OUR STORY

Growing up, my mother was constantly snapping pictures with her Minolta, sometimes even letting me try for myself. In a sense, I have been around photography my whole life. In high school, I was lucky enough to have a SCAD alumni as my photgraphy instructor. We didn't sit in a desk for an hour and a half and listen to him talk--he took us outside, handed us cameras to use ourselves, and made it an interesting, hands-on experience. We learned to take the technical things he had taught us about aperture and and white balance and apply them, not just rely on the Auto setting..he showed us how to create a photograph, not just take a picture. My senior year, I got the chance to represent my school at SkillsUSA, a nation wide skills competition in Kansas City, Missouri. I placed seventh in the nation and brought home a whole knew set of knowledge, confidence, and respect for the skill. That summer, I had finally saved enough to buy my own DSLR and really began to blossom as a photographer. I began to photograph weddings, families, and every live show I could attend. In the same year, I began to work for Lifetouch, a nationally recognized photography company, that specializes in everything from newborn photography, school portraits, family photography, and high-end photography to weddings and outdoor photography. I have since been recognized in monthly newsletters, featured on the JCPenney's Portrait Studio website, and have had my work recognized by the CEO of the company. Fast forward to current day, and I am still at it and confident enough to widen my horizons--newborns, maternity, and much more. Many photographers find their niche and settle into a particular genre; but I have enjoyed photographing every possible subject and story, so far. I am still with Lifetouch and can be visited there most days, along with our Nikon D2X (it's a monster); but I could not live without my personal Nikon D5200, that I use outside the studio. While staying within our companies policies, I photography any and every aspect of the photography world that I can....that we cannot, for many different reasons, do within the Lifetouch studio--this could be weddings, private in-home sessions, outdoor photography, and/or any photograph that would need to be composited, due to safety hazards (Fun Fact: those cute newborn photos where their head is propped up in their palms...someone is holding the weight of their head off of their wrists; and it usually takes 2-4 shots to get the one.)

 

THE PHOTOGRAPHER

   I am the proud mother of a beautiful little girl, whose photographs are VERY hard not to plaster all over my website. Having her in my life has taught me so much more than I ever thought I would know about myself and the way I think about photography. I finally understand how parents feel, when their little one won't cooperate during a session, that's for sure! I also now know the joy that comes from seeing the final product, all the gloreous emotions and expressions that show my baby's personality and make me tear up.

   I was  raised in Knoxville, TN, the biggest small city you will ever see. There are artists of every style and fashion hiding somewhere, in this city. Before I was a mother and my bedtime was somewhere around 11:00pm, I explored the town, daily, with just my wallet and camera in tow. Poetry slams, art galleries, live shows, and abandoned buildings were all some of my favorite places to be with a camera--in the middle of pure emotion. All I wanted to to record was life as it was happening.

   Photography has always been such a large and important part of my life. I have boxes, toats, photo albums, and coarkboards full of memories. No matter how many times I sit and look through all those photographs, there is always one picture, one memory, I almost forgot about. There are smiles, tears, and silly moments filling every page. Every picture tells it's own story to me. Unfortunately, there is something missing from more pictures than I would like, my mother. 
  At some point, looking through all of my own photographs made me realize how much I want to be there to capture others' lives, their special moments, so they can enjoy them together. 

  After photography went from just being a hobby, to something I truly wanted to embrace, I changed the way I captured "life as it was happening". I now want to focus on people and their stories--what they are doing, what are they into, who they love, and how they feel. I want to change the way others think about photography. Instead of being so worried about your pictures being "perfect", I want you to worry about your photographs being "you".

 

Relax. Have Fun. Be You.

 

-Kailey Tucker, Head Photographer of Sunshine Photography