Personal Branding Photography Beginnings

Personal Branding Photography Beginnings

This is a story about Personal Branding Photography beginnings. Hello and welcome. My long time, planning, saving, dreaming of this business. I’m Kay Kawada, the owner and head photographer of River Eight & CO. I originally came up with the name River Eight from my last name in Japanese, Kawada. (The Kawa means river.) And I chose eight for two reasons. One, eight is from our youngest son, his nickname is Hachi (Which means the number eight in Japanese). Secondly, In Japan, they say that Eight gives an idea of growing prosperous because the letter (八) broadens gradually. The Japanese thought of eight (や, “ya” another way to say eight) as a holy number in ancient times.
And of course, “& CO” would be the rest of his siblings.
Being a mother is something I always dreamed of and I wanted my business to be like a big family. I have a 5-year plan hoping to make this business bigger and all the people that work with will be like family.

River Eight & Co Photographer

My husband and I are originally from Japan, but I was raised in New Jersey and a few years ago we moved to Ponte Vedra, Florida. (Closest airport is JAX and that is 2 hours away from MCO(Orlando/Disney). It took time to get used to, but now I don’t know if I can go back and bare winter with the little one. I sure do miss pizza and delis back in jersey for sure. Loved how you didn’t have to pump your own gas and how people drove like they had places to be. Of course, my friends, I miss tremendously but some come to visit so that’s always nice. That being said, I do love the weather here and how friendly people are. I know bad things can happen anywhere but I feel safer here for my children.

Humble beginnings

Before this, I was a flight attendant for 15 years for a major US carrier. Since I was hired as a Japanese translator, I always flew internationally. Going to Tokyo, Japan was my favorite since I was able to see family, eat, and shop. Seeing the beauty in every city was awesome but now that I have children, I wish I had ventured out more. I just couldn’t see how I could have made that work with no help and four children. Everything happens for a reason right?

Who am I?

11 years in the photography industry. Won a prestigious award from WPPI. (You can read about it here)

So a few fun facts about me no one asked for:

• Massive collection of plants (if they don’t die)
• Entertaining
• Organizing things.
• Gardening (If I don’t kill them)
• I live to see my children’s eyes light up.
• My favorite sound is ALWAYS when kids belly laugh. Hearing people laugh in general makes me laugh.
• I love funny! I love DAD jokes.
• I drink black coffee first thing in the morning and then green tea or ice green tea for the rest of the day. When I have greasy food, I love my seltzer!
• I love HOT baths especially hot springs in Japan
• I am allergic to CATS
• My favorite smell is leaves and wood burning

So how did I get started in personal branding photography?

I’m a mother of four and I started photography right after my second child was born. I already have an established business under a different name called Kawada Photography. I love babies and I am honored to photograph someone’s legacy. That speaks to my heart but also for a different reason,I strongly believe in, is photographing personal branding images for female entrepreneurs, and creatives. There are so many women while raising a family, juggling family life, marriage, and their dream job, they still manage to try to do it all. They are ambitious and I want to help women who need more time. More content, more images, more support, so they can work on their genius zone and free up more time for them so she can go focus on their family. I want to support more women like me.

Personal Branding Photography Beginnings wrap up

So yeah, thank you for reading thus far. I am excited for a new chapter in my life and thank you for all of your support. For those of you who haven’t started your dream job, but want to, all I can say is JUST START. Your mindset will shift. If you need support or advice, feel free to reach out. If I can not help you, I will refer you or direct you in the right direction. I will do what I can. I believe that a good community can help you grow so much. In my world, the only competition you have is with yourself. I always believe in community over competition.

People have said, I am attentive, considerate, direct, and funny (but in a sarcastic way. Oh come on! I’m from Jersey! lol) I don’t like talking about myself, but I am confident that I will get things done, and if something goes wrong, I will fix it. My client will be my priority, and will only work with business owners if we are a good fit. It is important to me to have positive, and kind people around me. So, if you are a Debbie Downer or a Negative Nancy, I may not be the person for you. I value time, for I believe that time is money, and I value relationships. I put my heart and soul into everything I do and I am sure, to have full communication with you through the entire process.

“ A rising tide lifts all boats”

What is it like to work with me?

If you can relate and are curious about Personal Branding Photography River Eight Co, please feel free to contact me! . Hope to meet you soon.

Appreciate you,

Kay K