Photog Feature: Meet Our Kelly
Over the years, The Beautifull Project has been gifted the time and talent of a few different photographers who have believed in the mission enough to skills to us for free. Each of them is the reason we have had such BEAUTIFULL pictures of women throughout our site.
But this week, we wanted to do a little feature on one in particular - our Kelly Rehnberg of Cadenza Photo Imaging.
Kelly is currently shooting all of the covers for the podcasts, all of our live events (when we’re allowed to have those again, of course,) and some of the stuff you’ve seen on social.
She - like the others - has offered all of this to us for free to help us amplify the message and the mission of The Project, so we figured the least we could do in return is ask her a few questions about who she is and why she chose US as the recipients of her exceptional talent.
So, without further ado, meet our Kelly:
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to photography.
I received my first 'real' camera on my birthday in 2009. This is also the day I graduated from college with my BA in Music Education. I discovered almost immediately that I enjoyed photography and started out by photographing my dogs. During this time I was also in my first marriage, which was incredibly abusive, and photography became very therapeutic. My first husband was not supportive of anything that took my attention away from him and I remember him encouraging me to put my camera away on a trip to Mexico. I was in awe of everything around me and wanted to capture it. I still remember taking a photo of a large vibrantly colored vase and hearing him shout: "We are on vacation, not here to take fucking pictures!" It was on that very vacation that I made the decision to leave him. After leaving, I ended up having a lot more time to focus on me. I took a class at the Figge Art Museum in 2011 with Quinn, from Small Wonder Photography and that's when I began to immerse myself in all things photography. I shot my first wedding in 2013, quit my full-time teaching position in 2018 and went full time with photography. It was a scary move, but has been the best decision ever. The funny part was 'it just happened.' I never intended to make photography a career, but here I am.
Why did you agree to shoot for TBP? Being willing to give your time and talent for free is a big deal... let us in on what made you want to give of yourself that way.
If there's one element of photography I love the most it's that everyone has a story. I love how TBP tells stories, doesn't censor or sugar-coat them and allows women to tell the TRUTH about their experiences. I feel that being able to capture this is quite an honor, not to mention I have met some incredible women in doing this work
Has your own body story been impacted by the work of The Project? if so, how?
As I mentioned above, I was in a very abusive relationship many years ago. *Most* of the abuse was verbal and many times he attacked my body and appearance due to his deep rooted insecurities with his own appearance. I look back at the body I lived in then and it's sad at how much I didn't love myself - when in many ways, I had the 'ideal' body. I'm way more curvaceous at this point in my life and yet I have so much more confidence in my skin. Attending the 'Full Circle' meetings has made me realize that my physical health is something that I think about a lot and made me realize it was time to really do something for my body rather than TO my body. I've begun treating my body as a friend, rather than seeing it as a separate enemy that I constantly have to try to shrink and battle. I'm now working out more than ever and feel I'm doing it for my health, rather than what people think. I'm so strong now despite the extra weight I carry. It feels great.
Do you have any ideas about something you'd like to create in this space? Maybe your own dedicated gallery or something along those lines?
At some point, I'd love to do a TBP Swimsuit Edition - challenge women to find a swimsuit they love, photograph them and have a giant 'who gives a fuck what people think' pool party. (I'm hoping to provide the pool this summer if my budget allows lol) Or maybe we take it to the next level and we invade a public pool and photograph the experience there.
Do you have any favorite photographer moments? Like the moments that you do "THIS IS WHY I DO WHAT I DO!"
There are so many euphoric moments in photography. Many times for me, it happens near the end of my day at a wedding on the dance floor. I love receptions, because for many people, that's when their true personalities come out. This is where you see the weird, the funny, and the unexpected. The pressure/stress from the wedding-day is finally 'off' and this is where I've captured some of my favorite images. There's something so incredibly special being part of the best party a couple will likely ever throw. The energy is always amazing.
How can people find you?
@cadenzaphotoimaging on insta
And Cadenza Photo Imaging Facebook