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

Hi Michelle, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Being a photographer, I noticed that most other photographers provided an expensive and limited package to clients from a photography session and controlled the photos. I wanted to provide a comprehensive photo session where the client had full control of the photos that I gave them, and I wanted to provide an affordable package to these clients. Being a family/lifestyle photographer, I wanted to appeal to the young families beginning their lives with each other. As phones get more and more advanced with photo technology, professional photography is becoming a dying art. I want to offer something that everyone can afford and enjoy, because memories are all we have once we have captured a moment in time with a photograph.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My main career started at FedEx as a courier. Back in 1992, this company stood out as one that provided the utmost support and great pay to their employees. Their motto was People/Service/Profit in that order. My respect and loyalty to FedEx through the years had me move from courier, to management, then on to engineering. I retired after 30 years, happy and content that I had contributed to this company. I had one mentor in FedEx who taught me how to be a good listener and leader. She taught me how to be diplomatic and professional in difficult situations. I have taken her lessons and have groomed them into my daily life.
After I retired, I groomed my photography business and brand to reflect the lessons I learned from my professional career. Respect, support, kindness, education. These lessons are keys to working with clients during a photography session. Respecting a client’s wishes to what they want to capture in their photos. Supporting a client’s body, offering pleasing poses to enhance the photo session and provide a product that they will enjoy looking at for years. Kindness, interacting with all of the people in a photo session to gain trust and therefore, creating a successful photo session. Education, to teach clients how a successful photograph is framed with people and surroundings, to provide the most appealing overall photo.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First of all, we would go down to one of the beautiful beaches in San Diego and take a nice, long walk. After our walk, I would suggest we got to Ki’s in Cardiff, and enjoy one of their delicious meals, which is diverse and wonderful, made with incredibly fresh ingredients. We would go upstairs and eat at one of the tables on the deck, overlooking the ocean. After we ate, we would go home and relax on my 4 acre property in Valley Center, where we have a little paradise of our own, with jacuzzi, patio, firepit and 4 big dogs to pet the fur off of.
During the week, I would take my friend to Balboa Park. This park offers so many places to visit, and it might take a couple of days to enjoy. We would visit the museums, botanical gardens and the science center. Later we would go downtown and enjoy a wonderful dinner and experience at the Huntress restaurant, sitting upstairs at a table overlooking the bar, enjoying the beautiful modern interiors and culinary delights they offer. Afterwords, we would go to one of the bars along the embarcadero and enjoy a nightcap overlooking the San Diego bay at night.
I can’t begin to tell you the other unbelievable restaurants we would enjoy around the city, mostly downtown, but also Liberty Station would be a place I would take my friend to, to walk around and eat, drink and enjoy the shops.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to SNAP, Spay-Neuter Action Project. One year ago, I was introduced to this amazing organization through a friend who had just been hired to work for SNAP. Majda Eldred is not only an animal activist, but a lover of all creatures. Through Majda, I met Dorell Sackett, the Director of SNAP, who is one of the most incredible human beings I could ever know. SNAP provides affordable to no cost spay and neutering to dogs, cats and rabbits. Their mission is to educate and help to control the over population of pets in shelters, therefore, lowering the euthanizing factor of pets. I was asked to volunteer my services and provide a photo shoot of a day in the life of a spay/neuter clinic on their mobile “Neuter Scooter”. The name of their mobile unit alone had me loving this organization already! This photo shoot changed my life.
After witnessing the amazing staff working flawlessly for the day and watching how happy all of the pet parents were when they picked up their pets, I told myself that SNAP is an organization I will do anything for. I want to help get their brand and message out to the world.

Website: https://www.memories2life.com

Instagram: memories2life, bigmuttlady

Linkedin: Michelle Kinley

Facebook: Memories2life, Michelle Millsap Kinley

Yelp: Michelle K.

Other: Photocrowd.com: Mmkinley

Image Credits
SNAP Spay-Neuter Action Project
Shannon Clague and Mika
The Golish Family
Trish Elery

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