Interview with Eric Kelley
With a BA in Fine Arts, over two decades of photography experience, and a charming personality to boot, Eric Kelley has quietly climbed his way to the top of the extremely-competitive world of high-end wedding photography.
Having spent his formative years in Indiana and Illinois, and then later moving to Charlottesville, VA, Kelley has an undeniably unique mix of Midwestern sensibility and southern charm. This interesting combination emerges and presents itself in Kelley’s character as a man, and in the character and style of his photography as well.
Kelley began his career as a photographer in the late 90s and shot his first wedding in 2004 while attending UVA in Charlottesville, where he later graduated with a BA in Studio Art. In his early years as a novice wedding photographer, Kelley met a husband-and-wife photography team and chose to work with them as an associate photographer for several years. After quickly learning the trade, in 2007 Kelley launched his own wedding photography business, and since that time his portfolio has mushroomed and grown to an astounding 600 weddings.
Soon after the launch of his business in 2007, and in spite of the escalating demand for his work, Kelley found the time to fall in love and was married in 2008. Today he has a son, Henry, eight, a daughter, Della, six, and two dogs and five chickens (yes, chickens). Kelley and his wife, Laura, approach parenting a lot like photography – not as an exact science, but as something more fluid and organic. You have to be flexible with what comes at you and you have to be present when you’re together, they agree.
Kelley has been named one of the top wedding photographers in the world by Harper's Bazaar, and one of the top photographers in the country by Martha Stewart Weddings. His work can also be seen in worldwide publications including The Knot, Southern Weddings, Weddings Unveiled, Southern Living Weddings, Magnolia Rouge, Once Wed, Style Me Pretty and many many more.
Eric “gets it,” his clients say. He has an innate instinct to tap into what his clients are looking for. “Every time I step up to the camera, I really try to honor the people who have worked so hard to put the wedding together, as well as all the people attending,” he says. “You have to remember, it’s a big deal for them. And even though it may be one of a couple dozen gigs for you that year, for your client, it’s once in a lifetime.”
In 2018, Kelley shot 24 weddings all around the world and was booked - prior to January 1st - for 19 more in 2019. “It’s a privilege for me to travel internationally for some of the most stunning and beautiful weddings and events I’ve ever seen,” he says.
When Kelley’s not out shooting wedding photos, he’s generally thinking about taking wedding photos. And on the very rare occasion when he’s not doing either of those things, he enjoys snowboarding and he’s a college basketball fanatic. As a husband, father, renowned photographer (and dog and chicken guy), Kelley is brutally practical with his spare time and is currently working towards a goal of financial freedom. He shares, “If I’m going to start anything new, it needs to make money.”
Chasing Success
Just out of college, ambitious and driven, Kelley’s goal was to make $100 a day as a professional photographer. At the end of his first year, he had tripled that. He shot every job that came his way. He worked everything from sports and news photography to social events and humanitarian work; and his perseverance paid off. Today his time is primarily spent capturing and preserving moments of joy and beauty at the weddings he’s been invited to photograph all around the world.
Kelley has a talent for balancing the realistic with the artistic in every frame he captures - as well as into post-production - where he collaborates with his wife, Lora. “With Eric, you don’t have to settle for a specific type of photographer,” she says. “He’s sort of the whole package. He’s able to move from one style to another or combine elements of different styles into one, depending on the context. Over the years, he’s become equally comfortable capturing the pomp and circumstance of a wedding as well as the candid moments. It’s one of the things that differentiates him from other wedding photographers.”
Despite the success he has seen, the road as a self-employed wedding photographer isn’t always easy, and Kelley, like many high-demand artists, has struggled with burnout. “The act of having to invest so much of yourself, emotionally and artistically, again and again can tap you out,” he says. “Waking up every day and finding a way to continue to be inspired by your work can be a challenge for anyone, I think.”
Indeed, Kelley went through a time of intense self-examination when he wasn’t sure if he would continue in the trade. Fortunately, he came out on the other side with a new-found perspective and enthusiasm for what he does. “Sometimes it takes the burnout to realize what you’ve really got,” he shares. “Now, I feel like I’ve learned a better way to balance things. I’m in a constant state of improvement and change which helps me keep my work fresh after having shot so many weddings. For me, it’s all about setting goals - both short term and long term, financial and artistic.”
Kelley’s hard-earned success has given him the freedom to be choosier with the business he takes. He accepts just a limited number of weddings and events each year, which helps ensure that his clients always receive the best he has to offer.
Talking Shop
In addition to his behind-the-camera work, at any given time Kelley can be found behind the podium speaking at industry conferences or taking part in panel discussions. “The wedding industry community that I’ve become a part of has been a really influential, supportive and impactful force for me that helps to keep me engaged and current,” he says. Some of his scheduled speaking engagements for this summer include Engage Summits, The Hybrid Collective, Hustle And Flow, and multiple others across the nation.
As an artist continually developing his talents, Eric Kelley looks for, and finds, inspiration in the work of other photographers and artists of all genres. Additionally, Kelley is still invigorated and inspired by the beautiful moments that often accompany the many weddings he shoots.
Instaproofs
Kelley is a long-time Instaproofs user and fan. “My average monthly [print] sales have been about $1,000 for the last 6 years,” he says. “I follow the Jonathan Canlas approach to the letter.” (Canlas is a world-renowned film photographer and Instaproofs user that consistently receives multi-thousand dollar sales per session.) “My preferred print lab of choice is Richard Photo Lab,” says Kelley, and “Auto-fulfillment is best thing in the whole world. I love to be able to upload hi-res files from Lightroom. I also love the unlimited cloud storage to have all my galleries up for as long as I need them to be. I even sometimes sell prints from four or five years ago. It gives me and my clients tons of flexibility.”
The full interview can be viewed here: Eric Kelley Interview
To view more of Eric’s work, please see his website, Instagram feed, Instaproofs page, and Facebook page.