Life and Work with Kira Goff

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kira Goff.

Kira, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I began my photography journey in December of 2010 when I got my first DSLR for Christmas. I’m not exaggerating when I say that once I started making photographs of people, I knew almost immediately that it was what I wanted to do for my career someday and I simply couldn’t stop. People started seeing the images I was posting on social media and began asking me any time they needed photos for any occasion. Slowly but surely, I started charging a little bit, then more and more as I got better and gained more experience.

From the very beginning, my family has always been incredibly supportive of me becoming a photographer. In fact, my dad’s mantra for us kids when it came to discovering what we wanted to do/be was always, “Find something you love to do first and then figure out how to make money doing it,” which I still love and think about often to this day. My husband has been a huge encouragement to me since I first met him as well (about eight years ago), always supporting my crazy whims and ideas and coming with me whenever I express that I could use some help. He actually became interested in videography in part because of my passion for photography and now he uses those skills often in his role as the Creative Director of a non-profit called The Exodus Road (www.theexodusroad.com).

The only problem was that despite all my passion for photography and my determination, I didn’t have the confidence, tools, or knowledge of how to run a sustainable business, so it took me nine long years until I was finally able to turn my side-gig full time! I’m thrilled to say that today I run my wedding, family, and personal brand photography business as my full-time career and I feel so lucky to do what I love each and every day.

I allowed myself a significant financial runway the last couple years of working a 9-5 job alongside my photography business that was, during that time, spiraling quickly into way more hours than I could handle trying to do both well. It was a tough season feeling like I was working both full time and my stress level was at an all-time high trying to balance everything, but I’m so grateful that I waited as long as I did to make the leap so that my husband and I could become debt-free and I had a financial cushion to lean on during the expected slow and busy seasons of entrepreneurship. I knew that way I could be confident moving forward that I would be able to keep photography sustainable on its own.

I honestly think the catalyst for finally being able to make the transition was gaining the right education. I had completed the Photography Certificate program at an art institute but felt like I only gained a little artistic knowledge and information on the history of photography without any confidence in how to actually run a business. So when I finally invested in an intense marketing course as well as personalized business coaching, I finally gained the tools and confidence needed to go for it. I have always been very entrepreneurial-spirited, so I absolutely loved learning so much about the business side of things (which, turns out is 80% of it, while actually being out photographing clients is so minimal) and now I’m starting to share that knowledge with my small education community. I’m also working on the creation of a course called Photography Business Foundations + Accelerator to help new photographers get their businesses started and then take them full time in much less time than it took me! You can sign up for the waitlist for the course here to be the first to be notified when it goes live!

I always say photography is the absolute perfect career for me because I’m half extroverted, half introverted, so I get my time out photographing people and spending time creating relationships, but then I also get my alone time working on all the behind-the-scenes aspects like editing, website updates and landing page creation, blogging, prospecting, planning, etc.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has definitely not always been a smooth and easy road, as is to be expected in entrepreneurship. Nothing is guaranteed and there’s definitely anxiety that comes with that, especially before you’ve been in business for a few years so you can see (hopefully) positive patterns from year to year. Some of the struggles I’ve encountered along the way are significant feelings of defeat while it took nine long years to turn my business full time sustainably, imposter syndrome as I doubted my worth in what I was charging, exhaustion from trying to manage both my day job and then photography clients on the evenings and weekends, and fear from not knowing where my next clients would come from (particularly before I invested in the right education).

My best advice for others at the beginning of their entrepreneurship journey of any kind:
1) Set goals that are attainable, but just outside of your comfort zone – we can’t grow by staying comfortable
2) Ask for help! Reaching our goals takes SO much longer trying to go it alone than when we are able to humble ourselves and invest the time and money into people who are where we want to be and who have traveled the same road ahead of us. I can’t express how helpful investing in education was instead of just more equipment.
3) Put yourself out there! Just because you build a pretty website and learn how to take pretty pictures, doesn’t mean the business will just come. Be present and consistent on social media, get involved in your community and be open about what you do, learn the basics of email marketing, make vendor connections, especially for wedding photography, etc.
4) Create solid workflows for your business. Any time you find yourself doing something more than once – figure out a way to automate it more for the next time, so you’re not wasting time recreating the wheel each time. Use a CRM to both manage client communication and create templates like emails to start from, questionnaires, proposals, etc.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am a wedding, family, and personal brand photographer for joyful, adventurous people! I’m based in Colorado Springs, but serve the whole state of Colorado. When it comes to brand photography, I specialize in creating unique imagery for entrepreneurs, influencers, bloggers, etc. basically anyone whose personalities are integral to their brands!

I work hard to provide a very intentional client experience that includes reliable communication, helpful education leading up to all sessions, physical guides for wedding and engagement session planning, client gifts, speedy image delivery after sessions, etc. My style is bright and colorful and I love evenly lit images that I believe will withstand the test of time!

There’s a wealth of academic research that suggests that lack of mentors and networking opportunities for women has materially affected the number of women in leadership roles. Smart organizations and industry leaders are working to change this, but in the meantime, do you have any advice for finding a mentor and building a network?
When it comes to finding a mentor, I would say a great way to get started is to join a group coaching program with them. They are typically more affordable than 1:1 coaching and give you a great taste of what it looks like to work with them 1:1 before diving into that investment. Ask lots of questions upfront and pay attention to what others are saying about working with them. I’d highly suggest reaching out to Jordan Jones (https://jordanjones.co/) if you don’t know where to start. She is my business coach and has taught me so much about marketing and the tech side of things that has completely changed my life and business for the better.

Pricing:

• Wedding + Engagement Photography: typically between $2800 – 3400
• Personal Brand Photography: full 2 hour sessions starting at $600 (includes unlimited outfit changes)
• Family Photography: $350 – 450

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kirawhitney.com
• Email: hello@kira-whitney.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/kirawhitneyphotography
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/kirawhitneyphotography
• Other: www.pinterest.com/kirawhitneyphotography

Image Credit:
Kira Whitney Photography (Kira Goff)

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