Today we’d like to introduce you to Blake Kleiner.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I got started in video production almost on accident. When I was 22, I worked at a waiter at Olga’s Kitchen. One of our managers was basically forced to transfer due to a personality conflict with the GM. At the time I was making short student films at Oakland University, but that was the extent of my experience. To wish my manager Robyn well on her new adventure, I started filming goodbyes from the crew, and even sneakily grabbed some footage of Robyn herself while on the job, in order to create a farewell video. It was welcomed with lots of tears and hugs, and Robyn immediately asked if I had any experience filming weddings. I told her I had zero, but she still insisted that I be the one to film her vows.
With no experience and only a cheap video camera to my name, I did what any struggling college kid would do when faced with a project he was woefully unprepared for: I called my grandparents and asked if they wouldn’t mind helping me out. Thanks to them, I was able to purchase a professional camera, minimal gear, and film the event. It was shot entirely handheld, without any lights or microphones, and makes me cringe to look at it today, but it’s a testament to how far I have come. That was June 29, 2006: With a record-breaking high temperature, everyone was miserably sweaty and uncomfortable… and the couple loved their video so much I was asked to make 20 copies for their family and wedding party members. I was hooked.
A year later, I began filming weddings for Starshowz Media Creations, formerly based in Auburn Hills. By 2008, I was a full time editor in their home office and filmed 52 weddings that year, but as we closed in on the holiday season, it was clear that the holidays wouldn’t be so merry and bright. The Great Recession hit hard and Starshowz was dying. By Thanksgiving, I was unemployed and starting from scratch.
Thus began the process of building Lightcraft Images (then Lightcraft Entertainment, but we changed it so people would stop asking if we were a DJ company). The first project I ever landed was producing a short film that highlights the personal troubles and legal biases faced by many veterans who return to their home country from time in combat. That film, “Purple Heart’s Final Beat,” would eventually be screened around the country in various film festivals in Michigan, Canada, Florida, and Washington DC, to name a few. It was named the 2010 Mitten Movie Project Short Film of the Year, but the true legacy of it is carried on by the 561 veterans who have credited the film and the work of its creators with preventing them from committing suicide. I’m honored to be a part of it. The lesson here is, never be afraid to respond to a Craigslist ad.
2009 was also the year I met my wife, Kynna, who began assisting me with videography on the few weddings I was able to book for myself. Thank God for freelancing, or I wouldn’t have been living on ramen noodles. It was a slow process, building a reputation and a company from nothing. By 2013, Kynna and I were still dirt poor, but our business was gathering steam, and we got married on a total budget that was less than many photographers charge alone. All the while, Kynna was honing her skills in photography so we could become a creative team.
Her start in photography hit a pause in 2014 when our son Clark was born. Although that didn’t stop her from photographing a wedding less than a month before she gave birth. The swollen ankles were very real. She took the next few years to focus on raising him to be the incredible kid that he now is, keeping her photo skills sharp by documenting his childhood and offering family portrait shoots. She even taught herself some basic video editing skills. She’s super mom, super wife and super photographer in one beautiful package, and I aspire to be more like her; she’s the best person I know.
In 2018, once Clark was old enough to understand our absence on the weekends, we made the decision to go all in on ourselves and quit the freelancing game. Our goal was to make Lightcraft Images a photo-video experience that was aimed at providing high quality services for clients on a budget. Since then, Lightcraft Images has been awarded with Best of The Knot and Wedding Wire, is routinely featured among the top wedding videography companies in Click on Detroit’s Best of 4 poll, and is recognized by Business Rate as one of the best small businesses in the city of Warren. We routinely film about 50+ events per year and love creating a real rapport with our couples.
In the 7 years since making this decision, our business has grown to accommodate corporate marketing, informational videos, commercials, medical testimonials, etc. In what spare time I have, I’ve loved writing for the online publication Spoiler Free Movie Sleuth as a freelance film critic. I’ve also been a director of photography on a few short films like “Sole Survivors” from Bombastic Entertainment, and used the pandemic of 2020 as an excuse to teach myself live-streaming, which definitely came in handy in the years since. Kynna is now a published master photographer and an official member of the Professional Photographers of America. Clark is now showing aptitude for learning video production, and we’ll be making videos together starting this year.
This is my love and passion: I’ll keep doing this until I die or no longer can.
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?
No wedding photo and video team works in this business for nearly 20 years without hitting speed bumps, but those are the best learning experiences. Dealing with these issues head on – whether they’re brought on by clients or your own mistakes – also really helps your diplomacy skills. This is also a very saturated industry, so you have to stand out among the pack or get lost in the shuffle. Sometimes the biggest struggle is just figuring out your own worth among a large swath of talented people who are all trying to make a living doing what they love.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I believe what sets us apart in our main hustle is that Kynna’s and my love for each other is directly fed by our love of our craft, and it’s created this feedback loop. Kynna and I appreciate each other more as husband and wife as a result of our appreciation for each other as professionals whose goal is to spend more time learning and growing together in both. She makes me better and I hope I do the same for her. Our working relationship with our couples often becomes a personal relationship because it’s not just about making money for us. We love what we do, and when you can say that, is it really “work”? And it’s this love that keeps our clients from as far back as 2009 contacting us for all their family pictures and big life events. Seeing familiar faces at work is the best word of mouth money can’t buy.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The biggest shifts I see in the industry definitely have to do with technology that’s opened up a new world of storytelling. Wedding videography used to be the red-headed stepchild of the business: The first thing to be cut from a wedding budget and the last thing to be added. Now it’s become a cinematic style of storytelling that our couples will watch simply for enjoyment, not just on anniversaries. I receive messages from couples all the time, telling me how their wedding film is like their comfort food. They’ll put it on any time they have a bad day and it brightens their mood.
The other big trend I see is the client base moving from sites like The Knot and Wedding Wire for finding wedding vendors, and instead finding them on social media on sites like Instagram and TikTok. I receive more inquiries asking if I’m also a content creator instead of just a wedding filmmaker. It’s been a slow roll in this direction, but I see it picking up steam.
Pricing:
- $1000 for Elopement packages (ceremony and picture coverage only)
- $1800 for Essentials packages (ceremony, pictures, and reception events only)
- $2400 for 8 hours of photo or video coverage (includes a 3-5 minute highlight film)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.Lightcraft-images.com
- Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/Lightcraftimages
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lightcraftimages
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lightcraftimages
- Other: https://www.theknot.com/marketplace/lightcraft-images-warren-mi-980965
