Kelle Sauer
What’s your connection to wedding photography and What else do you do or shoot?
I specialize in identity-related photography (as a photographer). As a natural co-creator, I began working in the wedding area, hoping to create with other creatives, and the wedding industry was full of people who were making beautiful work all the time.
A move out of an easy wedding destination inspired a two-pronged approach to my business, and now I work more with branding and identity development within the wedding industry (on both photographic and copywriting levels), supporting creatives who want their unique voice to stand out in the industry to the clients that are really right for them.
I am so passionate about people getting to live their dreams, I almost consider myself a fairy godmother, whether it's photographing that bride in her dream dress, showing brand new family photographers how they can create stunning fine art editorial imagery, or supporting artists who've felt stuck in industry pre-definitions instead of getting to live their dreams.
I'm here because I am fascinated by the things that people see and dream and make, because I believe the possibilities are endless, and I deeply support simple authenticity and sincere originality, especially within the art community and the wedding industry.
What is your favorite piece of camera equipment and why?
I chose this question because my answer surprised me! My favorite piece of camera equipment is my iPhone, believe it or not!
My reason? I am constantly trying to shoot outside my own habits and defaults, and my grown-up cameras and lenses often lock me into one way of seeing things. After 20 years in photography, it's easy to get stuck in defaults on my shoots, but if I pull out my iPhone and throw it over the scene, it immediately helps me create a new context for what I am seeing, intake the light differently, and recompose the setting or the mood in a different way. It's become a fantastic tool for pushing my photography to new levels.
What is one important lesson you have learned (the hard way) in your photography career?
That I have always had something to offer, no matter how I felt I was measuring up. I spent too many years afraid to take up space with my unique voice because I felt it didn't compare to what others were producing. I wasted a lot of time (and lost a lot of clients) on questioning myself and my worth. After a five-year sabbatical, I'm returning to this space with what I always wanted to offer, and I am no longer allowing anyone else to define what has always been in me.
With the photography knowledge you have now, what would you tell your younger self when you were just starting out?
I would tell my younger self exactly what I tell my photography & mentorship clients:
"You are already doing this, and here is what I see. Keep doing that."
The moment I started believing that, I became the photographer I'd always wanted to be. We're here because we already know we're perfect, because we believe in our passion, because we think our voice matters -- in the way that we express it. There is always room for growth and change and choice, but there was never anything missing.
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