Meet Kristina Ryon of K.Ryon Photography
I was the friend in high school and college at all the parties and events with the camera. I documented everything in site. I started photography as an elective in college. I needed one more credit hour and figured I would give film photography a go. I ended up getting an A in the course and being the top student and from there I made a career out of it. It took many years to get to where I am at and I’m always learning daily. I now photograph weddings and with the pandemic going on I figured hey let’s document my town where I am in quarantine. It’s been a blast. I can still do what I love to do from a distance with the social distancing order in act and give the gift of beautiful photos to my community. I’m turning a sad event in time into something many generations from now can look back on.
As an entrepreneur it’s never a smooth road. Every single day I learn something new and take that to try to be the best photographer I can be. There are ups one month where you can have a ton of clients booking and downs the next month like this month where we are in a pandemic. No one wants to spend money right now so you have to get creative as an artist and I chose to start a black and white documentary series of my town and local towns so others can have these memories for years to come. Not all memories are happy.
I own K.Ryon Photography and I specialize in wedding and portrait photography around the greater Chicagoland area and beyond. I also shoot elopements and weddings out of state. I have been in business for 7 years and everyday I wake up and just want to photograph as much as I can. I love what I do. Not many people can say that at 30. I’m super proud of how far I have come and blessed for all my clients to keep me going everyday. I’m the only photographer in my town who shoots elopements out of state so it’s nice to set myself apart from others. I also tend to shoot and edit more moody where as most photographers shoot bright and airy.
I personally define success and doing what I love when I want to do it! Success isn’t measured by money. I don’t work for the money. I work to create the memories for others. I’m successful every time a client shares one of my images on social media and expresses how much they love their photos or texts me how beautiful their gallery is.
