Daily Inspiration: Meet Kellie Craport

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kellie Craport.

Hi Kellie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have always loved the arts. When I was a child, one of the things I wanted to be when I grew up was an artist.
As a teenager, I was always making my friends and sisters get dressed up to do photoshoots with my point-and-shoot digital camera. I had no clue what I was doing but we had a lot of fun!
In college, I took a film photography class and really enjoyed it. Someday, maybe I will play around with film again.
I officially started my business in 2018 after the birth of my first daughter. It began as just a fun way to document her growth, and slowly I started getting friends and family asking me to take pictures of their children also.
It continued to snowball into an amazing career. I get to make art, travel to some incredible locations and document the most important milestones in my clients’ lives. It’s amazing!

Alright, 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 hasn’t always been a smooth road. Like any entrepreneurial career, its had it’s highs and lows. There were times that growth felt impossible, or I struggled to learn a new skill. Sometimes I made mistakes, but I’ve always tried to use struggles and mess ups as learning experiences rather than letting them get me down. In fact, some of my largest growth periods came after a previous struggle or challenging circumstance. I wouldn’t be the photographer I am today without the hard times.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a wedding, elopement and portrait photographer based out of Dayton, Ohio, though I travel all over!

My work is painterly-style, emotive, colorful and story-centered.

I’ve had the privelege of going to some incredible locations such as Maui, Hawaii, Glacier National Park, Montana, Cancun, Mexico and Cannon Beach, Oregon.
I am most prould of all I have learned over the years, the connections I’ve made with my clients and manifesting some of my biggest dreams and business goals.

I always want to be known as someone who pushes myself, works hard for my clients and makes the thing happen!

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I have taken risks plenty of times! Most of the time it pays off. Sometimes it doesn’t, and you cut your losses and move on to the next idea.
For me, growing this business has always been a passion project and I am always thinking of ways to take it to the next level.

One risk I took was planning my first ever photography retreat. I wanted to get into destination weddings, and I knew I needed to have some travel work to make that happen. So, I got some friends on board, found models, an Airbnb house, reached out to a local florist and we all flew out to Oregon for a long weekend. We did some incredible shoots, made some new friendships and had the absolute best time exploring this new place.

Afterward, I ended up landing 3 more destination weddings. I don’t think that would have happened had I not taken the chance and made that first trip come to life.

I am now planning another photography retreat, this time to West Virginia with other photographers who are paying to attend the shoots I have lined up. I couldn’t be more excited!

Pricing:

• Weddings and Elopements start at $2,000
• Family Sessions start at $300

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kelliecraportphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelliecraportphotography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelliecraportphotography