The Art of Storytelling Photography with Michelle McKay

Michelle shares her storytelling mindset, and how she creates artful images for her in-home lifestyle newborn clients that catch those beautiful, ordinary, moments that ultimately make up the sum of our lives.

Discovering a love for lifestyle newborn photography (4:17)

Carve your own path as a lifestyle photographer (5:16)

Get past the fear of uncertain circumstances and low light (6:33)

• Understand light
• Be the leader
• Recognize that babies are going to be babies.

Overcoming the fear of not being able to control the environment (13:29)

• Client preparation is super important.
• Assess which part of the mess is part of the story.

Why is profitability so important? (16:10)

Do lifestyle photographers have to be all-inclusive ? (18:12)

All families are different in terms of their needs. Provide different options that can meet different needs.

How to not fall into a photography rut (21:05)

The Family Historian Scavenger Hunt (23:13)

Figure out your artistic style (30:02)

Slow it down so you can really listen to yourself. Shoot every single day. Find what makes your heart excited and do more of that.

Value your time as an artist (31:37)

Make time to set clear goals. You will stay on track, allow you to say no, and filter out the noise.

Creating a storytelling narrative (33:38)

The first few weeks with a newborn can pass in a way where a mom doesn’t feel she was present in that time.

Discover more about Michelle McKay

Websites: michellemckayphotographer.com wearememorycatchers.com
Facebook: michellemckayphotographer
Facebook Group: wearememorycatchers thebeautifulordinarypresets
Instagram: michellemckayphotographer wearememorycatchers

Bio: Michelle McKay happily runs a thriving and profitable lifestyle photography business, specializing in in-home newborns in Geelong, Australia. Her style is artful, organic and nostalgic, and her work aims to catch the memories of now for new mamas, for whom life with a newborn can feel like a beautiful yet somewhat hazy blur.

She is also the creator of The Beautiful Ordinary presets, which are used by Lightroom and ACR photographers worldwide on their indoor and outdoor photographic art. It has a super active and engaged preset group, and it's in this space where the concept of the Memory Catchers was born - a phrase that describes photographic artists who strive to bring an element of storytelling or narrative to their imagery.

Earlier this year, she established an online space called We Are Memory Catchers, which is a space for artists, heart-ists, and photographic business builders to learn, grow, get inspired, and hone their skills. It was from this space she launched her first course called Telling Stories and Making Meaning - Learning the Language of Photographic Art, and the first round of students are currently mid-way through, and learning so much about how to create intentional storytelling images, and possibly even more about themselves as artists, and business folk.

Resources shared in this episode:
2021 {online} Newborn Retreat