THE BACK STORY.

At 7 years old, I was gifted a little blue camera & never looked back.

With a deep-rooted tug to create beautiful images, I thrive behind the camera. After several years of learning & working alongside a talented photographer, wrestling with my style and purpose, I found this place where simplicity & warmth create a rhythm, where images have soul. After pursuing lifestyle photography for over 8 years, I felt a pull to build something bigger & all-encompassing. A space for any age where creativity could flourish. On January 01, 2021, The Soul Society was launched. Creating a brand offering more than lifestyle photography, we grew our offerings & services tenfold. After searching & searching for the right space, we opened our first Soul Society studio in March 2023. Now, we’re bigger & better than ever, offering various photography services, studio rental, and custom photo products, with new products & projects on the horizon.

FIGURING IT OUT.

Of course, it hasn’t been smooth sailing since day one. For YEARS, I wrestled with where to take my photography & what to focus on.

After assisting a photographer until college, I felt this deep-rooted tug for something “bigger” than what I was doing. something bigger than just me.

I prayed & prayed & prayed for some direction with my work. I needed someone to come out of nowhere & spill the beans on what I should be doing. I wanted something “bigger” than my lifestyle photography business, but what did that look like? What did that mean for my clientele? & more importantly, how could I bring something unique & needed to the Kansas City community (that didn’t already exist)?

Years go by & I finally started moving closer to a creative brand rather than another local photographer. I started looking for a studio space, one where I could offer more than just my photo services. Well, more years go by & nothing fits. I knew I would know when it was the right space for us. Time kept going & I finally landed on the bigger vision for this thing & eventually came up with our name, The Soul Society.

I kept looking for a space to expand my offerings & take a big step forward with the brand.

THE STUDIO.

We launched The Soul Society on Jan. 1, 2021. Fast forward to 2022.

My mentor, who I learned everything from, reached out to tell me about a space down the street from her.

An old school renovated into separate spaces was up for rent. Of course…I blew it off.

“Doesn’t sound like something I’m going for,”

“I don’t think that will work for what I want, ” etc.

Months later, I woke up thinking about this space she mentioned & how I never actually gave the idea the time of day. So, I loaded my toddlers up & drove up to see it - contacting the owner right there in the parking lot for more details.

Spoiler alert!

This was the one. Everything I had envisioned for my brand, all of the space we needed. We found it. With a little hesitation from my husband, we were hit with a huge dose of reassurance to move forward with the space (a story i’ll share one day) & here we are.

I’m still learning, growing & figuring it all out– but isn’t that the fun part anyway?