Earlier this year, Matt and I were fortunate enough to do a photo and video shoot with the adorable and supremely talented married duo of Chris and Kacey Photo. Back in spring, Kacey and Chris met Matt and me in Bird Rock, where they spent the next couple of hours shooting photos and footage of us trying not to fall on the rocks and trying to look cute wading in the water along the coast.
Now, not only was it really fun hanging out with both of them for the afternoon, but I also feel the need to preface the rest of this post with the fact that Matt and I are not naturals in front of the camera; however, Kacey and Chris made us feel completely comfortable from the minute we met them, and they gave great direction the entire time. So much so, that, a few weeks later when we got the finished products back, we were both honestly blown away (because Matt and I automatically assumed that since we are so unnatural in front of a camera that we had ruined the shoot with painfully awkward faces and poses 📸).
Therefore, I wanted to share this power couple with you all too, in case you are in need of their services in the future! So please continue to scroll down to see a handful of the pictures (JK. I shared, like, 14,000 – and this was me narrowing it down 😅 but they're just so talented!!), some interview questions Kacey was kind enough to answer, and a sneak peek at the video Chris put together!
Tell us a bit about the two of you!
We've been together for almost 8 years, and married for almost 2, have 3 dogs and a cat (all rescues), bought our first house together before we got married, and have to sweep our floors twice a day because of all the pet hair. Chris works full-time as a Respiratory Therapist. He reads about 3 books a month, is a Sci-fi nerd, a movie buff, an over-thinker, and claims he hasn't had a good night's sleep in 10 years. I [Kacey] work for Planned Parenthood. I'm ride-or-die for Handmaid's Tale, usually order off the kid's menu, love horror movies (it's in my blood, my great-grandpa was Boris Karloff), and haven't met a dog I didn't want to pet. I could actually cry just thinking about how much I love dogs. We love so many of the same things, so we're not complete opposites but, personality-wise, we definitely balance each other out.
What first piqued your interest in photography/videography?
We've always loved documenting our date nights and adventures and sitting back and looking through memories, but the bulk of our "portfolio" was that and dog photos. Then, we spent 3 hours driving out to the sand dunes for our newlywed photo session with our wedding photographer (Sarah Linda Photography) and were so inspired by her story of how far she'd come and how she just took a chance on something she loved. We've both always had jobs out of necessity and the idea of working for ourselves never seemed attainable. You sit on your lunch break at work scrolling through and seeing these influencers and small business owners on Instagram and think "Damn, that's rad they do that for a living!" but you rarely know their backstory or how they got to where they are. So when you have this incredible photographer hanging out with you, telling you how she got started, that entrepreneur fantasy becomes more tangible for you, so we decided to give it a shot.
When did you start taking pictures/video?
Chris bought his first DSLR, a Canon Rebel, our first year dating to take to all the places we'd go to on dates. We didn't start taking it seriously, sitting down and reading and learning about our cameras, until after we got married.
How did you start your business?
We started by doing free photo sessions for all of our friends and family for practice and to build up our portfolio. Then one day we started getting inquiries from strangers or friends-of-friends who wanted to actually book us and pay us and we were very humbly stoked. We both still have our full-time jobs, so, for now, we're just booking around our work schedules and trying to gain more clients and exposure. Social media is a huge platform for small businesses but keeping up with all of our accounts is definitely a lot of work.
What's your favorite part of your job?
Just getting to tell peoples' stories with our photography and videos. Every couple is unique and we like getting to know them while we follow them around with cameras in their faces. Some people are timider having their photo taken, which we totally get, but no matter how awkward they may act or feel during the session, we're always able to catch real moments and those are always our favorite.
What do you do for fun other than photography?
Working full time and starting your own business takes up your free time, but we try to get the most out of what we get. We love taking the dogs to Huntington Dog Beach, going for hikes, seeing Incubus every year they tour, and driving out to Palm Springs for the day. But we're both introverted homebodies so sometimes we just look forward to our "lazy days" of just staying home, hanging out with all the babies, watching movies we've already seen a hundred times, or bingeing a new TV show.
What is your dream location to shoot?
Good one! We're hopefully headed to the sand dunes in the next couple of months and we're super excited for that. We'd love to shoot in Yosemite and the Grand Canyon too. Anything with ominous or major backdrops for sure. We'd love to travel to exotic locations in the future but for now, there are so many killer places within a day's drive that we want to tackle first.
If you're searching for photographers and/or videographers, I can't recommend Chris and Kacey enough! The photos and footage speak for themselves. Their talent is undeniable. But on top of all that, I mean it when I say that the two of them are a blast to hang out with!
Be sure to follow along with them on social media! You can find them on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.
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Instagram | Bloglovin' | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest
PS: Matt and I are back from Europe, and I will be sharing more about that trip soon! In the meantime, check out some shots from our travels over on Instagram @alliegee319!
