Kelly Kester Photography

So looking forward to teaming up with Juniper and Melissa McLaughlin of MB Studio Salon and Spa for this year's Celebrate Motherhood! Visit the link to book, or share with a friend who you think would be interested! Visit www.kellykester.com/mom for all the details & to book.

Alright guys, I’m going to be super real with you right now. I announced these Celebrate Motherhood sessions last week, they’re coming up in another 2.5 weeks, and honestly? There’s one thing making me really nervous about these as time goes on. How on earth am I going to keep these plants alive til then? (If you’d like to book a Mother’s Day session with this legendary black thumb over here, check the link below. They’re coming up on M...ay 2nd!) Www.KellyKester.com/mom

What should you wear for your Celebrate Motherhood session? In the past we've offered flower crowns & skirts, but this time around the styling all went into the sets Because the background is so fun with all the pretty things from Juniper , keep yours & your kids' outfits simple and springy. Any fun spring colors will go! Don't forget to book your session for May 2nd!

Whatever today looks like for you, I hope it involves squeezing someone you love and enjoying some of this beautiful weather! Keep an eye out early next week for an announcement about upcoming Mother’s Day sessions! (Hanging shelf from Juniper , plants from Genrich's Garden Center Florist & Greenhouses )

Happy St Patrick’s Day! Capturing the beauty and athleticism of Irish dancers on camera has been such a joy- and today I share some of that joy with you! Dancers featured are from the Rochester, NY branch of @rincenatiarna . Can’t wait to see these gals performing again . . . #irishdancephotography #stpatricksday #dancersofinstagram #goirishdance #irishdancemagazine #rochesternyphotographer #explorerochester #585 #roc_on_585 #rocgirlgang #kellykesterphotography

Working on something new for Mother’s Day sessions this year Stay tuned... @juniper_ny . . .... #rochesterny #rochesterbusiness #explorerochester #roc #rochesterwomen #iheartroc #rocgirlgang #supportyourlocalgirlgang #rochesterphotographer #rochesterphotography #rochesternewyork #585 #juniperny #shoplocal #shopsmall #irondequoit

My greatest joy with this job is working with women of all ages and stages to create portraits that make them shine like the goddesses they are! So you bet I’m celebrating International Women’s Day. I have too many favorites to include, so here is a smattering of some of my favorite portraits of the beautiful women I’ve been lucky enough to work with over the years. Shine on, beautiful ladies!

First outdoor session of 2021 was downright MAGICAL thanks to the literal most perfect snow I’ve ever seen and a family who was not afraid to brave it. I have chills (and it’s not from the weather!)

Well bust my buttons! Had a headshot session this morning with my beautiful client Jen, and she had this to say about getting photographed by me. Thank you Jen for your incredibly kind words (and sorry for my voice at the end, I was a little emotional )

I’ve been spending a ton of time on my boudoir photography this last month ( @bloomboudoirportrait ), but I’m definitely still busy with other things too- like headshots! Yesterday I had the opportunity to take some photos of the beautiful @nicky.russell.beauty for the new @mbstudioboutique , and we snapped a few quick headshots at the end. Nicky is making me seriously consider some pink hair

I’ve been a busy beaver! One thing I really wanted to try more of this year was more set-design for in-studio sessions. I went on an insane shopping spree this week, and I think I did pretty darn good! These sets can be rearranged, mixed and matched, and would work for so many different kinds of in-studio shoots: boudoir, headshot & branding, senior, maternity, family... I have so many ideas! I haven’t been this excited about studio sessions in a long time Which set is your favorite??

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I sent an email out to my subscribers yesterday with lots of fun news about what 2021 will look like. Two big takeaways: Boudoir is back! Availability THIS MONTH for boudoir sessions.... Headshots: I added a handy feature to my website that'll allow you to schedule your own headshot! I'm testing this out for the month of January. I also hid a little Easter Egg in my newsletter with a special offer for January . Didn't get it? Comment below and I'll be sure to send it to you! Can't WAIT to see you all in this new year! See more

Whether you're feeling the magic of the season or having to force a smile to make it through (because let's be honest, this year might be a little more difficult than some), I hope you're finding pockets of joy throughout the next few days And if you're last minute-panic shopping (I wouldn't know anything about that), I can help! Click the link to check out my GOOD RIDDANCE 2020 sale (with an insane 40% off sessions + images for 2021), and if that doesn't float your boat I also am offering Gift Certificates available in different denominations through my website. What better gift could there be than a photo session in 2021 to celebrate a BRAND NEW YEAR ?!?! (thank goodness) https://kellykesterphotography.clickfunnels.com/landing-pag

Is it just me or is Christmas shopping extra hard this year? Or maybe just everything is extra hard Hopefully I can make it a little easier ;-) In addition to my GOOD RIDDANCE 2020 sale that's still going on, I've also added a gift certificate option to my website. If you purchase by 12/21, I can send you a physical gift card for holiday gifting While you're here, if you have any suggestions for what the heck to get my Dad, please drop them below. I've used up the Home De...pot gift card route too many times... https://www.kellykester.com/gift-certi/gift-certificate-200

Did you have a chance to check out my big sale yet? This is the best deal if you want photos in 2021! Thinking of going Live sometime this week to chat about sale details and answer questions- does anyone go Live on Facebook anymore? What questions do you have? (Psst, here’s that link if you wanna check it out. Limited spots are available! https://kellykesterphotography.clickfunnels.com/landing-pag )

The news went out first to my email subscribers this morning... but now I'm ready to let everyone know! Because 2020 royally sucked... I'm having my biggest sale ever. Welcome to the Good Riddance 2020 Sale! I'm offering an insane 40% off packages for 2021. If you've been wanting to book a session, there has literally never been a better time. Even better - for the first time ever I'm offering payment plans! All the info is at this link. There's something here for everyone ... Let's give ourselves something AWESOME to look forward to in 2021. TREAT YO' SELF! (limited spots available, first come first served, so click away...)

Last week I was happy to be interviewed by Emily Hessney Lynch of Serve Me the Sky Digital for a blog post on why headshots matter! There are some good nuggets of info in this post - and best of all, it pushed me to update my out-of-date headshot when Emily told me she needed one for the blog post Pot, meet kettle! Thanks for the chat, Emily!

If you’ve been following me at all the last few years, then you know this gorgeous lady well. For those who don’t, meet the beautiful Melissa McLaughlin, owner of MB Studio Salon on University Ave in Rochester. Melissa has been my trusted hairstylist, occasional business partner, and dear friend for the last decade+. Her salon is absolutely gorgeous, immaculate, and full of amazingly talented stylists and estheticians. Despite a long shutdown earlier this year, through hard w...ork she was still able to do a beautiful remodel and expansion at the salon. Unfortunately it’ll be awhile before anyone can see it. MB Studio is located in the orange zone of Rochester, and as such is subject to another shutdown. This one is a hard one to take. The first time around it was tough, but made sense- it was a new virus, we didn’t know how it was spread, we were trying to get a handle on things. This time around with more knowledge and no known cases in our area tied to salon spread, it just feels pointless and hurtful. Especially with the very targeted zip code system of orange designation, which means that salons just a mile or two away in the suburbs can be fully operational. Who is this helping? As tough as things get, Melissa is never one to rest in her laurels. She’s at the salon daily for retail shopping and pickups. Christmas is coming, and the holiday season is usually the busiest time of year for hairdressers- to have this loss of income at this time with no sign of help in sight is devastating. If you’re so inclined, reach out to Melissa and shop with her for your hair & product needs. Buy a gift card or two if you know you’ll be needing her or any of her stylists’ services in the future. Let’s support our orange zone businesses- our neighbors and friends- who are struggling in what is already an awful year. And finally, let’s send her a little internet love- today is Melissa’s birthday! See more

Hi friends it’s been awhile! Yesterday I (quietly, at-home) celebrated 7 years in business. WILD. So much has changed since I took the leap in 2013 to open my very own portrait business - for one, I’m no longer quite as sleep-deprived as I was back then (who starts a business with a 1.5 year old at home??). Seven years later I have an 8.5 year old (!), a husband who picked up a bonus career as a brewer, a lovely studio, and years of awesome relationships built with the most ...amazing people. And a whoooooolllle lot of photos, obviously. While I’ve never been super active on this page (Facebook Business confuses me), you may have noticed that I’ve been particularly quiet this past year. Big changes at home (all good! but big!), hip surgery, a (likely) bout with COVID-19, a global pandemic, and a shutdown might have had something to do with it. With that said, I’m ready to take charge again. I can’t promise there won’t be more insanity in the future, but I’m looking forward to 2021 and year 7 in business as a bit of a reset. In that spirit - I threw out half my email list. I haven’t sent an email in 1.5 years (eek!), and it feels like as good a time as any to start (mostly) fresh. I have a lot of exciting news and changes coming up, and I want to make sure I’m sending that info out to the people who are most interested. If that sounds like you, I’d love for you to sign up at the link below. I have a handy checklist where you can mark off what you’re most interested in hearing about (general portrait, headshot/branding, boudoir). Your email will never be shared, and let’s be honest, given my track record I can pretty much promise you that you won’t be remotely overwhelmed by emails . For everyone who has hung in here with me, cheered me on, booked a shoot, liked a post, wrote a review, or said a kind word in the last 7 years thank you, thank you, thank you!! I see you and I appreciate your support more than you know. Sign-up here to follow along with all the goodness of 2021*! https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/m3q8t1 *Because 2021 WILL BE AMAZING, RIIIIGHT?!?!

Worth a share every year- also because I traumatized my daughter 2 years ago by making her take this, and she hasn’t let me create a new one! Have a spooky Halloween everyone!

I was lucky enough to get an invite to this sweet kiddo’s 1st birthday this morning! Hard to believe a year ago I was photographing her newborn session (unmasked, inside... those were the days). We spent a rainy but beautiful morning together enjoying the beautiful Autumn leaves and having some delicious cake . Happy birthday, Nora!!

Had truly the best, most busy-but-still-relaxing week hiding out at my parents’ farmhouse in Niagara County with family & friends. Played a lot of Risk, won zero games. Got about a million emails & phone calls while I was gone . Busy season is here! Please bear with me as I work through all the messages of the last week. Today feels like a Monday alright

On a little staycation/vacation this week spending some time with family before the inevitable craziness of Fall busy season! I still have Fall openings and will respond to messages when I get back on August 31. Enjoy this last week of August, everyone!

The late, great Carrie Fisher (a personal hero of mine) once said Take your broken heart and make it into art. Well, COVID-19 broke a lot of hearts this year - mine included. The ripple effects of this disease carried through to all aspects of my life, personal and professional. I’m still trying to get my feet under me. But this past month has brought a small sense of normalcy back that I’m really trying to treasure (because who knows when it might get taken away again). I...’ve been working more regularly, and was really looking forward to a girls trip with my daughter at the end of July. As many of you know, she’s an Irish dancer. The pandemic hit the week of St. Patrick’s Day, and at the beginning of competition season. We had planned to travel a ton this summer and go to about 14 competitions - but COVID wrecked all those plans. One Feis got permission to go on though, since it was an outdoor one at a huge resort. We looked at the precautions planned, and felt safe enough to attend- and started getting really excited about our one Feis for this summer! But, you know 2020. Three days before the Feis, the plug was pulled and they were forced to cancel. More broken hearts - mine, my daughter’s, and hundreds of Irish dancers who have worked so hard and are losing their whole season. In a year that’s punched down at us over and over again, this was almost too much to take. So, we took our broken hearts and we made them into art. With some frantic texts and a small sliver of good weather over a rainy few days, a handful of dancers from my daughter’s school gathered outdoors this weekend to take photos decked out in their wigs and dresses. Everyone stayed masked (when not being photographed) and spread out, and we even managed a socially-distanced group shot. One by one the girls posed, smiled and danced their hearts out in the street. Across the street from where we shot was a house, and the family that lived there came out on their porch to watch. A beautiful little girl, about 4 or 5 years old, was totally in awe and smiling ear to ear as she watched the gorgeous dancers in their sparkly dresses. Her mother & grandmother clapped and cheered, and yelled out encouragement to the dancers as I photographed them, telling them how beautiful they were. These dancers are used to performing for huge crowds, but I think that dancing in the street for this one family was just about as special a performance as they’ve ever done. I can’t promise there won’t be more heartbreak ahead. But, for today, my heart feels a little bit mended - like maybe it will carry me through a little while, and maybe make the next blow land a little softer. I hope these dancers and their families feel the same way. Dancers from Rince Na Tiarna Irish Dance School / McMahon-RNT Irish Dance Rochester, NY

Huge congratulations goes out to Jamie Romeo for Monroe County Clerk for her success in the primary! These updated headshots for Jamie were one of the last sessions I had before shut down- we spent the shoot talking about whether we thought the St Patrick’s Day parade that weekend would be cancelled or not, and figured it probably wouldn’t be. Simpler times Photographing folks for elections has honestly been such a fun experience- it’s super fun when you get one of your photos on a mailer, and even cooler when the candidate you worked with wins an election ! I’ve got a great track record so far photographing winning candidates- or maybe it’s just that I work with really awesome people Congratulations again, Jamie!

I’ve struggled with what to say, but when it comes down to it, this says it all. So many accounts are sharing excellent resources that are a great start for white people who are looking to educate themselves on racism, the Black Lives Matter movement, how to talk to their children, etc. One resource I’ve appreciated following in the last year is the Instagram account @nowhitesaviors . I recommend giving them a follow, reading, and most important- listening. Sit down and real...ly listen. The events of the past week especially have made me so very tired- like, existentially tired. And if that’s how I’m feeling after one week, can you imagine how Black people in America are feeling right now? How they have been feeling for all these years? The sheer weight they are carrying? It’s unfathomable. I see you. I hear you. I support you. And I’m tired, but I’m committed to doing better. Black Lives Matter. #blacklivesmatter See more

***GIVEAWAY*** If you've been following me for any length of time, you know all about my client/ business partner / hairdresser extraordinaire/ amazing friend Melissa McLaughlin of MB Studio Salon and Spa . While I spent the first month of quarantine basically curled into a ball in the corner rocking back and forth, Melissa barely let the fact that her salon had to shut down stop her. She and her team have been working tirelessly streaming videos with tips & tricks (check out... her video on cutting men's hair.. so helpful!) and have been selling & delivering so many of their favorite products to help keep us all looking and feeling great during quarantine. Thanks to Melissa's innovation, the salon is surviving and thriving - even without being able to actually see any clients! Normally at this time of year, Melissa and I would be busy teaming up for our annual Mothers Day portraits. Obviously that can't happen this year, but I wanted to treat a special Mom, regardless. Melissa is offering a special Mother's Day package with some of her favorite pampering products, valued at $115. This package is filled with a hair mask, a face mask, a pedi in a box, application brush, an eye mask and a lip mask. This would be a great gift for a special Mom in your life (or yourself), but I've teamed up with Melissa to giveaway one package! To nominate someone, VISIT THE POST I'VE SHARED from Melissa, and comment with a photo of the Mom you'd like to nominate. Melissa will select one winner and make contactless delivery of the package on Saturday, May 9th, right in time for Mother's Day! The person you nominate must be LOCAL (Rochester, NY area). Even if you don't have someone to nominate, please go give Melissa & MB Studio a like and follow, and maybe keep them in mind for your haircare & skin product needs, or Mothers Day gifting- they are working so hard right now and deserve so much love!

I'll admit, I'm still trying to get my feet under me as (like many of you) I juggle this new way of life. However many of my portrait clients are KILLING IT, even mid-quarantine! I want to try to share some of the amazing things that some of my clients are up to... oh yeah, while also occasionally sharing some of my work, because that's what Facebook is for, right? :P First up - please check out the new website for the lovely Sharon CassanoLochman, a local author. I had the m...ost amazing portrait session with Sharon in November, and I'm so pleased to see so many of the beautiful photos we created ending up on her new website. Sharon writes books & novels for all ages - I've heard amazing things about her young adult novel Stranded on Thin Ice, and my 8 year old daughter loves her children's book Green Toenail Soup and Bat Fuzz. As if that didn't keep her busy enough, Sharon also owns a publishing company! Please take a look at Sharon's new website and perhaps pick up a book or two to keep you company during quarantine! https://www.sharoncassanolochman.com/

Rochester's family & newborn photographers are in agreement - the best way that we can serve our clients and our community is to listen to and obey the state-wide mandate for non-essential workers to STAY HOME. We're staying home, staying healthy, and letting essential workers do their jobs. It's not easy, and we all miss working terribly, but we know that the sooner that everyone gets on board with this, the sooner we'll be back out doing what we love. Thirty of us came tog...ether for this message, with many more wanting to join as well (there are only so many spaces! ). I'm thrilled to be a part of this project, and I am SO looking forward to getting through this and getting back to work! "Rochester photographers are showing their support for frontline workers by staying home. There's a light at the end of the storm and we can't wait to capture your memories on the other side. Spread kindness and love and stay home, Rochester!" Featuring: Kelly Elizabeth Portrait Studio | Kelly Kester Photography | Kyla McCormick | Heather Stanford Photography & Films | Bethany Chase Photography | Lulu Belle Photography | Little Miss Rose Photography | Chrissy Elizabeth Photography | Morgan Rae Photography | Jessica Stringer Photography - Rochester, NY | Cortney Rowley Photography | Jen Semmler Photography - Rochester, NY | Sthefanie Souza Photography - Rochester NY | Danielle Ramirez Photography | Teale Brown Photography | Julia McCormick Photography | Gabriella Hunt Photographer | Jessica LK Photography | Andrea Houghton Photography | Kream Photography | Lovebug Photography | Malorie DePerna Photography | Jordan Lexus Photography | Crystal Images Photography | Siobhan Fisher Photography - Rochester, New York | Jenilee Photography | Stacie Mogavero Photography | Keri Prok Portraits | Kate Spencer Photography Kristen Koppers Photography

Trying to proceed with business as usual, albeit with a new co-worker. I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty scared with everything going on in the world right now. Trying to catch up on current work, and then will look ahead to what’s on the calendar for the next month, and will adjust accordingly. I hope you and yours are doing well, staying healthy and safe.

Wishing Assemblywoman Jamie Romeo a big congratulations on her appointment today as Monroe County Clerk! I was honored to work with Jamie on her campaign photos when she was running for Assembly, and then created her official headshot (shown below) when she was elected - such a cool experience! I know Jamie will do a wonderful job in her new role, and can't wait to see what's ahead for her!

Friday fun - I still have so many photos to share from the #beautyandbloomretreat from last summer... thinking I’ll just roll one out every Friday for the next 5 years or so til I make my way through them all. Don’t think I’ll get sick of them! Model: @hali_isakson H/mu: @abrohair & @glamour_bymary

Don’t be easy to define- let them wonder about you

Confession: I am not a dog person... AT ALL. I've had lots of folks ask to bring their dogs on sessions... of course I always say yes, and most of the time it's fine (and sometimes it's even great - some of your dogs are awesome!)... but I won't lie, it's just not my jam. Does that make me a horrible person? Don't answer that. A cat though... you can bring your cat anytime. When photographing Life Made Simple Professional Organizing 's #personalbranding session last fall, it was vital that we get some photos with her baby Penny. This cat is a huge part of Tricia's life and brand, and I was happy to get a little animal diversity in my portfolio!

Could you go into business with your sibling? These sisters did, and they sure make it look easy! Meet Emily and Stephanie, the fabulous ladies behind Crown Creatives Virtual Assistants. This dynamic duo gifted their mom (Nurse Sue from my previous posts) a family session, and we used some of the time to do a few new branding photos for them as well.