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

Hi Kari, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think risk taking is something we all have to do as business owners at some point in our journey. My biggest risk was quitting my corporate job to focus on photography full time. It was always my plan but my plan included having x amount of dollars in savings, to have lived in our brand new home for several month and to pay off both of our cars. Well that didn’t happen. I got to the point were the stress level was so high at my corporate job that I needed to make a move. That was a huge risk but it paid off not only in my career but in my personal life. I was able to be there for my family when my grandpa got sick, I was able to help out with our family business (my family breeds goats), I was stress free, my relationship with my husband got stronger and I was able to have more time to focus on what I could do to grow my business and to improve in my craft.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I like to consider myself an artist with a camera. Capturing emotion, raw moments, the chaos, the beauty that maybe you don’t see is what I live for. No two sessions are the same for me because no two humans are the same. And it took me a while to figure out that’s what makes me fall in love with my own work. Photography is not an easy career to have if you start comparing yourself to every photographer. In my early days I struggled with that. I didn’t shoot for me which also to me meant I wasn’t shooting for my client either, I was shooting for what I thought others wanted to see. But then something changed and I realized that I could offer so much more than a perfectly posed picture. I want people to feel in the images I provide to them and to remember that time in their life even if it was a sad time. Because those sad times still make our story ours and it makes us who we are.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well I live in a very small town about 30mins south east of Dallas. Also Im not a great planner lol. I like to go with the flow. We would hit up one of my favorite coffee shops. Kingdom Growers, Cultivar, Serve, Magnolias Sous Le Pont Then we would go get some tacos. we would do some axe throwing and visit museums (I love the Perot museum). If it was baseball season we would go to a game. I would take them to Dirt to see all the cool plants they have. If the weather was nice we would go have brunch at the Rustic.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Oh my gosh! I have such a long list. I will keep it to two (well really 4 lol) First my husband 100%. His support is amazing. With out him I wouldn’t have been able to do my dream job. Second my family (my parents and sister) has also always been there. My parents are the type of parents that just want their kids to do what makes them happy. My mom paid so much developing film just to find a whole roll of my toys posed in places or to see that I had posed my cat with toys and necklaces.

Website: www.klaynephotography.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/klaynephotographytx
Facebook: www.facebook.com/klaynephotography

Image Credits
Krista Arnold Photography Klayne Photography