Interview with Nashville Voyager

Here is a recent interview I did with Nashville Voyager. Thanks so much for having me!

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kailee Ramirez. 

Hi Kailee, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I consider myself a very nostalgic person. Growing up, I always had a disposable camera in my hand and my childhood bedroom had shelves and shelves filled with photo albums. In high school, I took darkroom film photography classes where I really fell in love with the medium. People have always interested me more than landscapes. Real emotion more than formal portraiture. 

In college, I studied Early Childhood Education and graduated with my teaching degree in 2011. I taught Kindergarten for two years, and while I enjoyed my students, I had a hard time with the monotony of daily routines and working in the public school system. In my second year of teaching, I got engaged and started wedding planning. I was constantly looking at photo blogs for wedding inspiration and fell back in love with photography. I purchased my first DSLR camera and started taking photos around the classroom, soon I was taking family photos for many of my coworkers. 

After school one day Katie, a third-grade teacher, asked me if I’d be interested in photographing her baby’s birth over the summer. I had never heard of birth photography, so she pulled up some examples on her computer and I immediately fell in love with the idea. Over that summer I had also booked my first wedding, but her due date was at least two weeks away so I felt confident I could do both. 

The night before the wedding, I had my friend over who would be helping me photograph the wedding when I got a call from Katie saying she was headed to the hospital. Long story short, I photographed both my first birth and my first wedding on the same day… and then when I got home, I couldn’t help but start looking through and editing photos. 

From that experience, I realized that I enjoy a more observational approach to photography more than directing large groups at weddings. Over the next 7 years, I photographed over 60 births, along with hundreds of newborns and families. I started learning video in 2017 from Courtney Homes and have loved offering films alongside photos. In 2020, I had a baby of my own and have enjoyed being ‘off call.’ I’m currently loving photographing in-home, lifestyle newborn, and family sessions. 

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?
I feel like the road has been surprisingly smooth, but I also think I had realistic expectations. I moved to Nashville from Colorado in 2013 and started my business in a new city where I had no connections. I’d heard that it typically takes about 3 years for a photographer to grow their business into a sustainable, full-time career. I spent a lot of time working on my own education and marketing myself those first few years and slowly built up a client base. It did take about 2.5-3 years until everything fully clicked and I was able to do photography full time. I think those first few years could be really discouraging if you have the expectation, it’s all just going to be built overnight. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I specialize in in-home lifestyle photo and video sessions. Newborns are my bread and butter, my very favorite type of session to document. I’ve been a newborn photographer for almost 10 years now and I’d like to say I’ve perfected the photo process to make documenting your growing family as effortless as possible. My style is a mix of lifestyle and documentary photography and every in-home session is truly unique. I’ll give some direction, but my favorite moments to capture are the genuine interactions parents have with their babies. We’ll usually take photos on the bed, in the living room, or in a nursery if there is one set up. I love to focus on baby naturally without ‘poses’ and I’ve found is happiest in loving arms. 

Any big plans?
This year I will be taking on fewer clients in order to provide each family with a more quality experience. I’ll be incorporating more albums and print products into photo sessions from now on. I know what a busy session new parents are in, and want to make it as easy as possible for my clients to have tangible keepsakes of their babies. 

Contact Info:

kailee ramirez