Jay Kelly is a natural-style Wedding & Portrait Photographer located in the San Francisco Bay Area & has been working with Digilabs literally from the start! He is the real deal with accolades such as receiving the award Best of Category at WPPI, Published in numerous magazines such as The Knot, Modern Bride, San Francisco Magazine, and three times on the cover of "Here Comes the Guide". He was recently chosen as a featured photographer for the book "Style Your Dream Wedding" by Palace Press International.
I've been his Account Manager here at Digilabs for 3 years now & have met him briefly at a couple shows but coincidentally caught up with him at one of my childhood friend's weddings at the Hotel Saint Francis in San Francisco. After I saw him in action I thought to myself…PERFECT, he's gonna be my 1st victim for Digilabs Photographer of the Month!
Professional Photographer Jay Kelly
And so we met for Happy Hour…or Happy HOURS I should say! And after those hours I can walk away saying, he's a lot of fun and a consummate professional! There is an energy about him that I think is vital for any Wedding Photographer! I felt comfortable & at ease as if grabbing dinner with an old friend. Here's what he had to say about running his own business, staying current in an always changing market & Digilabs (he was also kind enough to share a couple of his favorite shots with Digilabs!)
The Interview
Describe to me a little more about your style as a photographer: Well, I love to mix a variety of styles-that's what keeps things interesting for me. Mixing the traditional along with a more alternative, edgy feel. I have an artistic background which allows me to adjust for each customer while still staying true to my personal style. It allows me to offer a really eclectic style to my customers and push myself creatively as well. On every shoot, I ask myself "What can I do differently today? How can I put a more creative spin on this?" That's how I keep things fresh for myself and my clients.
What inspires you when shooting? To be chosen for their special day is a HUGE honor to me. I don't take it lightly and I keep it in mind when I'm shooting. In the past 8 years I've received so many incredible Thank You cards from my clients, that to me is the big pay off. I put my heart and soul into every wedding- it's like my wedding gift to them. Keeping that in mind really inspires me to do the best I can every time and develop my artist skills.
What gear do you use? I shoot with all Cannon equipment specifically a 5D Mark II. I like the extremes with lenes. The 70-200mm is probably my favorite, with the fisheye or 16-35mm as a runner up.
How does your Studio set itself apart from all these NEW photographer's popping up left & right? Oh gosh, it's difficult but I think BRANDING is how you do that. I try to brand my business as not only where you'll get the most outstanding images you've ever seen, but also that you'll have a ball doing it. If they're having fun, we'll get great images; simple as that. People are usually uncomfortable in front of the camera (that's why I stay behind it), but I have lots of tricks and routines I do to keep their energy up and elicit natural expressions. If my approach is easy-going and free flowing than my clients pick up on that and feel comfortable.
How are you changing your business to incorporate things like selling the high resolution images & incorporating social networking tools like facebook? A lot of photographers tell me about the pressure they feel to give away the high resolution images. My attitude is simple: If the images are presented how they're supposed to be ie: in an album then I think it's fair to give the hi res images with that. But the 'shoot&burn' photographer is cheating himself and the profession because the images are not being presented properly. Half the equation is good presentation so we need to finish the job to show the images at their full potential. Social networking like Facebook & Twitter has HUGE potential. I try to get all the people I can as friends and honestly probably half my friends on Facebook I don't even know. It's OK though because it's all about getting your name out there. It's an invaluable tool & will become a greater part of our business.
How does Digilabs help your business? I tried another service before switching over to Digilabs back in 2004 and it just didn't work out. There is a simplicity that the Digilabs software offers to my business. It loads fast, resizes for me, it uploads fast. With the amount of volume I have usability and speed are essential & Digilabs helps me streamline my workflow.
What is your craziest 'Bridezilla' story? Well I have been really really lucky & never had a 'Bridezilla' really. But one time we did have a Bride who had her veil zipped up in a duffle bag. I guess it had somehow gotten caught into the zipper so when my Assistant at the time thought she was helping the Bride out by pulling out her veil my Assistant quickly found out that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Bride was actually fine for the ceremony but the next day really flipped out! Also, the other day I was doing a wedding at the beach and some teenagers driving by in the back seat "mooned" us! Gotta love that…
Any advice you can offer? Absolutely. Learn to shoot in manual 90% of the time for consistency in your work. This will also give you a much deeper understanding to mastering the techniques of photography. Also, look at what your colleagues are doing and get inspired! There is nothing wrong with getting inspiration from different sources-be it paintings or other art forms.
