Finding Herself in the Photography World: Krysta’s Story

By Annette Dawm, WorkStory Ambassador

Krysta Myles is a portrait photographer with a passion for children and babies. Krysta began her journey into the photography world as a new mom. Her hobby eventually turned into her own business, Krysta Myles Photography. “I started getting into photography when I had my first child in 2010. She gave me a new perspective on how precious life really is, and how quickly time passes us by.” Krysta had always enjoyed taking photos, but when she saw how rapidly her daughter was growing, she said it made her “yearn to capture as much from her childhood” as possible.

“I became fascinated with snapping images of her and trying to figure out how to capture nice images wherever we were. While she was napping you could usually find me with my nose in a photography guide, or with a hot cup of tea at my laptop on photography websites. After posting what was mostly likely the 500,000th photo of my daughter on Facebook, a friend asked if I would be interested in taking some photos for them. I did, and I loved it, so I offered to take photos for friends and family until I eventually saved up enough to upgrade my equipment. I then launched my website and started taking in regular clients and I haven't looked back since!” she continued.

Krysta asked, “What’s not to love?” when referring to her job. “I have the opportunity to meet awesome new families, hold their precious new bundles of joy, and give my client's memories they will cherish, and call it ‘work’. The most rewarding part of my job is definitely seeing the look on my client's faces when they see their final images.  It is such a joy to be able to capture images that bring back memories of these fleeting moments in my client's lives.”

There are also a lot of challenges that come with Krysta’s profession that happen “behind the scenes” so people may not realize this is not an “easy job”. “The most challenging part of my job has been balancing work and family life. I work from home, so keeping up with my active children (5, 2, and 4 months), as well as working on my business, keeps me busy day and night. Settling into a good routine and carving out specific times each day for me to work has been essential for balancing it all.”

In addition to having clients in her own home, Krysta travels all over Bruce and Grey counties to do photo sessions. Afterwards, she edits and prepares the images into a personalized photo gallery for each client using her computer.  Her job also includes marketing, ordering products and blogging, all of which “require a lot more time than shooting sessions”.

Despite the challenges, Krysta loves interacting with her clients and making sure they are comfortable. “The biggest thing I want people to know before coming to a session is to relax. I strive to keep my sessions as laid back as possible, especially when there are children involved (they really pick up on stress). My favourite images from my sessions are always the ones taken during candid moments between loved ones. So I like to tell my clients to pretend there isn't a strange lady with a camera following them around, and to just be themselves.”

 Like her clients, Krysta Myles advises other photographers to be themselves as well. “…Find out who you are in the big photography world. Focus on finding your style and resist the temptation to compare yourself to other photographers. You have something unique to offer. Your individuality is what will set you apart from others and make your work stand out.”

To book an appointment with Krysta, you can email her at krystamylesphoto@gmail.com or visit her website.

Children’s Dreams Made Real: The Story of The Enchanted Cottage

By Annette Dawm, WorkStory Ambassador

Caleigh Allen is the creator of Ever After Entertainment in Atlanta, Georgia. Together with Jenna Bell and several other actors and artists in Atlanta, Caleigh’s company creates an entertainment experience like no other. The goal is to create “The Enchanted Cottage” a fairy tale venue where children and their families can enjoy a magical experience with their favourite characters, without the high costs of a theme park. Currently, actors involved with the company spend much of their time in character and on the road driving to birthday parties, meet-and-greets and charitable events. After two successful years in business, they are ready to find a physical venue where children visit The Snow Queen and her sister or even a mermaid! Pirates, princes and superheroes are also part of the company where they strive to have “Children’s Dreams Made Real.”

Recently, Jenna participated in an “AMA – Ask me Anything” on Reddit to describe what it’s like to work as a princess. It snowballed to other websites including the Facebook page of fitness guru, Richard Simmons. “That was such a cool moment!” Jenna laughed, “Caleigh sent me a screen shot and I just couldn’t believe it. Even more amazing was that he posted an article, based off another article, based off my Reddit and I realized, ‘Wow…This is really spreading. People are actually interested in what we are trying to do here!’ I was afraid when I offered to do the AMA that I would get no questions at all, so to see the support has been so uplifting.”

“This project is very near and dear to our hearts,” both women explained. “…We realized there really isn’t a ‘home’ for this industry. People work out of rented office buildings, or their houses, and we thought, ‘what if we made a place where we can all come together, as a co-op and benefit?’ Everyone can be involved with events… and whatever fantastical things we think of, at a lower cost, to help cross promote and allow these small businesses to get exposure and grow.” Part of their mission also includes working with sick children and their families.

Essentially, the idea for Ever After Entertainment came from Caleigh’s childhood love of fairy tales and her father’s success as an entrepreneur.   “I have a degree in Musical Theatre and a love for all fairy tales …. Add those two together, and you get an adult who started a princess entertainment company! ….My father was always a role model for entrepreneurship. He [made] his own company that eventually was dissolved into Technicolor and Sony with him near the top. …When I was younger I didn’t realize he set the stage for me to succeed. His advice for me [was] ‘Don’t stop believing, never stop growing, and love what you do.’” she explained. As her dream becomes a reality, Caleigh finds it most rewarding that she can share the experience with her dad, and that she is able to represent women in the workforce.

“… As a woman especially, it’s so much harder for us in the world of business to be taken seriously and to succeed. The fact that I have been successful in this cutthroat world with a princess company means the world to me; and to have my father support me is everything. In addition to being a “full-time princess”, Caleigh also makes and sells her own flower crowns.

Jenna joined the company on a whim and describes herself as a “part-time princess” because her character work only takes place on weekends.  “During the week I work as a digital artist, doing graphic design and computer animation. On the weekends I am usually spending my time as The Snow Queen-- and sometimes as a few other princess favourites as well. I graduated with my BFA in animation, with an obvious interest in fairy tales, and a desire to be a Disney animator. I ended up moving to Atlanta to work for Turner Broadcasting, and during a huge Halloween parade I decided to dress up as The Snow Queen. Well, I couldn’t walk ten feet without people stopping me for pictures, and was eventually approached by someone holding children’s events at a nearby ice-rink. They needed a Snow Queen character for the parties. At first I was timid about it all. I’ve never acted in my life.and  kept asking my friends, ‘Is this weird? Do people do this?’ Finally my good friend Kyle urged me to give it a try, and I thank him for that push…I met Caleigh and other wonderful people in this industry and it’s become a part of my life [that] I don’t think I can live without now.”

Jenna even took her role as The Snow Queen to Thailand, which is also how the cottage came about. “I had planned to go to an underprivileged school to deliver school supplies, but when my guide found out what I did on the weekends she was ecstatic.… I put on a blue dress from my backpack, and she wrote ‘The Snow Queen’ in Thai on my name tag. The kids were shy at first, but soon as she told them ‘who I was’ they all came running toward me and basically tackled me with hugs and kisses. It was just wonderful. I wasn’t there long, but by the end of it our guide brought over the principal and translated his thank you to me. He bowed and told me those kids will never have a day like this again, and that I brought them an experience they will never forget. It meant the world to them. It was such an interesting perspective for me because I’m just me you know? [I’m] just playing this character. It’s amazing how you can bring hope in the simplest ways, and after that I was inspired to do more. I came home … and reached out to Caleigh and said ‘So I have this idea for a cottage….’ We’ve been working towards that dream ever since.”

Despite what seem to be very magical jobs and goals, there are many challenges as well. Caleigh notes that “Making magic for children is usually great [but] every so often, it’s not. Sometimes you have crazy parents or clients who try to make your job harder, but you can’t let them! I love to perform and I love entertaining kids, so that’s definitely not the hard part. Usually the scheduling and dealing with fussy clients is a lot worse than the children.”

Jenna finds that her biggest challenge is “commanding a room full of strangers” because “Some kids believe, some don’t. But if you can convince the non-believers that you’re ‘real’, then you’ll be leaving on a high note…and in the good graces of the guests, which means recommendations for more events.”

 “… Many parents ask for us to just come in with this grand entrance of singing and dancing, but we have to explain, even though we are the child’s ‘favourite character’ that will still scare them.... It’s better to ease into it, because the kids can be nervous too! From there we read stories, sing songs, take pictures, and participate in games. ….We may be there for anywhere from an hour to four hours, and we have to always be in character and make sure each family walks away with a smile” Bell continued.

Despite the challenges, most of their days end happily ever after, making it all worth it for Caleigh Allen and Jenna Bell.  For more information you can visit their website and like their Facebook page. You can also follow them on Twitter (Caleigh / Jenna) on Twitter and for updates on The Enchanted Cottage.