Meet Kaitlyn Myers | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kaitlyn Myers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kaitlyn, why did you pursue a creative career?
Ever since I was little, I’ve had a creative streak when it came to taking photos. My family used to go camping in Westcliffe every summer, and I loved wandering around the campsites and surrounding forests to look at all the wildlife, plants and flowers, and the general landscape as well. My mom eventually started buying me disposable cameras to take with me on our vacations so I could snap photos of the things I found interesting. Then she gifted me a digital camera and the picture-taking continued. When I got to be a teenager and got a cell phone, I started taking photos with that. Years down the road, my passion for taking photos really took hold in my soul when I finally invested in my first DSLR camera and started learning trial-and-error style how to shoot professionally. I started out casually shooting mostly macro, landscape and wildlife, then eventually started shooting casual portraits of my family and learned that I loved capturing precious moments of my loved ones. After sharing my photos online, friends and acquaintances started asking if I shot portraits professionally. At first I turned them down, saying it was just a fun hobby for me and I didn’t think I could produce quality images like that of professional photographers. Down the line I discovered that I actually really loved shooting portraits and loved seeing the reactions of the people I took photos of when they saw the images I captured of them, and that in reality I actually did have talent! I started practicing more and more, and the more I practiced the more I thought to myself, “Why not make this a career? Where I can actually be happy doing what I love for a living and bringing joy to others at the same time?!” So I took a leap of faith and started my own business pursuing my passion, and although its been a slow start (even if its only been a couple months since the inception of Flora and Fauna Photography), I am really excited for my future and can’t wait to really hone my skills and share them with my community.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I would say I have a somewhat eclectic style when it comes to photography. I tend to be a little weird and crazy when doing a shoot as far as shots go – I’m not super worried about straight lines, too many angles, or an awkward pose – I just go for it and see if the shot works! Some of the time the way I imagined the shot in my head definitely doesn’t translate in the real world and the image is sub-par, but hey I learned something from it! And sometimes trying some crazy poses or being a goof during a shoot brings out those genuine reactions and gets some great laughs (and smiles!) from my subjects. This journey is only just starting for me, so I know I have a lot of challenges in front of me, but I’m ready for them! So far I’ve learned it’s a lot more of a challenging process to advertise my services and harder to book clients than I thought, but I’m definitely learning and not giving up. It won’t be an easy journey to my future success, but if it makes me happy and I can support my family I’m more than willing to make the journey!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This is a pretty small community, but we have a lot to offer. As far as food goes, we have lots of quant, family-owned places to go. For coffee, we could go to either The Barista in La Junta, or The Coffea Shop in Rocky Ford. For lunch, we’d have to cure my taco craving with some Lucy’s Tacos, and for dinner we’d have to visit The Yak and Yeti for some naan bread and chicken korma (seriously delicious – I’ve never tried Indian food before visiting this newly-opened branch in La Junta and I’m just about addicted now). If we’re not too stuffed for dessert, we’d take a trip to either So-Co Froyo or What The Fudge Candy Shop, or both. To work off all that food, we’d definitely need to take a nice long walk in the local wildlife areas. The Rocky Ford State Wildlife Area (otherwise known locally as Ryan’s Ponds) is absolutely one of my favorite places to walk and explore. There are multiple fishing ponds to visit, or just trails to walk along and fields to explore, and it’s especially beautiful during fall when all the different colorful Colorado leaves begin to change. Another favorite spot of mine is Vogel Canyon, especially during the end of summer/beginning of fall, when the tarantulas come out to play! Yes, you read that right, we are one of the hot spots for tarantula migration and they are everywhere during this time of year. They aren’t as scary as people think, they just wander around lookin for love, and in my experience like to investigate people as well (I’ve had them try to crawl up my leg while I was taking photos of them), they’re just our local friendly giant spiders.
After all that walking and exploring, there’s always a good movie to catch at the local theaters (one in Rocky Ford and one in La Junta) to relax. The Rocky Ford theater is almost never crowded (as an introvert, I love not having a huge crowd around me while I snack and watch a flick), but the Fox Theater in La Junta features super comfy reclining seats, so it’s a toss-up on which one to go to.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
One of the first photographers who kind of helped me discover my passion was fellow local Rocky Ford photographer Paul Arellano, who shot my senior portraits (as well as almost everyone else in my school). He is such a kind and compassionate individual and has just the right sense of humor to bring out genuine smiles and reactions with his subjects, and he really inspired me to work hard to get those genuine reactions from people I’m shooting as well because capturing those emotions can really make a photo great. He really knows how to capture just the right moments in time and bring out the perfect emotions for the shot.

Website: https://fandfphotography22.wixsite.com/flora-and-fauna-phot

Instagram: @floraandfaunaphotography22

Facebook: @floraandfaunaphotography22