Conversations with Kena Iversen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kena Iversen. 

Hi Kena, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I first picked up a camera in high school and let me tell you, I had no idea what I was doing but it was what I thought would be an easy class. One of the first shots I took and developed was of a camel, yes, a camel! And as crazy as it sounds that same shot actually took first in a photography competition. I’ve always had a love for travel as well and when I picked up that camera, took photos in Oregon for competition in Illinois while living in Colorado… I became hooked. However, while the love of taking photos never left, I was young and went on to try several other jobs. It wasn’t long after high school that I met my husband, (going on 15 years!), and became a mom. At this time, I wanted to be home with my babies and struggled with the idea of going to a job that I just didn’t love. I went back to college; I again tried a few other things but the passion wasn’t there. During all of this, I would continually pick up my little camera and take random photos of my kids or of family members and I LOVED to see the love they had in those moments. I was capturing the joy and that in turn made me so happy. My husband sat me down one evening and knew I kept struggling with the same question… can I really do this? He was so supportive and pretty much said, “you can do this and I got your back.” He continued to keep a steady income for our family while I finally (after all these years) jumped right into the photography business. In fact, just a few years later and he is now part of my team! 

Being a mom of five I was scared to death that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with it all. Photography is a full-time profession if you want it to be. I work all day with edits, and clients, the behind the scene moments, computer work, social media, the session itself, all of these things can be overwhelming. Can we skip to the good part? I absolutely love every single part of it! I adore meeting new people! I am overwhelmed with gratitude when someone wants me to capture their beautiful moments. I get crazily excited at a session, and if you know me, you know this is true. As soon as a session is finished, I want to magically teleport home so I can upload those images. I’ve gone from not really knowing what I wanted to do and struggling to find a good balance between work and home, to now traveling the world and capturing moments everywhere I go! It’s a beautiful life if you want it to be! 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Is there such a thing as a smooth road? There has most definitely been struggles along the way. Finances are never stable and that’s extremely difficult in this line of work. My children are and will always be my top priority and greatest joy, so finding the balance to be there with them while building a business has also been a struggle. A lot of people will think you can’t make it, maybe they just didn’t think this kind of job is really a job… who really knows, but from that, you start to doubt yourself and your ability. That’s probably been the hardest obstacle to overcome. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Capturing moments feels literally like a part of my soul. It’s hard to pick a specialty for me, I just love having anyone in front of my camera. We all show emotions differently so it’s difficult for me to pick a genre, I guess. If I had to put it into words the majority of what I capture is high school senior sessions and couples, specializing in adventure elopements. What I am known for is also hard to say but people really seem to love my traveling sessions. I think I am most proud of the connections I am able to have with people. It creates these moments that you just want to smile when seeing. It is the best feeling in the world when a client views their images and you just see the emotion pour out as they remember each little moment from that day. 

Something that sets me apart? I believe it starts from growing up in a large family and having a large family of my own. This in turn gives me a good sense of people and I feel like that really helps when you’re in this line of work. It is the pure, the real, and raw emotion that I want to capture. It makes my job easy when my clients are comfortable and able to be themselves. 

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was a total nerd, major tomboy, and crazy creative. I was (and still am) a Trekkie, even met William Shatner. There were comic cons I attended or you could find me working on my 1965 Ford mustang. It was not pretty when we got started, it took some work. Personality-wise, I’m the oldest of seven, so I was a little bossy… extremely outgoing though. Interest-wise, I really didn’t figure that out until I got older but I would draw, send letters (does that tell you how old I am?!?), and I read A lot. 

Pricing:

• $2,600 – half-day coverage
• $3,500 – full day coverage
• $5,000 – start for photo and video combos

Contact Info:

• Email: kenaiversenphotography@gmail.com
• Website: www.kenaiversenphotography.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/kenaiversen.photography
• Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/kena.iversen