Today we’d like to introduce you to Maggie Wilson and Amber Olivo.
Hi Maggie and Amber, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Our friendship is really as old as our love for photography. We met in 2005, in the 8th grade, and immediately became best friends. Back then, within our friend group, we were always the girls with the cameras. Everyone counted on us to capture all of the football games, birthday parties, camping trips, and get-togethers. In fact, we still have loads of photo albums of our childhood together displayed in our homes, which we will be able to cherish forever.
The reason for our love for photography really came from Amber’s mother. Amber’s mom owns a photography studio in Mason, Ohio, where we grew up, and it was our first stop after school every day. When we were young, Amber’s mom would have us “help out” by filing paperwork or talking to customers. But as we got older, we gained more responsibilities at the studio, and eventually, we picked up a camera to begin shooting sessions of our own. From the age of 15 or 16, we were photographing families, children, maternity sessions and more.
By the time we reached college, we both decided that we wanted to take our career into our own hands and begin photographing weddings to earn some extra money. This little side hustle quickly turned into a growing business where we were shooting weddings almost every weekend (while still attending university classes).
After university, we both worked in Corporate and education to appease our families but still photographed weddings on the side for many years. But keeping our passion as a “side job” was not cutting it for us. We both realized that photographing weddings and couples was really what we wanted to pursue as our full-time career. Our side business was getting too big to just sit on. So, we made the leap. We became full-time wedding photographers right before Covid and have never turned back.
As of 2024, we have been photographing weddings for over 12 years and couldn’t really imagine doing anything else.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Being a small business owner and entrepreneur is never a smooth road. It takes a certain type of person to be able to keep pursuing your passions despite what others tell you or the obstacles that you face. But if you are really passionate about your craft, keep going!
As a wedding photographer, one of our biggest hurdles is that our work is very seasonal and is directly impacted by the current economy. Every calendar year is different in terms of how many weddings we have, and our work comes in waves. This can be very challenging as a business owner if you’re not prepared.
Thinking back on our journey, we would say that Covid was our biggest obstacle. Like many other business owners, our work came to a halt. The wedding industry was a mess, and no one knew how to move forward. But in hindsight, the experience that Covid gave us was also a blessing in terms of our creativity and how we reimagined our business model.
The biggest upside of hitting an obstacle in business is learning adaptation. Being able to adapt to the challenges that life gives you will end up proving vital to the health of your venture. Always adapt and treat the challenges as new opportunities.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar with what you do, what can you tell them about what you do?
Kindred Light Studios is a best friend duo, specializing in Wedding Photography both in Ohio and destination locations. We have been photographing weddings together for over 12 years and wouldn’t imagine doing anything else!
Since we began photographing weddings, we have had so many wonderful opportunities to showcase our work in both local and national publications, travel the world with our clients, and work on the most beautiful weddings.
Our main mission is to make our couples feel effortlessly comfortable in front of the camera, creating an environment where their true selves can shine. We are known for creating stunning editorial images with an organic and thoughtful shooting style. We pride ourselves on allowing genuine moments to unfold naturally on your wedding day (while also capturing all of those little behind-the-scenes moments most people miss).
We pay attention to the little things that make your story special.
We do this by forming relationships with our couples that last beyond your wedding day. Our TOP priority is you, your family, and guests. We will always make sure that you are fully present on your wedding day and allow special moments to candidly develop.
From the moment our couples book us, we are with them each step of the way to make sure everything goes flawlessly. We offer multiple meetings to talk through wedding details (in person or video chat), a custom photography timeline, vendor recommendations, access to our client-only guide, all images from your wedding day, and, of course, a day of support.
What does day of support mean? If you need assistance with boutonnières, fluffing your dress, a mint before you walk down the aisle, we got you.
What makes you happy?
We are HUGE travel junkies. Part of what we do as wedding photographers is draw our inspiration from the different places we visit and unique people we meet. Travel is a large part of our lives and truly makes us happy! A few years ago, we started incorporating Destination Wedding Photography services into our business and this allowed us to combine two passions of ours.
Amber is also a mom to a 2-year-old little girl, Helen. And is getting ready to have her second, a little boy! Her family is incredibly important to her and is her motivation.
Maggie has a large family, although no children of her own. She considers her 100lb golden retriever to be her fur baby!
Pricing:
- Our full wedding day coverage packages begin at $4499
- Destination weddings begin at $5499
Contact Info:
- Website: kindredlightstudios.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kindredlightstudios/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kindredlightstudios
Image Credits
Kindred Light Studios
