Meet Katelyn Byng

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Katelyn Byng. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Katelyn below.

Katelyn, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

I get my work ethic from my parents. They’re both incredibly hard working, honest people. They showed me the value in truly finding the strength to pursue something you desire, and to not stop until you get it. However, they also showed me the value in kindness and achieving goals honestly. Their integrity inspires me and will forever be my guiding compass.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am a film and digital photographer. I specialize in capturing weddings with a photojournalistic style to give the final gallery movements and authentic elements with a beautiful, artistic touch. My ultimate goal is for my clients to still love their photos in 30 years. Throughout any event I’m hired for, my head is on a swivel. I’m looking for the bride hugging those cousins she hasn’t seen since last year, for the mom swaying with her mother as they watch the next generation expand their family, the groom to hug his best friend who lives across the country, and all of those other in between moments.

Love is the truest thing. It leads us closer to those we care about, and it’s an intangible part of our world that defines us as human beings. We love our partners, our moms, our dogs, and earth…and my goal is to take this powerful, seemingly intangible feeling and make it come alive through my photographs.

A few years ago, my uncle gifted me his old 35mm film camera. I tested it out and at the time, decided that there was no way I’d use it during weddings. Weddings days can be chaotic and fast moving – and I wasn’t sure an old film camera could keep up. Here I am, 7 film cameras later, dabbling in 35mm and medium format, and capturing moments immediately as they happen. Film beautifully preserves a thing. It freezes time in an imperfect way – and I know my business is better for it.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I would say the skills that have helped me the most include the ability to ignore the rules, my aptitude for growing relationships, and a strong sense of confidence. My best work reveals itself when I’m confident in my decisions and I work with the team around me. Any piece of art is a collaboration – and it’s about finding the collaboration points and working them to your advantage to achieve the outcome you want. Even if two photographers photograph the same subject, the final frames are likely to come out completely different because every artist has their own perspective on how the elements should come together.

If you’re early in your journey, I encourage you to find a mentor. My past mentors have been invaluable to my journey as they helped me see beyond the scope of vision I was allowing myself.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I’m moving my business into the creative and commercial space. I value Wedding Planner input as much as I value my clients’ input, and I look forward to connecting with more incredible planners next year. I’d like add more commercial and interior design work into my portfolio – and after working with brands like Nestig I’m really excited to expand my business in that direction.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.katelynalexandriaphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katelynalexandriaphoto
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katelynalexandriaphotography

Image Credits

My headshot was captured by Margaret Wroblewski Photography.