Today we’d like to introduce you to Kattie Jackson
Hi Kattie, 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 backstory with our readers?
I’ve never been great at writing “about me” or “get to know me” sections because honestly—what’s there to say? I feel I’m one of a few that truly appreciate the art in life and moments in life truly matter and should be documented. Growing up in a time before social media, I have very few photos or videos from my childhood, and as someone with trauma-related memory loss, I know firsthand how important it is to preserve any memories we have now.
At my core, I’m a hard working business owner and a mom—so when I saw I get it, I actually I get it. I understand the moms who feel they haven’t had a decent image with their child that didn’t involve claw gripping their phone and taking a selfie. When I lost my infant son, I continued to work, and document others lives even though I was in the trenches. I wrote about my story, my journey, and even capture my own journalistic like images during the process. That whole time in my life, changed me forever. Not only did I suffer child loss, but the loss of my father before I truly understood the value of capturing memories and expressing gratitude and feelings in a health way. He was always my biggest encourager. He was always giving me advice even if it wasn’t traditional or what I wanted to hear. I watched him start his own business, grow a life he loved, while being able to see his kids, me, while he had time left on this planet. Him driving me to be creative, to follow my passions, to do untraditional things, its what lead me to become a ten plus year wedding and family photographer. I’m so passionate about what I do: providing more than just photos but proof of your life, your love, and your presence in this moment in time.
You truly never know when the last moment to say I love you or I love this family is, and sometimes doing the cringy thing and booking the photoshoot for just a small timeframe, is worth it. You walk away with images you’re going to look at for years, print to hang on the walls of your homes, and the ones your share across social media for all to see. I love being the one person to provide that.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
With all that I have been through, I have no time to mess up anyones images. I’ve been through grief, I’ve watched children be born and children unfortunately pass away. I’ve cried tears of sadness in my viewfinder while photographing weddings and proposals. Emotions are part of my job and I’m not immune to them. However, I knuckle down because I have a job to do and a vision to help create.
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?
Professionally – I have grown so much in the ten years I have been a photographer. I still balance between weddings and families- I truly love both and don’t think I’ll ever give either up. But I have had more focus on my weddings since I took time off during my maternities and the surrogacy I went through. Now that I back in action, I plan to hit the wedding season with full force this coming up spring!
In the meantime, I have been working hard on a project that will help all creatives, but mainly photographers and videographers with their client management and their ability to send media – both edited and raw, it’s called snapsails. My goal with snapsails is to help the community I currently operate and practically live in. I quickly grew old paying for multiple platforms, for hundreds of dollars feeling like I was juggling and never really ahead of the workflow. Whereas now, I am helping to grow a platform with only the tools photographers and videographers need to do all their business stuff in one place. We are so close to launch that my excitement is growing and causing me to curse my current workflow until it changes. I currently work with the CEO and the Sales team to get our marketing ready for launch!
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
When you have to boil down what the most of anything is, everything seems to have its own ranking in priority. I can list a number of things I’ve learned – to always be over prepared, to slow down while working, to really connected with my clients. But I think my most important lesson that I, a hard working, female mother small business owner, is that being your true self, will benefit you more than anything else in business and life.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve met a client and they tell me they saw me on Reels being a fool. I can’t tell you the amount of second hand embarrassment I have suffered knowing that I have put some truly diabolical things out there on the inter webs. But it’s even funnier knowing that how I appear online is how I truly am in person. I’m goofy, I’m nerdy, I’m loud and passionate. I’m a mother just like any other and a person who has suffer far more than any one should. I’ve never let anything stop me from being myself and allowing those who truly value what I value gravitate towards me, personally and in business.
Pricing:
- Families : $585
- Newborns: $485
- Maternities: $485
- Weddings: start at $950
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kattiejackson.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kattiejacksonphotography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kattiejacksonphotography
- Other: https://www.tiktok/itsjustkattie
Image Credits
Alyssa Hollis Photography
Moments by Monica
