there was no other option.
The only other real challenge I think a lot of industries face is the seasonality of what we do. For a photographer in New England, June-November is a constant cycle of no sleep, high stress, discipline, deadlines, shoot, edit, shoot, edit and little social life. The months outside of peak season are extremely quiet. I do however have an off-season to-do list though that I’m getting pretty excited to tackle 🙂
Please tell us about Freebird Photography.
My average day starts with a coffee run and then me editing at my desk with the music blaring WAY too loud, my feet are definitely tapping to the beat and my hands are probably smacking my legs. Music for me while editing is a must. It sets my mood, my pace and helps me get into my zone.
At this stage, wedding photography is definitely the bulk of my business, so 70% of my editing time is focused around nuptials. Beyond weddings, I would say the work I’ve been doing lately with stylists and interior designers has been extremely enjoyable for me. I’m a style junky at heart though, so anytime I can take an editorial approach where style and design is the focus, I’m a happy gal 😉
Right now I edit all of my work in-house, photo by photo. Is it time-consuming and overwhelming? Heck yeah… And if I told you how many thousands (errr–tens of thousands) of photos are in the queue to be edited right now, your jaw would drop. When people ask me why I don’t outsource my work, I attribute it to a few things. 1.) I obsess over every little detail: the light, the angle, how it’s cropped, the editing style and exposure, 2.) I develop a relationship with my clients and have an obligation from start to finish to tell the story as it was, not how a stranger interprets it, and 3.) I’ll be honest, I think I’m just a little bit of a control freak with Freebird. It’s my baby. I’m sure I’ll eventually learn to let go a little.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have made smarter purchasing decisions. When I start something, I go ALL in… maybe even impulsively sometimes. I bought what I thought I would need from what I had read or saw in magazines, forums or blogs. Four years later, I still haven’t used a few of those initial starter items that I just “had to have.”
Contact Info:
- Address: 44 Merrimac Street
Newburyport, MA 01950 - Website: WeAreFreebird.com
- Phone: 603-505-0953
- Email: Kate@WeAreFreebird.com
- Instagram: @WeAreFreebird
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Freebird.Photography/
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