Meet Kelly Peterson Frazier

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kelly Peterson Frazier a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kelly, so great to have you sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our readers and so let’s jump right into one of our favorite topics – empathy. We think a lack of empathy is at the heart of so many issues the world is struggling with and so our hope is to contribute to an environment that fosters the development of empathy. Along those lines, we’d love to hear your thoughts around where your empathy comes from?

My career in photography is tightly wound around my grief and love story. I was lucky to grow up in a family with passionate family dinners and regular exploratory experiences. We valued hard, yet rewarding opportunities—even when a crushing diagnosis of Stage Four lung cancer landed in my Dad’s voicemail. After having just been let go from his 30-year engineering career at an international company, my dad interviewed for jobs across the country and accepted a position in the beautiful Colorado. We sold our house, found a new oncologist at Anschutz Medical Campus, enrolled at Colorado State University, and moved to Fort Collins. Treating cancer, as we know as a society, is a harrowing process that requires resilience on lots of different accounts. My ability to read a room and be present in positive and negatives emotions made my empathy soar. I consider my job as a photographer rooted in just that: honoring the true story while being aware of sensitive situations. We document our milestones so that they last, even longer than when the people in the frames fade away. We document our milestones so that we see the love in each other’s eyes. We document our milestones so that we learn to see ourselves as the confident and authentic people we are.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m on a forever journey of finding beautiful moments frozen in time. I let light guide my experience in the world as it lands on subjects; even in the dark, there are gradients of light that we take in. I love being a photographer because I get to meet new people, see new places, and experience new emotions. These are all my favorite things. I hope to continue to push my business to expand its creativity and client experience so that it’s involved in the community at a holistic level. I’ve also had to learn very quickly how to make smart decisions about money while also considering the pros and cons of risk. What an honor to practice a diverse set of skills over time. But really, my goal is for my brand to represent love. I’m always tweaking subtle word choice and photos on my website so that every angle tells stories purposefully. I’m often rehashing my workflows to see what gaps my clients might feel along the journey too. In the end, keep an eye out for wedding photography that feels more like photojournalism in the permeable spheres of our lives.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Grit. Even when a decision doesn’t pan out, have the oversight that it just takes more decisions to improve. Your best is only as good as today. You can’t do tomorrow’s best.
Connection. Above all else, connect with the person in front of you. Let them know you hear them and want to get to know them. Don’t be scared of small talk. Every conversation has to start somewhere.
And lastly, organization. At least from my experience, this is what takes my services to the next level because my systems are set up in an easy way so I have more energy to get to understand each client’s vision.
If you are early in a new journey, remember that each step builds upon the next. Look at the top of the staircase, but only lift your foot high enough for the next “rung.”

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

It’s sometimes even difficult for me to admit even though it shouldn’t be, but I am still a full-time high school English teacher, so I have to fit my full-time business into evenings and weekends. My work life balance is a work in progress as I figure out what next steps make the most sense for my husband and me. I have to code switch constantly, like many people do, in order to best serve my students, clients, and family. I pride myself in high quality work, but I know that I have prioritize different things at different times. Not all balls will stay in the air equally. I’ve gotten more effective at juggling by using healthy boundaries and clear expectations of what I can deliver at that time. The barrier is that the idea of letting teaching go is heartbreaking to my younger self, but the truth is, I like working my butt off for my photography business because it feels natural to me in many ways. I’ve had to practice using my gut versus my brain.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Kelly Photo & Design LLC
Shel Francis Creative

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