Story & Lesson Highlights with Katie Perkowska of Portland

We recently had the chance to connect with Katie Perkowska and have shared our conversation below.

Good morning Katie, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I’d love to say I’m one of those people that wakes up at 4AM, works out, makes a whole gourmet meal, meditates and writes in a journal. I so am not… I start my day job at 7am (thankfully it’s remote) otherwise there’s just no way. I tend to reluctantly roll out of bed at 6:30 after fighting with two cats who are screaming at me and my partner for food (because you know… the drama of being starved). I changed from comfy sleeping clothes to comfy work clothes (we’re fancy here). I drink a hot lemon water and usually have leftover scrambled tofu that I make a giant batch of once a week. Then I log in to work while simultaneously checking my email, making coffee, and making sure there’s no important instagram messages I need to get to. ADHD means I multitask like no other!

I am not a gratitude journal in the morning person but I do it in the evening – I swear I’m not a grumpy person all day long! I do think being honest here is relatable AF though because who the heck has the capacity to do all the things in the morning?

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Oh hey! Fancy seeing you here…

I’m Katie – you can say I’m a photographer but I’d say I’m more of a vibe collector, a chaos wrangler (have you ever photographed kids or 3 cats at once?), and a memory alchemist… I should have that printed.

I started my business in 2019 in Chicago, not on purpose. I had a shitty little camera, I’m good with people, and my friends got engaged. And since that little engagement photoshoot I realized I might have a little talent for it, and not just for telling people to smile. But for helping people curate those moments in between, making them laugh and relax when there’s a big ass lens inches away. I very quickly found my love for capturing love and capturing memories. I myself have aphantasia (google it, trust me) and the only way I have any memories is through photos. And those photos where I was truly enjoying a moment were the ones I’ve always loved the most.

Since 2019 I’ve photographed weddings, elopements, maternity photos, family photos, and everything in between. I’ve traveled to Italy, Scotland, Mexico and all over the states. I live in Ireland where I had the pleasure of photographing beautiful elopements and humans. It’s also where I started my own love story… with an American! Go figure right?

Now, we’re living in Portland Oregon. We opened up a studio together and I love it. It’s a space for everyone to be themselves, to love themselves, and to celebrate themselves – in whatever stage of life they’re in. This isn’t just a place where engagements and babies are celebrated. This is THE spot if you happen to have left a job you hated and want to celebrate, it’s a place where a 31st birthday is as momentous as a baby shower, and most importantly… a place where fur babies are treated with as much love as human babies. It’s our hope that it will become a place of community and joy and self love. My work has always been focused on self love and celebrating the little things. A place where all are welcome and no one is made to feel like they have to hide who they truly are. And Portland? it’s the PERFECT spot for that!

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
That I had to be small, quiet, agreeable, and self sufficient. Coming from an unhealthy household the survival skill you learn is to not make anyone mad and to not ask for anything. I took that with me to adulthood until my late 20’s and early 30’s when I learned through therapy, and healthy relationships that being taken care of is not wrong. It’s when I learned that speaking up and setting boundaries will not break a relationship but strengthen it (if the other person is also in a healthy place). And that you can be loved even when you’re not in a good mood – that was a real shocker!

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
After moving my business to Ireland, then to Atlanta, then to Portland – it absolutely plummeted. I spent 1-2 years not even trying really. I cancelled most of my business softwares and almost shut my website down. But losing my dog (one of my great loves), seeing a psychic medium, and realizing the instability of the tech world and being sick of the layoffs made me realize that starting over isn’t a bad thing. I get to make this business what I need it to be in this time in my life and that’s so lucky! Building this safe space for people to celebrate themselves has always been a little dream of mine but I thought I couldn’t do it after basically shutting down for a year. As a crazy woo woo lady I happily listened to the psychic when she told me my dog will help me from the other aside whenever I decide to pursue this dream, so here we are! Starting over, a little scared but also a lot excited!

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
If you want to succeed you have to photograph the luxury weddings. I totally get wanting to be in the luxury space, and for some that’s where they thrive. But it’s also ok to photograph that 1 hour backyard elopement, or that couple whose entire budget is focused on photos and is forgoing the whole party. Personally, I prefer working with the laid back, chill, fun people who are doing it low key for less money than the extravagant affairs that pay a wild amount.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
Worrying about money and actually enjoying it. Also… stop not eating the treats I want to eat because they’re not healthy. Don’t get me wrong, I have a nutrition degree and value my health BUT an extra cookie or bowl of ice cream wouldn’t worry me as much

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wildandtamestudio.com
• Instagram: @wildandtamestudio
• Other: https://www.wildandtamephoto.com