Meet Katelyn Fish | Family & Branding Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Katelyn Fish and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katelyn, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
One of the reasons I’ve decided to pursue a photography career is my desire to create a better work/life balance. For several years, I worked full-time as a middle school teacher; photography was my weekend/summertime side hustle and creative outlet. I truly LOVED teaching, and I hope I made a positive impact while I was there, but the extra hours spent lesson planning, grading, and all of the other unpaid daily responsibilities of teaching meant my work/life balance suffered. Sometimes my students would complain about homework assignments, arguing that in “real life” people don’t come home from their jobs and have extra work to do. While that is true for some careers, it’s definitely not the case for most teachers I know!

My daughter was born just a month after our family moved from Utah to California, and I knew that I wanted to spend as much time with her as I could. So, I quit my teaching job and have slowly been establishing a business here as a family and branding photographer — work that allows me to spend the bulk of my time with my daughter while still stretching my creative muscles and providing an income for my family.

I’m still working towards finding the right balance for my little family. When I’m working on building my business, I often feel guilty that I’m not focused on my daughter; when I’m fully immersed in the trenches of parenthood, I worry that my business will suffer. But I’m trying to measure the success of that balance with a broader lens. While I don’t strike the perfect balance every day, overall, I’m happy, grateful, and fulfilled — and that’s the goal!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a people-focused photographer with a bright and vibrant editing style. While I love a beautiful background, my primary focus is always on the people I’m photographing, and I take care to ensure I use the available light to produce smooth, natural skin tones, bright eyes, and genuine smiles. I’ve been photographing families for more than 6 years, and I make good use of my experiences as a teacher and mother to connect with kids and capture sweet moments. I’ve learned that when families can relax into the moment and just play during their session, the results are authentic, personal, and timeless.

About a year ago, I discovered personal brand photography and found a whole new world to love! After a video consultation, custom mood board, and carefully curated shot/prop list, my branding clients feel confident and prepared for their shoot — and they get back images that help showcase not just their product(s) or business, but themselves, too. It’s pretty magical to create in this way, and I’m so grateful for each client who has trusted me for brand photos.

As far as what I’m proud of…I’m really excited about my Orange County Location Guide! This has been a labor of love, but finally, my clients now have access to a detailed guide showcasing all of the best places for photos in the OC, both in-studio and outdoors. My guide includes information about parking, accessibility, restroom availability, permit fees, sample photos, and more, which has made choosing a location so much easier for my clients!

One of my biggest challenges is just that growing my business is slower than I’d like it to be. But as I keep working at it, I know I’ll have the opportunity to work with more and more people. I’m so honored every time someone books me for photos. It’s an opportunity to make people feel their best — which is one of my favorite things to do!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
One of my favorite parts of traveling is finding good food to eat! I live in Irvine, and there are some pretty fantastic food places locally that I would definitely want to make sure to include in plans with my bestie:

Pepper Lunch – a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant that serves food on a sizzling hot iron plate. My current favorite is the Chicken Kaarage Curry!
HiroNori Craft Ramen – My husband and I went to Japan in 2023, and we’ve been on the hunt for ramen that rivals what we had there ever since. HiroNori is AMAZING; their Tonkatsu Ramen is the stuff dreams are made of.
Annapoorna – This Indian restaurant has seating inside, but I usually go for takeout since eating out with a toddler is rarely a relaxing experience, haha. Annapoorna’s Butter Chicken and samosas are my favorite!

As a toddler mom, I’m all about finding fun activities for my daughter and me to do together! My best friend has kiddos too, so I’m sure we’d check out these places:

Pretend City Children’s Museum — This is the cutest children’s museum I’ve ever been to! Kids can shop/play cashier in a miniature Trader Joe’s, work on cars at the mechanic shop, build soft houses at a construction site, and plant/harvest veggies on the pretend farm.
Heritage Park Library and Splash Pad — It’s probably because I used to be a teacher, but I LOVE public libraries and believe they are an essential part of the community. Heritage Park has cute and free activities for toddlers, youth, and teens, and there’s a great park and splash pad right behind it, so it’s a total win-win!
Jeffrey Open Space Trail — This one is a favorite photo location of mine, but also a relaxing trail to take long (or short!) walks on!
The Aquarium of the Pacific — it’s a bit of a drive to Long Beach, but this aquarium is worth it! I love seeing the different kinds of jellyfish there, and my daughter has a great time seeing the penguins.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’ve been blessed to have many people support my journey, but I’d like to especially thank two who have been indispensable. First, my husband. He pushes me to believe in myself, talks through ideas with me, encourages me to keep trying when I meet roadblocks, and supports our family while I pursue this creative dream.

Next, my friend and sister-in-law, Ryann. If it wasn’t for her insisting on paying me after taking her engagement photos, I’m not sure I would have ever realized my work was worth paying for. Years later, when she started a clothing boutique, she asked me to take photos of the products. This sparked my interest in commercial photography, opened up opportunities to work with incredibly talented models, and gave me the confidence to be more than an exclusively natural light photographer. Her work ethic and creativity regularly inspire me.

Website: https://www.katefishphoto.com/

Instagram: @katefishphoto

Image Credits
Kate Fish Photography