Check Out Kaitlyn Smith’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaitlyn Smith. 

Hi Kaitlyn, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi, I am Kaitlyn Smith. I am from Midland, MI born and raised and I am a wedding photographer. As to how CC & J started- I borrowed my fathers-in-law Nikon in 2018, I had no idea what I was doing but I started taking landscape photos for fun. Skip forward a little bit, my, at the time friend asked me for advice on what to wear for their engagement photos. After they got them taken, she sent me a few of the photos where she wasn’t necessarily thrilled about. I offered to take some photos for them, we had a great time doing it. After I delivered the photos to them the response, I got made my heart skip a beat! I can still remember what I was doing, where I was, and what I felt like. I started taking sessions for fun for about $50 for a session. In 2019 I decided to make it legal. After that CC & J went off from there and I am living my DREAM! 

I want to explain what CC & J Photography stands for a lot of people ask me. At the time I knew I didn’t want my photography business name to just be my name with photography behind it for many reasons. I picked something that means so much to me. The first C is for Colt who is my first baby boy. My husband and I rescued him from a pound in Louisiana when we lived there. The second C is for our other baby boy Case, he is a beautiful Brit. They are both very spoiled fur children 🙂 Lastly, the J stands for Jasara. My Aunt Jasara passed away very unexpectedly in 2018. She was the older sister I never had, mother figure + best friend. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would say it has been an adventure. Starting a business where you are the face and putting yourself out there is scary! Imposter syndrome is a real thing and I think everyone feels it at times. Sometimes it just hits harder. When I went full-time with my photography business it was a little unexpected but I could not imagine doing it any other way. I have been a waitress pretty much my whole adult life and then some. When Covid happened, the restaurants were shut down, twice so that left me out of a job. When they asked me to come back to be a waitress for the second time I couldn’t because of how booked I was for CC & J. It wasn’t when I planned to go full time but again, I wouldn’t change it for anything! I think the biggest obstacle for me would be off-season- January-March. There is no written rules how to go about off-season and what you are supposed to do and for me, I only rely on myself so if I do not get certain tasks done that’s on me. 

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?
What I specialize in would be wedding photography and couples. What I am known for would probably be my intimate shots, I am obsessed with them. I am most proud of how far I have come in such a short amount of time. Everyone talks about building a brand and at first, I was so confused how I would do that but I can now say I have a brand. <3 I think and hope what sets me aside from others is the experience I give and how I truly care about my clients and people. 

Contact Info:

• Website: ccandjphotos.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ccandjphotos
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ccandjphotos
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/ccandjphotography/

Image Credits
Anna Grace Creative
CC & J Photography