Today we’d like to introduce you to Kayla Aspen.
Hi Kayla, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
It’s funny because growing up, I always had a digital camera with me to capture memories, but I had absolutely no interest in photography itself. I actually did some modeling in high school and always wanted to be on the opposite side of the camera!
Everything changed after the birth of my first child. Like most new moms, I wanted to capture every single moment of her life. Time suddenly had a completely different meaning. I would have done anything to slow it down and hold onto those moments forever.
I started setting up little backdrops for her monthly photos and planning creative shoots at home. Then for her first birthday, I planned an entire photoshoot and hired a photographer to capture it. Somewhere during that process, I had the realization: I could probably do this myself.
For months, I had this overwhelming feeling that I should buy a professional camera, even though I had absolutely no extra money to spend on one. Eventually, I decided to take the leap. I bought the camera, took my first photo and was instantly hooked.
For the next year and a half, that camera went everywhere with me. I became obsessed with learning everything I could about photography, but even more obsessed with editing. There was something magical about taking an ordinary image and transforming it into something beautiful. I spent countless hours practicing, learning and experimenting.
Eventually, I realized I could make money doing it.
That’s when the business side began. I wanted experience and honestly just wanted to give this gift to other people, so I started offering free mini sessions. After a while, people encouraged me to start charging for my time, so I did.
At the time, I was working a full-time marketing job in Center City Philadelphia, which meant I was essentially working two full-time jobs. I’d work all day, photograph sessions in the evenings and spend nights editing after my husband and daughter went to bed. Weekends were filled with photoshoots. Looking back, I was working 80-hour weeks.
The funny thing is, it never felt difficult because I genuinely loved it.
Fast forward eight years, and what started as a hobby has grown into a career that allows me to document some of the most important seasons in people’s lives. Today I photograph weddings throughout Pennsylvania and beyond, and one of my favorite parts of this work is getting to continue following my couples as their stories evolve. I’ve photographed engagements, weddings, new homes and growing families.
It’s a privilege I’ll never take for granted.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Absolutely not. It has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done, but smooth would not be the word I would use.
Going from a part-time side business to a full-time career and then eventually deciding that I would never go back to the corporate world because I was meant to run a business has been a roller coaster.
And don’t even get me started on taxes. That topic can still send me into a spiral some days lol.
There have been seasons where the inconsistency of bookings had me feeling incredibly low. I’ve felt like a fraud, like I was behind everyone else and like I was working harder than ever without seeing the results I wanted. Some of the hardest moments weren’t the long hours, they were the moments when I genuinely didn’t know what to do next.
When you’re a small business owner, no one is handing you a roadmap. Sometimes you’ve exhausted every idea you can think of and you’re still searching for answers.
At the same time, I’ve been raising three children and trying to be fully present with them. One of the biggest challenges has been learning how to create time where it feels like none exists. Over the years, I’ve become incredibly intentional about how I spend my days. I went from feeling like there was never enough time to realizing that every minute has a purpose if I choose it carefully.
The last two years have been a turning point for me. I’ve started realizing that every major challenge I’ve faced in the last decade has eventually worked itself out. That doesn’t mean there weren’t difficult seasons, but it has given me a huge amount of faith in the process.
I often describe this career as a gift because it truly came out of nowhere. I never sat down and mapped out a plan to become a wedding photographer or business owner. It found me, and every year I’ve become more grateful that I listened to that instinct to follow it.
What’s funny is that photography is what got me started, but running a business is what I fell in love with. I love marketing and strategy. I love building systems and creating something from nothing. I truly know entrepreneurship is what I was meant to do.
That realization has created its own challenges because now I’m balancing two jobs within one business. There’s the photography side: serving clients, photographing weddings, editing and delivering galleries. Then there’s the business side: marketing, growth, systems, finances and leadership.
This year, I hired my first team member, which has been both exciting and terrifying. Some days I feel confident about where we’re headed, then other days I’m wondering if I’ve completely lost my mind and made a terrible financial decision.
I think that’s probably the reality of entrepreneurship. You’re constantly growing into a version of yourself you’ve never been before. It’s exciting, scary, fulfilling and humbling all at the same time.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a wedding photographer based in Chester County, Pennsylvania, serving couples throughout the East Coast.
While photography is the service I provide, it has never felt like the entire purpose behind what I do.
I think what sets me apart from many wedding vendors is that I’m genuinely passionate about marriage. I’ve been married for seven years and am raising three children with my husband, so I’ve had the opportunity to learn lessons (literally still learning them daily lol!) about relationships, communication and partnership that I try to bring into the way I serve my couples.
Over the years, I’ve realized that the wedding industry often plans backwards. So much attention is placed on the wedding day itself that we sometimes forget the real purpose of the day: the marriage and the life that comes after it.
That’s why I help couples make intentional wedding decisions that support the foundation they’re building together. Because the truth is, what you’ll care about one week after your wedding is often very different from what you’ll care about one year later, or seven years later.
Photography is obviously part of that experience, but my real goal is helping couples think through priorities, expectations and how they want their wedding day to support the life they’re building together.
What excites me most is knowing that I may have played a small role in helping a couple begin their marriage with greater intention, stronger communication and a clearer understanding of what matters most to them.
What I’m most proud of is that I’ve built a business that reflects what I genuinely believe I’m meant to do, without feeling the need to copy anyone else’s path. I’ve created a business that allows me to combine creativity, entrepreneurship and a real belief in marriage.
At the end of the day, my couples walk away with photos that will be passed through generations, but they also walk away feeling more connected to one another and more confident in the foundation they’re building together. That’s what I’m truly working toward.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
This question is actually pretty funny because a lot of the business books I’ve read, where someone “lost everything” before eventually succeeding, have always stressed me out more than inspired me. Not because I don’t believe in taking risks, but because I’ve never felt called to make decisions that could completely destroy my life if they didn’t work out. So I don’t necessarily think of myself as a risk-taker.
I don’t think every big decision has to feel reckless. I think some opportunities show up and feel scary, but they also feel right. So is that a risk? It’s a question I’ve found myself asking after every book that tells me I need to take one.
I’ve always believed that if I’m meant to take a certain step, it shouldn’t feel like I’m gambling everything. It should feel like I’m stretching into the next version of myself.
Part of that comes from how I view failure. I genuinely don’t see failure as failure. I see it as a lesson I needed to learn. Even the mistakes I’ve made in business have taught me something valuable that helped me make better decisions later.
So am I a risk-taker? Yes and no.
I’m willing to put myself in situations that scare me, force me to grow and require me to make uncomfortable decisions. I’m also willing to follow opportunities that I can’t stop thinking about.
Sometimes I’ll take action immediately. Other times, when a decision feels especially significant, it can be months in the making. I’ll spend a long time preparing myself mentally, researching, planning and working through my fears before I finally move forward. Then one day, I just do it with confidence.
When I look back at some of the biggest decisions of my life, they scared the crap out of me, but I always knew they were the right thing to do. Most of the time, the opportunity itself didn’t change., my mindset did.
Before making those decisions, they felt impossible, but after doing the internal work to prepare myself, they felt like the natural next step.
Maybe my “risk it all” moment that I read about in so many books will come someday.
What I do know is that every major decision that has shaped my life started with a feeling I couldn’t ignore. So I guess that’s how I think about risk. I don’t chase it for the sake of being brave, I take it when growth requires it and when deep down, I know I’m meant to be there.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kaylaaspen.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaylaaspenphotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaylaaspenphotography/
