A Photographer's Journey: Kayla Jaye Photography

The best birthday present I received in 2020 was learning that I would be getting TWO extra weeks of Spring Break my Junior year of high school. Like seriously... what high schooler wouldn't excited school was being shut down for extensive cleaning? It was only suppose to last two weeks right? I WAS VERY WRONG!! Two weeks turned into two months, and next thing I knew I had turned into a very anxious, depressed teenager who no longer had the socialization she craved. I had my life all mapped out, and watched it crumbled under my feet in a matter of months. Getting out of bed was hard. The uncertainty of not knowing when I'd see any other people was hard. Life was hard, and I truly believed I had no purpose.

I decided to go to the small town of Mackay, Idaho to spend time with my cousin because I COULD NOT STAY INSIDE ANY LONGER!! We both were entering our senior year, and I had brought my mom's camera with me like usual. This wasn't like any other session I had done before... I felt more alive than I ever did.

I always loved taking photos. My first camera was a red little Kodak camera that I got for Christmas when I was a wee tiny little Waywa. SECONDHAND EMBARRASSMENT MOMENT!!! I started taking photos of my friends in 2016 with my mom's Canon Rebel XSI. To save my friends from this embarrassment of when I though I was a "professional photographer", I'll post this picture of me I took in that session. I literally thought I was the shit with that red lipstick, brown jacket, and a camera I put in auto-mode.

This was my first time using manual-mode... and I am SOOO glad Emilee loves me enough and still is one of my best friends and clients to this day! It was my freshman year of high school, and it was my first ever "fall shoot". I took her to a local park and had some pumpkins. It was fun, but we were FREEZING and literally half the photos are out of focus. To this day, everybody I went to school and talk to said they thought these were soooo cute and jealous of my photography skills. We all just laugh about it because y'all... I thought I was a fricken D1 photographer at this point.

THIS WAS THE PHOTO THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING!!! This session still holds a very special place in my heart. Maybe it's because she's my cousin, maybe it's because I was at such a low place mentally... but this photo was the birth of @kaylajayephotography. It was the first session I posted to my brand new photography instagram, it was the first session I actually loved and still love. I want to give a special shoutout to my cousin Sydney for still being my #1 best friend, and for always supporting me and believing in my dream. I literally love her soooo much, and she is literally a copy of me.

SO THIS IS ME<3!!:) Kayla Jaye! My favorite Starbucks drink is a Venti Chai Tea with Pumpkin Cold Foam, and three pumps of Vanilla... so basically I'm a basic bitchhh. I love meeting new people, and making life long friendships. I'm super laid back and will give you the best indie song recommendations. I'm a granola girl at heart and would love nothing more than to tag along on your adventure with you and your forever lover!<3

TO SEE MY CURRENT WORK... CLICK HERE

https://kaylajayephotography.wixsite.com/blog/portfolio