Today we’d like to introduce you to Kirby Betancourt.
Hi Kirby, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
When I was a little girl, I spent my days climbing trees in the woods behind my house. I was fascinated with the way the sun could paint the shadows of leaves and branches on my skin, the way golden specks could float through the evening air, and how just after the last light dipped below the horizon – the colors of the forest would transform.
My grandmother lived next door and was a talented artist with an eye for color, light, and realism paintings. She showed me that it was possible to create any hue you could ever imagine with a little patience and knowledge of color theory. As a kid, I never knew that these lessons would live on into my adulthood or that they’d be the spark to my creative career but one thing life has taught me is that we can never see what’s coming next.
I got my first camera as a Christmas gift when I was 15. I fell in love and became obsessed with capturing ANY thing that caught my attention. As I learned more about the craft, I started photographing all of my friends and realized that portraits were my absolute favorite photos to capture, nothing else made my heart race like photographing beautiful faces. In my junior year of high school, I started having seniors asking me to take photos of them for graduation and offering to pay me to do it. This was a light bulb moment. I knew from then on, I wanted to turn photography into my career.
I graduated from the University of Houston with a BFA in Photography and was one of the last classes to go through an entire program on traditional film and darkroom printing. While other students were disappointed to not be learning solely on digital cameras and editing software, I was beyond excited to continue learning the fundamentals of color printing, tinting, and balancing like the original photographers who paved the way in the craft before us. I credit my shooting and editing style today to the fondness of old film and cinema that consumed my brain for so much of my life.
After college, I continued shooting all different types of styles/subjects and kept learning by working under different companies, owning a business, freelancing, and traveling to soak up every bit of knowledge that I could. I truly believe that we should never outgrow being a student in our craft so I try to treat each day as a chance to grow and learn new things.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I feel like if anyone tells you their journey has been “smooth,” they’re either lying or they’re just getting started.
Struggles are a necessary part of becoming great at anything, but that doesn’t make them easy. I come from a family of medical doctors and nurses, so as you can imagine, I put a lot of pressure on myself to prove to everyone that I could do it without help. Anytime someone had doubts, I made it my life mission to show them that I was capable of succeeding without any financial support, advice, or handouts. This complex gave me an unhealthy obsession with pushing my own limits.
I started a portrait business in 2010 while I was in school and grew it into something that others would consider very “successful.” From the outside, I had everything I ever wanted – I was fully booked, shooting the clients I wanted, making more money than I ever thought I would, and providing people with a service that made them happy. But I reached a limitation, there were only 24 hours in a day, and in order to continue, I would need to hire help. My days were full of scheduling, bookkeeping, sales sessions, product ordering, and tax filing. I was spending more time behind a computer running a business than I did with a camera in my hands. Morning, night, holidays, weekends – it never stopped. I experienced my first “burnout,” lost and hopeless.
Amidst other unexpected turns that life had thrown our way, my husband and I decided to learn from our challenges and shift direction. We loaded up a Uhaul and moved to a new town with no jobs, no friends, and no idea what the future would hold. I felt like I had taken everything I ever knew, dropped it into a box, and shook it around. It’s exactly what I needed in my personal life and creative career because it taught me to get back to what I love, to see things from a new perspective, and to revel in the shadows the sun painted through the trees again. This decision held a ton of obstacles in itself but it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
The struggles were and ARE a necessary ingredient in any kind of success. I’ve gotten so used to the hurdles in the path that I welcome them in on the journey. It’s never fun when things don’t go according to plan, but all of the knowledge that each one has provided me has shaped me into the artist I am today. No matter how challenging any of the hardships were to conquer, I’m grateful for them all.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a creative portrait photographer with a dreamy but dramatic lighting style. Being a female in a male-dominated industry has typically set people’s expectations for my work to be bright and airy, but I’ve always gravitated toward creating work with a dark and cinematic feel. I enjoy the creative process that takes place from concept to completion so I work with set designers to create visual scenes that wouldn’t otherwise exist in the world we know. I love pulling inspiration from places outside of the genre that I’m shooting like looking at movies and music videos and pulling ideas into the fashion industry.
I currently work as the lead creative director for a brand called “Alphalete,” a global fitness fashion brand that started right here in the Houston area. Our goal is to create stunning visuals for the company with a deeper meaning behind the individuals wearing it and the stories they tell.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Change is always scary but there is no denying that big changes in the industry are on the horizon. With the birth of social media platforms and how businesses currently utilize them for advertising, the work that creators make is in high demand. The lifespan of the work that is being produced has shifted greatly from art being absorbed and studied, to art grabbing attention in half a second.
I think it’s important to keep a balance between adapting to the changing times, and staying true to myself as an artist. It’s a very fine line between the two and it seems to be getting more challenging, but you know what we say about challenges…
Contact Info:
- Website: kirbybetancourt.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirbybetancourt/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/kirbylbetancourt/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JustinandKirby
Image Credits
Kirby Betancourt
Azamat Fayzullae (photo of Kirby shooting)
