Today we’d like to introduce you to Kayla Brock.
Kayla, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was always a very independent child. I grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago and I was an only child so I just had the mentality of doing what I needed to to get things done and tended to rely on myself. I got my first job when I was 15 in retail which was miserable. I remember one day I ran out the store crying but I always wanted to work so that I could earn and save my own money. I believe I was in high school when I got my first small camera. I always loved taking photos just snapping travel shots or my friends or of a house that I liked. I went to college in London and that was when I moved more towards shooting portraits. I would use my friends all the time to set up concepts or storylines. As I kept going, a lot of people told me that I should do it professionally. They told me they could see the joy it brought me and that I was good at it even though I had my own doubts but I decided to go for it after college. From there, I moved out of my mom’s house shortly after graduation and work as a journalist and a photographer.
Great, 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?
It definitely wasn’t a smooth road. I had a lot of doubts in college and I wasn’t sure if I was on the right path in terms of career. A lot of people tell you that you have to choose, I mean college is literally you picking to stick to one major and I wasn’t cool with that lol. I was and am all about flexibility, fluidity, etc. I don’t believe in just being one thing. We all change in our interests and beliefs. A good friend of mine was saying to me that life is basically a series of starting over. So in terms of my goals, a lot of my life is starting then stopping or starting then falling short and it goes on. I think the biggest struggle for me was really my mentality. Art is subjective and I was always afraid that even if I liked my work that the person receiving it might not like it. A lot of people give me free rein to be creative which I love but that also comes with a fear of ‘oh maybe they won’t like the way I decided to do this after all.’ You really have to get out of your own head.
Kayla Brock Photography – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
My business is in photography. I specialize in portraits so couples, families or singles but I also do work in events and lifestyle which is mostly for brands or social media accounts. I think I’m most proud of the people that I get to connect with. I think it is awesome that I get to meet so many people and hear about what they are doing in their lives. My goal was to always just help people to see themselves as beautiful, handsome, flawless lol. To build confidence, I guess you can say. I think the thing that sets me apart is really my personality. I hear from multiple people that I’ve worked with tell me that I just made them feel at ease and I made them so comfortable and loved. I would describe my style as classic and vibrant.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I have two. One of my proudest moments as a photographer was being invited to Freehold Brooklyn to participate in an art pop-up at their hotel. I was in New York for my birthday actually and reached out to them. They said they loved my work and offered me a last-minute space to sell my work. There were all these prints on the wall and they let me set up a table in the middle of the space and I got a chance to speak with some people and pass out business cards but this was only four months into starting my business so it felt awesome to be in New York (one of my favorite cities) showing off my work. A second moment was in my journalism career. I started working for Oregon’s state travel agency and after being there for three months at the time, I was able to get my name in our annual visitor’s guide as an editor which was amazing. I also helped with some campaigns using my photography.
Pricing:
- Mini portrait session start at $150
- Engagement starts at $250
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kaylabrockphotography.com
- Phone: 331-871-3857
- Email: kaylabrockphotography@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/kaylabrockphotography
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