Photographer Feature: Q&A with Kaitlyn McEntire

Photographer Feature: Kaitlyn McEntire

Hello, friend! I’m Kaitlyn McEntire, a birth and motherhood photographer, videographer, and doula based in Colorado Springs. I consider myself a people-loving nerd of a soul (enneagram 2w3!), Christ-follower, and up until this year, girl mom (aka our first little boy after three amazing girls is coming our way this fall). Photography started as a creative outlet for me while in engineering school… and then I birthed my oldest. Her birth called me deeply and profoundly into the birth space and everything surrounding it – birth photography, doula support, documenting pregnancy and postpartum, and serving loss families that birth their babies but don’t get to bring them home. I believe that photos and videos play a major role in not only celebrating, but emotionally processing all of life’s tender transitions, and treasure being welcomed into every tender moment to provide meaningful documentation and support for my clients.

Photographer Feature: Kaitlyn McEntire

What’s your favorite thing to photograph?

Intimate, vulnerable, powerfully authentic moments! Laboring and birthing babies, skin-to-skin, breastfeeding, the tender in-between moment of comfort or laughter between a parent and child, self-embraces of love through pregnancy & postpartum.

What keeps you inspired? (Ideas, practices, including something in your sessions, etc.?)

Taking time to be deeply present in everyday life (something I’m awful at bahaha) – whenever I do, there’s always something about how the people around me interact, the way light plays in a certain way, or a realization about life in general that I feel pulled to incorporate into my next session. I also deeply love incorporating space for intimate moments into every session.


Photographer Feature: Kaitlyn McEntire

What is a place you haven’t shot at yet but would love to? 

I’m deeply envious of Becca Allen over in Germany, and currently dream of photographing a pregnant family among the ruins and vines. Colorado being a desert location, I also would love to photograph in wildflower fields that are abundant/resilient enough to be photographed in and around my families.

What is the hardest thing about being a photographer, and what is the best thing? 

The uncertainty and ebb and flow of inquiries and bookings, and being trusted by incredible families to give them something meaningful to document once-in-a-lifetime moments.

What behind the scenes task do you love the most? 

I love scrubbing through footage from a session/birth – the equivalent of culling for photographs, but for video. It brings tender moments back, and sparks my creativity; this is often when I do the creative work in pulling a family’s film together (what it’ll feel like, what kind of music I need, etc).

What is a discouragement or challenge you have overcome, and how did you overcome it?

For the first 6 years of business, we moved… a lot. Often enough that SEO never really had a chance to pull its weight, and almost always *just* as I started getting consistent inquiries/getting referrals from the community. Plus COVID was in the mix. Though difficult, moving that frequently taught me how to rebuild community, scout for new locations, and gain confidence that I could start over as often as needed.

What is a choice you’ve made that has had the greatest impact on your business, or your health/happiness as a business owner?

One of the biggest shifts for me has been deciding it’s okay to not be the photographer for everyone. As a people pleaser, it used to hurt so much to not get booked, what I put out in the world was hodge-podge, and my boundaries around my work were… loose at best haha. And while it still hurts to not get booked sometimes, I also can let go of inquiries that just aren’t a good fit, embrace more of an abundance mindset (there are more than enough families out there looking for photographers), and trust myself more to refer out to others that will genuinely serve some inquiries better. The mental load of business is SO much easier to manage without the mental gymnastics of trying to figure out how I can meet everyone’s needs.

Big shift #2 was to acknowledge that when I charge under my CODB (INCLUDING a salary for myself), I’m essentially PAYING my clients instead of them paying me. Ex. If my CODB per session is $1300, and I charge $900, I’m paying my clients $400 to let me photograph them. While sometimes that’s worth it (creative sessions to fill my cup/spark inspiration, donations to give back, etc.), it’s not sustainable long-term.

What is a hidden talent or surprising fact about you? 

Having an engineering background comes with some solid perks! Spreadsheets are queen over here (so CODB and calculating the quarter’s sales tax isn’t as hard as some of my photography friends seem to find it).

If you could share one piece of advice with a new photographer, what would you say?

Find and build community. None of this business-ing is done well when done alone. Having good friends that build you up, answer questions, encourage you to value your time/talents, and understand when things are hard goes a LONG way.

Photographer Feature: Kaitlyn McEntire

If you could go back in time and share one piece of advice with yourself as you were beginning photography, what would you say?

Trust yourself, and be patient. Beautiful things take time to build, and it’s okay to not be as busy as everyone else.

What are the top three items on your photography bucket list?

Serve a three-peat client (aka photograph a family’s birth/newborn/maternity session for three separate babies), build a team of doulatogs (photographer-videographer-doulas) to share on-call responsibilities with, and create some structure (whether an organization or training or non-profit) to better support bereavement photographers.

Is there a photography or business book, podcast, etc. that you wish everyone would read/listen to?

I really enjoy the Business Reboot Podcast, and learned a lot from the Business of Photography Podcast (older, but the archives are really good).

Untethered Family Photography Publication | Q&A with Kaitlyn McEntire | Education and encouragement for family and newborn photographers

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Photographer Feature: Kaitlyn McEntire