Today we’d like to introduce you to Cate Connery Bury.
Hi Cate, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I got started in photography as a senior in high school quite by accident but quickly fell in love with it as an art form. I then went on to pursue a minor in photography at Southern Methodist University, and while in college spent more time in the darkroom developing film and printing my photographs than I ever spent in the library studying. After graduation, I had no idea how to actually make money as a photographer.
So, I focused on my other passion- working with young children, and taught elementary school before staying at home while my children were young. That time at home with my kids gave me the perfect opportunity to make the switch from film to digital photography since I had no ability to set up a darkroom in my home. I bought my first DSLR camera just weeks before my oldest daughter was born in 2007, and spent the next ten years primarily photographing my own children and mastering editing in Adobe Lightroom rather than in a dark room.
I launched my portrait photography business in the fall of 2017 working part-time at first as I transitioned away from being a full-time stay-at-home-mom and have slowly but steadily increased to a full-time photographer, business owner, and entrepreneur.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Early on, I still had no idea how to actually run a business, and I spent several months in 2017 simply trying to figure out things like registering my business with the state of Tennessee and how to pay sales tax as well as things like how to market to an audience beyond my friends and family.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
In my early days of film and darkroom photography, I worked entirely in black and white, and my work was a mix of landscape and street photography. In other words, I photographed what I saw.
When I made the transition to digital, the new format opened up the potential for each photograph to be edited in either color or black and white, and I started learning more about the color editing process. After a decade of photographing my own children, when launching my business I decided that rather than continue with more illustrative styles like landscape or street photography, I would transition to focusing on photographing children and families.
With my background in early childhood education, I began thinking I would focus on photographing preschoolers, and my first few portrait clients were all 4 years old or younger. However, I have found more and more that I love photographing families with tweens and teens as well as high school seniors in addition to those preschoolers.
I recommend following a milestone map or timeline of portraits you don’t want to miss that including an in-home newborn session right after bringing baby home, five years old just before the child loses the first tooth, age ten at that transition between the elementary and high school, eighth grade and of course capturing a family portrait along with the high school senior just before the child leaves for college.
From my days in the darkroom, I find that photographs don’t really come alive until they’re printed and hung on the wall. All of my work comes archivally printed and framed and ready to hang on the wall. I partner with a wonderful local framer for all of my clients’ custom framing needs.
As a member of both Professional Photographers of America (PPA), I earned my certification at the beginning of 2021 becoming one of just ten Certified Professional Photographers in the Nashville area and the only CPP with a Nashville address.
Through PPA and the Tennessee affiliate chapter (TNPPA), I began entering image competitions in 2020 for the purpose of continuing to learn and improve my photography as well as to work towards my Master of Photography degree from PPA. Receiving judgment and critiques from fellow photographers, especially those who have already earned their Masters is an incredible way to keep learning and growing as an artist.
In August 2021, I received “The People’s Choice Award” at the TNPPA convention for one of my dance portraits. This award is voted on by the members of TNPPA, and it was an incredible honor to be recognized by my peers in this way.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
Families who are ready for that next portrait experience can connect with me on my website by requesting an appointment.
I also love collaborating with other local small businesses for all of their photography needs. I am currently partnering with a healthcare provider to fill the walls of the office with portraits for the purpose of showcasing all kinds of humanity on their walls.
I also partner closely with local non-profits to help raise money and awareness. My current partnership is with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Nashville Chapter. I became involved with them through a client whose family was affected by leukemia. We partner together to help raise money through the Light the Night event each November.
Contact Info:
- Email: cate@cateconnerybury.com
- Website: https://www.cateconnerybury
- Instagram: Instagram.com/cateconnerybury
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CateConneryBuryPhoto/
Image Credits
Cate Connery Bury Photography and Kira Derryberry Photography
