Today marks a special day at
Brad Kehr Photography. We are starting a brand new segment on what I like best - highlighting some of the incredible photographers that inspire me. These are people I have grown with photographically and personally. By God's grace, not only do I get to call them all accomplished peers and congenial competitors, I get to call many of them close, personal friends.
I am incredibly excited to be kicking off this segment with the husband and wife team that makes up K Stone Photography. I've known these guys for more than seven years - from before they first picked up a camera professionally. They are both an incredible joy to be around and bring a creative and loving attitude to anything they do. They show a beautiful love to each other and you can see it reflected in their work. I have had the privilege of watching them grow in their photography and even working with them on several occasions. I now rank them among the most talented of the photographers I know. If this is the measure of how they are growing, I can't wait to see what is next and how God will use them and their photography. Here they are:
K Stone Photography
Tell us a little bit about who you are: What is K Stone Photography?
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Kenny and Kim Stone -
The Team Behind K Stone Photography |
We are a husband/wife team, passionate about serving people and being creative. While our business evolves every day, we do have a philosophy that centers around three things:
Authentic Work: We believe that building relationships with our clients, is the key element in creating work that is authentic and powerful.
Timeless Work: As photographers, we want our images to be relevant now, and ten years from now.
Excellence in our Work: We use the highest quality of equipment and workmanship and always strive to improve.
How did you get into photography?
Kimberly studied photography in high school, during a time when film was the main source of photography. Obviously, that was eleven years ago. Since then, we have always loved photography. The digital era kind of intimidated both of us at first, however as we began to learn some of the digital software and darkrooms, we became more excited about the possibility of working as photographers. Four years ago, the school that Kimberly worked for, closed. Since that time, we pushed ourselves to start this business and it has definitely been a slow, but steady process. We are so grateful for the clients that invested in us, during the early years and the clients that continue to invest in our work now.
What was your business development process like?
In the beginning, there is so much to learn and so much to do. One person cannot possibly do it all. I feel like we were more prepared on the photography side of things and less prepared on the business side of things. While both are very important, I believe that setting high standards and ethics in your business is key to surviving. We have learned a few things the hard way, for sure. As we began to get a higher volume of clients, we began to see how important it was to have all of our processes and procedures fully in place. This has caused us to work day and night for the last two years, but again, we are just so thankful for the work.
You guys are a husband and wife team. Kim, you kicked things off, and, Kenny, you picked up a camera later on. What made you decide to work together?
As wedding photographers, we found that couples connected so much more with both of us, rather than just one. We are also super passionate about marriage and found this a huge opportunity for us to work together with couples. I think we really complement each other well and we can't even imagine it any other way.
How does being married help you in your photography?
Like we said, being married ourselves, gives us the opportunity to come alongside couples and be a part of their lives during a very special time. As we build relationships with these people, their genuine personalities are more easily captured and we love that.
Are there any special challenges because you shoot with your spouse?
We really do love working together. Every now and then, we find that we are just on different pages, creatively.... It can be challenging to respect each other's different perspectives. But then again, we remember that our clients appreciate two perspectives and we should too.
If you had to define your style in one sentence, what would you say?
Authentic and timeless.
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One of Kim's favorite shot -
"because of the emotion captured and the light used in the photo" |
From your images, you really seem to be able to connect with your clients. How do you make that happen?
We build relationships with our clients. Truly, from the moment we get an inquiry, we work hard to build a genuine connection with our clients. We know that when our clients trust us, they are free to be themselves, which translates into authentic moments captured.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
You know, I think we get our inspiration from a multitude of places. We are Christians and so our relationship with God inspires us to serve and love well. As far as creatively, we are inspired by a myriad of photographers and different styles. When we photograph, we are definitely inspired by images that we would envision hanging in our home, images that we would want.
Let's see, I (Kim) am inspired by photographers like The Schultzes (
www.lovetheschultzes.com) -- their style is very different from ours, but I love the emotion that they capture and that they are a husband/wife team.
Also very inspired by Justin and Mary Marantz (
justinmarantz.com/), who also are a husband/wife team and are just incredible photographers. We have learned a lot from them.
What do you think makes you stand out as photographers?
Well, I am not sure we stand out, but we continue to strive for that. This industry is saturated with photographers -- each year, thousands of new photographers will enter this industry and it is going to become harder and harder to stand out. So this is a good question. For us, we hope that our clients are choosing us for our work, but also for who we are. The day that we stop genuinely caring for our clients, is the day that we should stop being wedding photographers.
What are you doing to push the envelope? How do you seek to keep improving?
We are constantly reading and practicing. We always want to improve, every year, every day. I think it can almost seem overwhelming because there is always so much more to learn. Although this sounds contradictory, one of the ways that we seek to push the envelope, is through contentment. Realizing that we won't ever know everything and that we need to improve on what we do know and master these skills each and every session. As we master one thing, we can then move on to the next. And I think another important element is not comparing yourself with everyone else. There will only be one K Stone Photography, so our job is to be true to who we are and never stop learning.
With all that time spent developing K Stone Photography, shooting, and editing, what do you do when you are not a photographer?
We are pretty simple people. This last year, we felt over the top busy. And so our times off were fewer between, but one thing that we do love: Cannon Beach. If we could visit this place even twice a year, we would be smitten. The coastline is beautiful and the little town totally fits our personalities. We love drinking coffee and walking and running. A lazy Sunday afternoon in the Stone house usually looks like Kenny watching sports while I read the latest issue of Real Simple.
Is there anything else we should know about you or your photography?
We are real people. We make mistakes. But it is our mistakes that give us opportunities for growth and push us to become better. If we are afraid of failure then we won't take risks and we may get to the end with regrets.
And while we may have already said this, we do believe in God and we believe that life is so much bigger than ourselves and our stories. We want this business to play into God' story and give Him glory. It is such an honor.
Thank you, Kenny and Kim! For sharing your creativity and your time. And for being part of this beginning at Brad Kehr Photography. I am blessed to call you friends.
