Meet Kayla McKissick

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kayla McKissick.

Hi Kayla, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up an hour outside of Nashville in Cookeville, Tennessee. Growing up in a small town, I always dreamed of living in a bigger city. I spent my teen years catching rides with friends to attend punk shows at Rocketown, going to Bonnaroo, and meeting as many unique and interesting people as I could. After graduating from college, I decided to finally take a leap and move to a bigger city. Not just any big city, but New York City! My boyfriend at the time (who is now my husband) moved with me. We had no savings but knew two people in the city who helped us get in touch with their landlord in order to get into an apartment. Our first apartment was in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. It was located on a not-so-safe street and we just had a mattress on the floor, but we were so excited to have the opportunity to pursue our dreams of living in NYC.

We started documenting the beautiful places we would see around the city through photos. Instagram was just starting out at the time and it was definitely nothing like it is today. I began to upload some of my photos to Instagram and to my surprise, other people found them inspiring and beautiful too! Through my photos, I felt like I was able to share a little piece of my NYC journey with people from around the world. Soon, I started getting messages from people who were recreating my photos or inspired to go to a specific coffee shop or neighborhood because they saw them in my photos. As my account continued to grow, I shared more and more about my life. I continuously received requests so share my outfits and style, so I started including that as well. In 2015, I was contracted by the New York Times to create coffee shop photos aimed at millennials for their social media and online ads. Shortly after, I received my first paid style campaign with Lucky Brand for their holiday collection. I could not believe that a brand was going to pay me to promote them on Instagram! From that point forward, I continued to receive emails and requests to promote products. Since this industry was so new, I quickly had to learn how to manage my Instagram account as a business. I connected with other creators online for support and to learn how they were handling the same experience.

In 2017, we started to look into moving back to Nashville. Our families were in Tennessee and we knew that we wanted to start a family within the upcoming five years. I was worried when I moved back to Tennessee that my following might disappear. They had followed me for my NYC lifestyle after all. But, to my surprise, when we moved to Nashville, the influencing industry took off! It was booming! We started receiving more requests for campaigns than ever before. Brands were starting to see the benefit of marketing through social media and everyone was jumping on board. It was overwhelming at times, but so much fun to challenge myself creatively and work with some of my dream brands. Flash forward to today and I still cannot believe that my life took this incredible turn. I feel so fortunate to be able to share my life with like-minded people online and to be able to express myself creatively every day. Instagram has changed so much over the past seven years, but I have always tried to stay true to myself. I cannot wait to see what the future brings for me and my little family!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely has had many challenges along the way! When I started sharing photos online, I had no idea that it would turn into what it is today. Transitioning from an artist sharing moments through photos to a business person marketing products was so unexpected! In the beginning, no one knew how to “be in influencer”, so there was a lot of learning as I went along. There were times when I would get taken advantage of by people or brands and I had to learn how to navigate that.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I have been known from the beginning as someone who shares special moments through my photos. I love to use photography as a way to express myself creatively and connect with others. I try to capture those magical little things in everyday life that others might just look past. I am super selective about the work and collaborations that I take on because my art and the relationship that I have with my followers is more important to me than selling products. By staying true to myself, I have been able to remain proud of the work that I put out into the world, despite how much the industry has changed through the years.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
It is hard to say, but I believe that Instagram will not be around much longer. I think that the newer generation will not be as photo-focused and prefers to connect via video on apps like TikTok. Social media changes so quickly! With Instagram adding features that are trying to compete with other more popular apps, I believe that it is trying its best to stay on top. I do not think it will last forever though!

Contact Info:

• Website: alittlepaperdoll.co/
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/alittlepaperdoll