Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Bullock.
Kelly, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
With my grandfather being part of Kodak, my dad shared the love of photography with me from as long as I can remember! He gifted me a Nikon camera at a young age and I instantly saw the world differently. All of the beauty in the ordinary came alive and I loved capturing it.
Many years later, I graduated from grad school and became a CRNA. After a few months of being a Nurse Anesthetist, someone asked me what I do for fun. Honestly, that question was hard for me to answer! After years of working so hard to earn my masters and become a CRNA, I forgot what I did for fun! But when I thought about, the answer was easy – photography. It had always been photography. With that, I leaned into my heart for young, growing families. Littles have always brought me so much joy! Soon, my husband and I started a family of our own and now, because I am a mama, I view motherhood in a different perspective. I understand how precious it is to preserve the little details, like how they hold your hand or their sweet curls.
Every season of motherhood has beauty in the chaos that busy mamas want to hold on to forever and I love preserving those memories of motherhood for mamas.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It certainly hasn’t been a smooth road and to be honest, I’m constantly learning! What has been the biggest challenge is balancing being family photographer, a Nurse Anesthetist and a present mother. Each of these things fulfill me in ways that the other cannot so I’m constantly re-evaluating my capacity and boundaries so that each of the mamas I serve are well taken care of and get a high-touch client experience.
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?
I am a motherhood photographer in Raleigh, NC. I preserve memories of motherhood for busy mamas through a high-touch, easy experience and heirloom-worthy artwork. As a working mama to three littles, I understand all too well how fleeting time is; littles grow up so fast and so many mamas want to bottle up their favorite things to enjoy for a lifetime. Through a lot of communication and an in-depth questionnaire, I get to know their family and their little so that I can truly capture each mama’s favorite part of this season of life.
Part of the way I love to serve mamas well is through offering heirloom-worthy artwork that I personalize with them after their session. Each of the albums, matted prints and framed and matted fine art prints are from the highest quality lab in the nation. Because of that, I’m confident that each of these pieces of art will be enjoyed by their children and their future generations.
Being able to customize artwork and order it for busy mamas is something I value so much because it’s a way I can help take another thing off their full plate. Because some of my favorite memories with my Grammie and my mom are sitting on the couch, looking through photos and reminiscing, I want to make it as easy as possible for busy moms to get photos off their hard drives and into their hands to enjoy with their littles. I love thinking that one day, they’ll be sitting on the couch with their grandchildren flipping through an album that we created together.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
I learned how important it is to lean into my passions and the gifts God gave me to best serve my clients. I tried early on to be everything to everyone and the work I gave to my clients was not always my best. Once I learned that I love serving busy, working mamas of young, growing families, my creativity sparked! I absolutely love maternity, newborn and in-home family sessions. To take it a step further, I leaned into my love for in-home family sessions. Whether it’s a newborn session or family session, I am most creatively inspired when I’m with families in their home. This is where littles are happiest and when I step into their space, they shine from the moment I walk in and I capture their amazing personality in their favorite place in the world: their home. It’s so special!!
I also absolutely love capturing personality of little ones! I offer Personality Portraits once a year including February and those are always so much fun!
Recently, I’ve found my love for branding and product photography for women-owned businesses. Being able to capture their essence of a brand and to elevate them for marketing so that the entire world can see how incredible they are, is such a joy!! I am early on in this journey and I know it’s just the beginning. I can’t wait to see where this goes!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kellybullockphotography.com
- Instagram: @kellybullockphotography
- Facebook: @kellybullockphotography
