Just like the title says, there’s more to a photographer than a person with a camera capturing every little thing about you. A photographer is just like a normal person, that does normal person things! This is one of the biggest conceptions that most people tend to overlook when researching who they want as a photographer, when in reality, the life of your photographer determines everything. It determines what client experience you are going to have, how your sessions or wedding will flow, what relationship you are going to have with someone who you will invest into for the biggest day of your life and for the rest of your life!

So, starting with this, I want to elaborate a little more about me, and dive into the ‘behind the scenes’ of what I do every day plus more. You’re probably asking, “Why? Don’t you already have an About Me page on your website?” Well, yes, I do. But how much can you really learn about a person from a few small highlights and pictures? Not much in my opinion.

All about me! Hi, I’m Katie!

Hey friends!! My name is Katie Showalter, and I am YOUR photographer. Or at least I want to be! I am 20 years old (almost 21 in 2 days, yay!), and I am SO glad you are here. If you’ve read this far, I just want you to know how much it means to me. I truly love getting to know people, and I truly love it when people get to know ME!

So, let’s start. Who the heck am I?

Hi! It’s me! I’m the problem… haha just kidding.

Okay, okay. Let’s re-do that. HI!! I am Katie! Fun fact, my legal name is actually Kaitlyn – but only certain people are allowed to call me that (AKA the government, duh). No for real, my full name is Kaitlyn (Katie) Paige Showalter, I am 20 years old, and I am from a little small town in Virginia called Fairfield! It’s actually a village technically, so cool right? Anyways, I went to Rockbridge County High School and graduated in 2021, and I now attend James Madison University! Starting in the spring of 2024, I will be a SENIOR IN COLLEGE. Ugh, it’s even weird for me to say. I will graduate next fall in December, yay!!! My major is Public Management Administration, and I have a minor in HR Development. You’re probably asking what that even is, and honestly, I probably couldn’t even tell you the proper term for it. My birthday is January 4th, my favorite color is blue, my social is… lol, gotcha there.

Let’s skip to the point. My parents are Jennifer and Ruben Showalter, and I have such a great relationship with the both of them. Family is something very important to me, and I will always live by that. My brother is Anthony, and I guess he’s okay. Just kidding, I love him just as much too! I have a fairly large family, lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins who I have been so close to my whole life. I recently lost my MawMaw on September 30th of 2023, who was the main reason behind having such a big and close family. While although I miss her dearly, I know she is in a better place, and I am so thankful for the memories we have together. My PawPaw, her husband, is someone who also means so much to me. I am constantly surrounded by so many people who support me, and it makes me the happiest I can be.

I also have a boyfriend, who I am so thankful for. His name is Reid Black, and we’ve been together for 3½ YEARS. Sometimes its crazy to me when I really think about it, that I have been with someone since the age of 17 and we dated through an entire pandemic. I guess I never really thought at such a young age that I would’ve met the person I might be spending my entire life with, at least, I hope! Reid has been one of my biggest support systems throughout my business journey, and I thank God for him every day. The love we have for each other is not something seen often of our generation, and it’s not really talked about much. However, I make sure everyone knows how important he is to me. We (I did, but he likes to think she’s his) recently got a dog, her name is Luna, and she’s a golden retriever! She will be 1 year old on January 14, and while I do love her, she is the craziest dog I have ever had. Goldens just have this derpy personality, and it cracks me up on the daily. She might not be the smartest, but at least she’s fun!

I currently live with my best friend of 6 years; her name is Hannah. We have had so much fun being roommates, and we constantly talk about how we cannot wait to tell our children about our roomie life together. Hannah is my hype girl. She shares everything I post, tells everyone about my business. She truly is one of the best friends I have and will ever have. I’m so thankful we’ve stuck together even when living far apart in the past.

Okay, enough talk about everyone else, let’s talk some more about me. Growing up, I spent my life traveling. My MawMaw was a travel agent with Cruise Planners, so we have taken a lot of cruises over the years. I have been on a total of 15 cruises, and actually went on my first cruise at exactly 9 months old! Cruising has been a big part of my life, and one of the biggest reasons I love to travel so much. It is my DREAM to start doing travel photography, but being in college has made that hard! Hopefully, once I graduate, I will be able to do more of that. Another fun fact about me – I am a huge hunter and fisher. I started hunting when I was 10 years old, and it’s one of my favorite things. There’s just nothing better than sitting in the woods, freezing my butt of, getting to listen to the sounds of nature so I can harvest that one deer that makes the little kid in me so beyond happy. I love to fish too! Reid and I have been bass fishing so much the past 3 years, and I grew up trout fishing often with my dad and brother. Being in nature is a big thing for me. I am not much of a night on the city type of girl. I like to get dirty, go swimming, drive the parkway, and just stare at God’s beautiful creation as much as I can. It’s one thing I enjoy implementing into my photography.

So what does my day to day look like currently? Well, I spend a lot of time on school right now, but only a short time left until I graduate! When I’m not dreading the weight of school, I am nose deep into photography stuff. Editing, taking pictures, booking clients, all the things that go into this fun career! BUT I promise that’s not all I do. I really really really love my Netflix and my tv shows. I watch tons of tv. Vampire Diaries and Grey’s Anatomy are my favorites. Coffee is my second lover. If I haven’t had a cup by 10AM, I will fall asleep. It can’t be the worst thing to be addicted to, right? Anyways, on the weekends I tend to hang out with Reid and Luna if there isn’t a wedding I’m heading to or tons of Grad sessions.

Well, I just told y’all a CRAP ton about me. So, let’s answer the real question. Why did I start photography?

How I got into photography

I get this question a lot, like most photographers do. However, I haven’t publicly told anyone what truly got me into photography. When I was younger, my parents bought a Nikon D3200 camera – an old camera, I know. I thought it was the coolest thing, and I always thought that professional photographers were the holy grail (they are). Anyways, I would constantly take pictures with it every chance I could get, but you know how parents are. They don’t want their 10-year-old kid messing around with an expensive piece of equipment, so when I was allowed to use it, I took pictures of EVERYTHING. BUT… there was one picture I took that I think showed my parents, especially my dad since he shared it on Facebook, that I had some sort of eye for photography. I remember people in the comments telling him that it was nice camera work, etc. Are you ready to see the picture? Guess what it is….

A BOWL of SpaghettiOs. That was my first great picture LOL!! Needless to say, I definitely think at that age I had an eye for photography, but it wasn’t until my little cousin, Oakley, came into the world and I had a real baby to mess around with and take pictures. In 2020 my little cousin Oakley was born. He was (and still is) the cutest kid ever. Around Christmas time, I put together a little tub, stuck him in it, and took pictures of him with my iPhone. So cliché, right?? They were the cutest pictures though; I have to admit. Besides the point, that little photoshoot with Oakley led me to begin my photographer journey. In March of 2022, I was a freshman in college, no idea what I wanted to do with my life, nor did I have any idea that I could run my own business or have a talent to do so. Well, I stole my parent’s camera, took it to college with me, and started taking pictures of my roommate Harper. THIS is where my business began. I created all the social media accounts, did what I needed to do… and I just went at it! I am very grateful that I took the leap to start something so scary, during such a hard time in the world. With almost 2 years under my belt, I am beyond proud of where I am today and all of the people I have met so far! Photography allows me to connect with people on such a deep personal level. I have spent entire wedding days with clients, spoke to clients for months about their session and getting to know them so well, as well as taking the pictures my clients have been so excited for. I don’t think people truly realize how personal photographers can be.

Moral of the Story

So, what was the point of me blabbing about myself throughout all of this? Well, the truth is, there isn’t one. I didn’t have to tell you anything about myself, but if you made the point to read the entire thing, there must be a reason. It’s because people ARE personal. We want to know things about others that aren’t often seen. Personal networking happens every day, even if you don’t own a business. That just how humans work. The more we know about someone, the more comfortable we are, the more we can confide in them, and the most obvious, the more likely we are to work/invest with them.

If you read this far, thank you. Truly, I thank you. I want to know more about you, but it requires YOU to know ME first.

With love, Katie.

Katie Showalter Photography

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