Meet Brittany Kennedy: Owner of blkphoto + co.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brittany Kennedy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brittany, what makes you happy? Why?
First off, the most important thing that makes me happy is my family, friends, and my boyfriend! They are simply the glue that keeps me together and the reason I keep going in this business! They push me to be a better business owner, friend, and person in general. As for what makes me happy in my business, it is the joy of delivering unique, natural, and meaningful images to each and every one of my clients. The end result of each session is what makes me the happiest. Knowing that I connected with my clients on a personal level, and delivered the best images possible to make their time with me meaningful is what brings me the most joy! I am the happiest when I end each session with a new friend.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am firm believer that my style is a representation of honest, raw, genuine, and fun. Everything that I strive to be myself. I want to come into each of my client’s lives as they are, not how they appear on social media. I want true and honest. With that said, I won’t ever ask them to do something that is not them. My number one goal is to get them in front of the camera feeling like their true + authentic self! No bull-shit here – just the genuine, joyful, care-free moments captured in a way to be cherished for years and years to come!

I think what I am most proud of is my ability to make a friend after each session. I have always been able to talk to a brick wall and being able to connect with each one of my clients and end with a friend is what I am most proud of in my business.

Getting where I am at right now was not easy. I started a business at the beginning of a dang pandemic — who does that?! I had to juggle working through COVID, adjusting to working from home and making a routine, always being “on”… social media is a huge part of my business and I am constantly on my phone to keep up with the algorithms, and most importantly trying to figure out a work-life balance. I am a very detailed, routined, and organized person so overcoming those challenges took some time. I think what helped the best was establishing a strict routine and giving myself some grace to simply say no sometimes!

I think the biggest lesson I have learned along the way is that it IS okay to say no. I learned that I did not have to say yes and commit to every client that came along. Although, I am still working on that to this day…. I don’t want to miss out on opportunities, but having a work life balance is crucial for my family and especially my mental health.

I guess if I had to choose one thing that I would like the world to know about me and my brand is that I am all about being natural and true to yourself. Social media already paints this pretty picture that isn’t really life most of the time. so being able to capture one’s authentic and natural self is what I strive to do!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
That is the beauty of living in Atlanta, there is SO much to do! However, I love the little cities outside of Atlanta. So many OTP areas are booming and I love to take advantage of them.

I would start by taking them to Avalon to shop around. There are so many great stores all around there and even better food. My favorite restaurant by there is South City Kitchen. For drinks, I would go more ITP. Gypsy Kitchen, Garden Room, and Grana are some of my favorite places to just hang out and have a drink with girlfriends!

West Midtown also has so many new and fun places to hang out at. My boyfriend and I found a new love for Puttshack. It is a new miniature golf course that has so many cool holes plus there are TONS of places to eat and drink around there like Forza Storico and my favorite, Jeni’s Ice Cream!

Of course, being in Atlanta my whole life, we are huge Braves fans. So making a stop to Truist Park to watch a game, and eat and drink in The Battery would be a MUST! Grab a cheap general admission ticket and go eat at Chophouse and you are SET. Yardhouse is my favorite restaurant inside The Battery and ASW Distillery is our favorite place to drink there as well. Go on the right day and you can catch a concert inside The Roxy!

Atlanta is filled with so many things to do that we could never run out of ideas!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My shout outs could go a long way. I have so many special people in my life that really helped make this business go from my little hobby to my full-time job, but there are just a few that really keep me going.

To start, I would not be any where with out my mother and step-father. I “stole” my mom’s camera when I was in college to simply capture things I was doing with my friends…. turns out I had a real eye for capturing life’s little moments! That camera turned into more cameras, new lenses, and all the camera gear you can think of. They have financed my business more than they needed to, but they seem to think it is worth it! They push me to keep going and their never ending support is what gets me through the hardest days of this job. They are beyond supportive and this business would be nothing without them.

As much as my parents are a crucial part of this business, my boyfriend is as well. When COVID hit and I lost my corporate job, it was my boyfriend that convinced me to turn my hobby into my new full-time job. He never once doubted my ability to have a successful business in the midst of a pandemic. He was there each step of the way and my business would not be half of what it is without his support! He is the one who hears all of my stories and even some of my complaints and is the first to offer a massage after a long day at a wedding or all day sessions. I really think that if he hadn’t convinced me to turn my hobby into a career, I would not be where I am at today! He deserves all of the recognition and love.

Finally, my friend Kayleigh, another photographer deserves a shoutout as well. I trusted Kayleigh years ago to second shoot at a wedding with me and then convinced her later on to go ahead and pursue her own photography business. The amount of phone calls. questions asked and answered, text messages, face-times, etc. do not go unnoticed. . Having Kayleigh to lean on each day is what helps the rough days get better. She is one of my best-friends in this business and she is the best person to talk to when things get hard and even when things are going amazing. I could not do this as my career if I did not have Kayleigh as my right-hand!

Website: blkphotoandco.com

Instagram: @blkphotoandco

Image Credits
@blkphotoandco