Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Duran owner of La Bonné Vié Photography.
Hi Katie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Where to start… I have loved photography for as long as I can remember. When you look at a really well-taken photograph, you can feel it in your soul. How accurately it captures unseen, forgotten moments and preserves them so effectively it transports you back to that exact place and time as though it just happened.
Of course, as a kid/teen, I took a TON of photos…disposable cameras and polaroids anyone? I eventually ended up taking a black-and-white film class in college and realized not only was photography an outlet for me to creatively express myself but I wasn’t terrible at it. In fact, my fist semester professor pushed me to enter some of my work in a juried gallery in Clear Lake. I was selected and my work was displayed for a period of time. I was over the moon and thought I knew everything I needed to know about photography at that point…Oh how wrong I was…up until that point everything had just come naturally to me. I quickly learned that Photography takes practice, and you never stop learning or evolving your skills. I decided I had other college priorities, set my camera on the shelf, and walked away for 15 years.
Fast forward to 2020, I’m a wife and mother of two beautiful small children, I work in Corporate America, travel 3-4 days a week and am surviving on coffee and dry shampoo. When the world comes to a grinding halt. Like most people during the pandemic we thought life would return to normal much faster than it did. As the pandemic continued on, I found myself looking for an outlet and a new challenge. That’s when I decided to pull my camera out of retirement and came up with a plan. I told my husband about my idea and so for Christmas, he bought me my very first professional camera. Which, let’s be real…was a huge leap of faith…like investing in an Elliptical machine as a New Year’s resolution…there was a 50/50 chance that I would actually do something with this investment long term.
I remember being so excited when I opened the box seeing this brand-new shiny piece of metal that was going to change lives! LOL, Not so much…I dove right into figuring out how to work the new contraption…which was a HUGE learning curve from 35mm film in a dark room. There was sooo much to learn and I was in my thirties, what the heck was I thinking! I did what I feared I would and abandoned my plan. Several months later I realized I didn’t have pictures of my kids that year (thanks to the pandemic shutting everything down) and there was no way I was going to tell my husband I booked professional pictures when he just bought me a really expensive paperweight. So, I hopped on YouTube and watched hours and hours of videos and reviews. By the end of the day, I had my camera set up and I felt fairly confident with the operating basics. That weekend I took my kids to old-town Tomball and proceeded to do a quick photoshoot. I was soooo excited when I came back to download my photos. When we got home, I did exactly that. Let’s just say my expectations and the final results were not even on the same universe, lol! I was defeated again, I hung my camera up…again.
Not long after quitting again on my turbulent relationship with my camera, I read a book, Atomic Habits by James Clear and it was like everything clicked. I was approaching photography all wrong. I needed to step back and realize I didn’t have 20 years of experience under my belt, heck I wasn’t even dabbling in photography as a hobby. I used my cell phone for every photo…how on earth could I think I would learn everything I needed to know in 72-hours or less from YouTube? I decided I would define what I wanted to do with my camera and create steps (much like a business plan) of how I would accomplish my goals and set a rough timeline to keep things moving forward. I promised to acknowledge that I wasn’t a professional and each image was growth in some form…I admit…I was not good at this, because I’m a perfectionist. The best thing I did in 2021 was joining a community called Click Love Grow. It’s a woman-owned/ run business in Australia that encourages women to learn to use their camera and achieve whatever goals they want with them. The community is structured, positive, encourages growth and values constructive critiques. I spent the rest of 2021 learning everything I could from these women and practicing with my camera every weekend and evening I could. What I loved most about the CLG community was it encouraged you to include your family, your house, and everything special to you in the memories you wanted to make. That in and of itself was a huge relief just knowing I wasn’t taking on something that would demand more time away from my family but demand more time with them.
Towards the end of 2021, I was regularly photographing friends and family for practice.
In 2022 I took things a little more seriously and began taking family photos and hosting small mini-sessions as a side hustle while still honing my skills. When finally in September 2022, I took a leap of faith and opened La Bonné Vié Photography. It’s been a whirlwind the last 3months trying to establish a balance but I think I’m getting the hang of it. I still have a lot to learn but I wouldn’t trade what it took to get here for anything.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I like to keep things in perspective…was it smooth…no, I don’t know anything that ever is and if it is you’re probably doing something wrong, lol! However, smooth is relative…in comparison to real-world issues yes…my hobby launching into a business was smooth.
My biggest struggles are probably the same as other photographers. Getting new clients, setting myself apart from my competition, making myself appear in Google searches (this is seriously the worst!), and finding time to learn new skills or sharpen existing skills while balancing everything else life expects of you.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I always get the mantle-worthy shot but I also like for my clients to get a mix of photos that authentically represent the personality of their family. That way they always have a way of transporting themselves back to a candid moment with someone they love, forever. It could be the way their 3-year-old crinkles their nose when they get butterfly kisses or how their 10-year-old does the floss dance because it makes them look cool or their 18-year-old still has the same adoring look in their eyes when they get a hug from dad as they did when they were toddlers.
As for my current focus, I just launched my Petite (mini) sessions though June and am super excited about the line up. I am also working on a few new options to offer like boudoir, studio sessions and brand photography to help grow my business.
How do you define success?
Success- when you no longer feel the need to change your current state.
Contact Info:
- Website: labonneviephotography.com
- Instagram: labonnevie_photography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085551992798
