Exploring Life & Business with Kirsten Holliday Doering of Kirsten Holliday Photography for Holliday Collectiv

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kirsten Holliday Doering

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I fell in love with photography at the age of 14 while on summer vacation in Kentucky. My parents let me borrow their Canon PowerShot and the rest was history. I immediately fell in love with capturing the world and freezing moments in time. Every year when my family got together for our annual family reunion, I would document the week together and put it on a slideshow, all of us sitting around a tv taking in the moments from the week. From there, I just dabbled in it from time to time, document moments with friends, using my sister as a model, and taking photos on family vacations. I attended the University of Kentucky, and taking the ‘safe route’, I got my degree in hospitality. I loved how hospitality allowed you to interact with so many different types of people, and I was intrigued that I could possibly travel the world for my career. Still interested in photography, a friend of mine worked for the University’s newspaper as a writer and mentioned they hire photographers for their stories. I walked into the Kentucky Kernel Newspaper my junior year, they gave me a story, and I brought it back after the weekend and they hired me as a staff photographer. I covered everything from the famous Kentucky Men’s basketball team, Greek life events and was the lead photographer for their Semi-Annual Fashion Column. But it was attending the workshop, ‘Picture Kentucky’, where I really fell in love with the craft. For three days, a handful of students from Kentucky University’s across the state gathered in small-town London, KY. We drew names out of a hat the first night, and your job was to find that person: no phone number, no address, just their name and occupation. I searched the town, chatting with locals, and found my subject, the town’s sheriff, and convinced him to let me document his life for the span of three days.

Originally telling me no, and with my persistent nature, I ended up documenting his day to day and gaining a friend in the process. The workshop made a promotional video about me and my relationship with the sheriff, and he still sends me a Facebook message every year on my birthday. That weekend changed everything for me, and I knew I wanted to be a documenter for the rest of my life. Fast forward to 2014, I moved to Austin, and following my degree in hospitality, I got a job working in hotels for the next four years. I dabbled in photography as a social media manager for Hotel Van Zandt, shooting food for the restaurant and SXSW events for the hotel with big-name artists, but still wasn’t fully into shooting like I wanted to be and I felt stuck. I got connected with a wedding photographer who ended up teaching me the ends and outs of the wedding industry. I quit my comfortable job and I dove into weddings full time.

I’ve been shooting weddings since 2019. When my husband and I moved to Nashville in 2022, I knew I wanted to continue shooting weddings, because that’s where my passion lied, but I also was interested in the hospitality side of photography. Four Seasons was opening in Nashville, and I got connected with their PR guy. I shot a few things for the them during opening and then next thing I knew I was shooting with them full time. I’m going on my second full year with them, and I truly live the dream everyday. So now I’m a wedding and hospitality photographer!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
This questions funny because my quote in college to my friends was, “If you have no struggle, you have no story, and I want the story.” I struggled for so many years with knowing what I wanted to do but not believing in myself. So many people told me to jump that I could do it, but it was something I had to be ready for. Unfortunately, it took me about six years to finally feel confident where I was with my work to pursue it as a career. Just like anything in life, there are struggles, and my biggest is probably self doubt, but at the end of the day I know this is my life path and I love it!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
While I still own and operate Kirsten Holliday Photography for my weddings and boudoir, I started Holliday Collectiv last year as my hospitality side of photography. I started with Four Seasons here at the Nashville location and I’ve since traveled and shot with New Orleans + Orlando Four Seasons. I’ve been most proud of my expansion into this brand that I love so much. With a deep passion for capturing the essence of exceptional experiences, my agency specializes in creating visually stunning images that speak volumes to the quality and charm offered by hotels, resorts, restaurants, and event venues. With a keen eye for detail and a commitment to delivering my clients’ vision, I take pride in skillfully capturing the architectural brilliance, serene landscapes, and enticing culinary delights that define the world of hospitality.

I feel so lucky to shoot many different types of photography. From boudoir, weddings and now hospitality I bring a photojournalistic style to each of my shoots. I’m known for being extremely laid back, which I think translates well into all aspects of my work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hollidaycollectiv.agency/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirstenhollidayphoto/
• Other: https://www.kirstenhollidayphoto.com/