“Anyone can take a picture. A person with a passion sees the picture before it’s taken.”

Hello! So glad you made it over to my blog!

This is a new journey I have decided to embark on to give all of you a more personal look and more insight into my day to day life as a photographer (and horsewoman).

So I figured the best way to start this thing off would be to talk about how I got started on the path to becoming a  professional photographer!

I posted the quote above because I TRULY believe that you have to have passion if you’re ever going to succeed in anything!

Photography isn’t my only passion. Horses have also been a huge part of my life since I was a little girl. I’m sure as this blog goes on, things will become a bit Equine heavy, especially because my ultimate goal is to become an Equine Photographer. My aunt was solely responsible for starting my 20+ year obsession with horses. She's always owned them and taught me as much as she could in the technicalities of riding and I learned most of what I know now over YEARS of riding with friends and fellow Equestrians in any capacity I could. Trail riding has always been my riding style of choice, but I have dabbled in other disciplines like showing Paso Fino horses and Carriage Driving!

My interest in photography came AFTER the horse obsession, but holds just as much importance in my life (ok, maybe horses are a BIT more important. Lol). Now, I didn’t just pick up a camera one day and decide I was going to click a shutter and charge people money for it for a living. Things progressed a bit more organically than that. In high school is when I got bit by the “art” bug, taking multiple art based classes (visual and performing arts) and even spending 80% of my downtime in the art classroom working on several pieces at once. Naturally, when it came time to go to college, I chose to further study the arts. I took courses in fiber arts, sculpture, 2D and 3D, painting (watercolor, oil, acrylic), printmaking, drawing, digital art, and of course……photography! 

After taking my Intro to Photography class my second year of college, I was hooked. When working on my drawings and paintings, I would use parts of stock images as references to complete my pieces, so stepping into photography was pretty easy and practical. Instead of using parts of *others images, I could create the compositions myself. And lets be honest. We live in the digital age and being able to instantly create a work of art is very satisfying! BUT with that being said, my first photography courses were on Film Photography and that will most likely be a topic I talk about in the future!

When college ended and “the real world” set in, I found myself working retail and food service type jobs to make ends meet. While working at a "certain" restaurant, I felt I needed to make a change to manifest more of the things I loved into my life. And that’s when my guardian angel sent Cara Marshall walking into my current place of employment. Cara was a regular at this particular establishment and though we didn’t speak much when she came in (I knew her order before she even walked through the door and had her checked out and on her way SO fast!) she quickly became a very important person in relaunching my photography passion. I was working on building my photography business here and there while working a full time job, but I wasn't giving it the attention that it needed. I was far more focused on working to pay the bills.

My life took a turn for the better when Cara happened to walk in on a chilly Savannah morning wearing a jacket with the Carriage Tours of Savannah logo embroidered on the chest. My being head over heels for horses asked her if she worked for said company. "No. I own it." was the response she gave. I was pretty impressed and terribly jealous that she got to be around the Equine worlds "gentle giants", draft horses.

I just couldn't let it go! I wanted to know more about what it was that Cara did and if there was any way I could get my foot in the door. Well, I finally worked up the nerve to ask Mrs. Marshall if she needed any help in her barn. She said she always needed help and if there was anything in particular I wanted to help with. Being completely honest, I told her I would be perfectly happy just mucking stalls! But she suggested that I come out and learn to drive a carriage and become a carriage tour guide in the historic city of Savannah, Ga and that's exactly what I did in May of 2015!

Not only did Carriage Tours of Savannah (CTOS) give Historic Tours through the city, we also gave Ghost Tours (Savannah is one of the most haunted cities in the US!), provided wedding transportation, and help with proposal setups!

A little over two years into my time working at CTOS, Cara, while booking a proposal, got asked if she knew any available photographers in the area to capture the moment he popped the question. In her quick thinking, and knowing I was a photographer, Cara asked me if I would be interested and that she would make sure I got paid my dues. So we worked out a plan, gave the gentleman the okay, and then I waited.....

The way it works, is the couple gets picked up at one location and is given a tour while the driver is taking them to the perfect place to ask the big question. I have already been made aware of the drop off location and that is where I wait for the carriage to arrive (all of this is timed out perfectly) and for the couple to get off and walk towards the fountain in the square to toss in a coin to give them luck in everlasting love, then BAM!! The proposer is down on one knee before the other has had a chance to realize what has happened! After the couple has had there moment, I step in, introduce myself, and then they have more time with me to take additional images. I've put just a few of my favorites below.

That first proposal was in April of 2017. I was nervous. I had never done anything like it before. But I fell in love with my photography all over again. To date, I have shot roughly 25 proposals through CTOS and still booking! I actually have one this weekend! But after taking in so many clients due to working the proposals as frequently as I was, I made the decision to step away from driving carriages and diving headfirst into photography and running my business. Im not saying that it was that easy or that I am fully supporting myself through this business, but I am finally gaining the momentum to build it up to what I've always dreamt it to be and I couldn't be more excited!!

Growth is ALWAYS a good thing and I am EXTREMELY grateful for Cara's hand in this growth that I have experienced in my work and business over the past year and half. I am working vigilantly on building this business to be everything I want it to be. But even if this doesn't get as big as my hopes and dreams, I will always be a photographer.

So to wrap this up (it's my first post, kinda expected myself to be long winded) I will say that I also appreciate those of you that have been incredibly supportive of this journey that I am on, wether you have booked with me or not. Thank you for taking the time to read this mess (lol) and if you want to hear more from me, you can subscribe to this blog, or look for the posts on my Facebook page!

Kacy