Mom Friend Monday – Katie Beverley

It’s MOM FRIEND MONDAY!!!

I hope y’all enjoyed meeting Marie last week! If you haven’t already – go like her Etsy shop, Fawnly, and follow her on Instagram! She’s worth following! So inspirational and her pieces are simply perfect! (also check back to her MFM post for two promo codes for 10% and 20% off!)

This week we get to meet another amazing mama! Katie Beverley! She’s a gorgeous homeschooling mama of 5, who happens to run a super successful photography business! Katie Beverly Photography

MB: Hey Katie! So excited to have you here at Shell and Olive for Mom Friend Monday! You are the epitome of super mom! You homeschool 5 kids and run a successful photography business! AND look gorgeous doing it all! How on earth do you do it?! Do you have magic fairy dust – because if you do – can you send me some?

Katie: Thank you so much for having me, Martina, and for saying such sweet things! I can assure you that if you were to show up unannounced at my house on a normal weekday, it would look almost exactly like any other mom’s house who is doing the exhilarating, humbling balancing act of working and momming — just maybe a little more dry shampoo than most here!

MB: Dry Shampoo is my life! Batiste anyone?!
How did you get into photography? What made you decide to turn it into a business? 

Katie: I’ve always been drawn to photography and art, and my love for it grew when I took a photography, film and darkroom class in high school. I quickly became obsessed with it and created my own darkroom in my garage with my grandfather’s old darkroom equipment that I dusted off. I eventually got up the guts to call up the best studio in my town, offering any help to them so that I could learn more. Whether it was filing papers, answering phones, labeling pictures, I’d be happy to do it all, just to spend time in a real studio. I brought my scrappy portfolio, and to my surprise they accepted me as a super eager and super young 16 year old. I spent my time there being surrounded in the business of photography, spending  countless hours in the darkroom, assisting their main photographers at weddings, by fluffing bridal gowns, holding lights and loading film, and after a couple years they finally handed me a camera! I was invited to be a second photographer at a wedding, and the rest was history. I would then go on to college and work as the staff photographer for the school magazine, and I had my first solo wedding gigs when my college friends started to get married. While my business now certainly looks and feels very different than it did when I was just starting, it is something that I have been building for 17 years and my love and passion for it feels the same as it did when I was 16.

MB: Any tips for mamas wanting to take their photography to the next level?

Katie: I recommend following your favorite photographers online and studying their photos closely, really digesting the images so that you can pinpoint the specific things that you love about those images. Think about purchasing a DSLR and take a class or a workshop to learn how to shoot in manual mode if you aren’t already. Don’t be afraid to approach a photographer you love and ask how they achieved a particular look. The number one thing that takes photography to the next level is learning how to distinguish good light from bad light! You can take amazing photographs with just an iPhone if you know how to spot great light.

MB: What is your favorite event to shoot?

Katie: My favorite events are weddings. I love parties in general, but weddings are my thing!

MB: I can see why! You get to shoot some fabulous weddings! If you could plan your ultimate mom friend getaway where would you go and what would you do?

Katie: I would getaway to some place with sun, beach, and a spa.

MB: Girl after my own getaway heart! Lastly, if you could impart some mom wisdom on our readers, what would it be?

Katie: My pieces of advice come to you from a long list of things I strive for myself on a day-to-day, sometimes minute to minute basis. Make time for your spouse. Get outside with your kids. Leave the phone in a special place and have set times to check emails or texts so that you don’t feel the pull to work or chat with friends during the time that your kids need you most. Then, don’t feel guilty finally checking your phone when you’ve been hanging out with your kids most of the day! Read to them…it’s calming for everyone. Do not feel like you are not momming well enough if you ask for help. If it is a housekeeper, a babysitter, a virtual assistant, grocery home delivery, laundry service, mother’s helper, it really is ok to splurge on one or more of these things if it helps you to be more present to your kids and spouse.

MB: What AMAZING advice! I know I struggle at times finding the balance between checking my phone too much and then shutting the world out. I love the idea of set times! Being more present to our kids is so important! After all, it’s those daily memories that build the ones they look back on when thinking about their childhood. Also love the “don’t feel like you are not momming well enough if you ask for help!” Oh boy! I have been SO guilty of that! Thinking that if I asked for help, it meant I was failing somehow. What a great reminder! Our kids come first, no matter how we each achieve that!
Katie this was so fun! Thanks so much for joining us on Mom Friend Monday!

Katie: Thank you for having me Martina!!!

Isn’t Katie incredible! Love that she turned her high school passion into an amazing career, all while never losing sight of putting her family first! Not to mention – how AMAZING are her shots?! Photog crush!

Be sure to check out her website and blog: Katie Beverley 
and her Instagram: @katiebeverleyphoto
Prepare for your eyes to drool! The weddings are AMAZING!!!

Remember Mom Friend Monday is about building a community – so head on over to her blog and insta and let’s support each other in this journey we call momming! Also be sure to follow Shell and Olive! That way you don’t miss any of the amazing mamas we will feature and any other posts!!

Happy Monday y’all!

*all photography shot and provided by Katie Beverley Photography