Image Credits: ©Michael Samaripa
Today we’d like to introduce you to Kyle Woods.
Hi Kyle, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I made the shift to photography as a profession much later in life. I worked in the biotech field for many years and six months after I moved to Austin to take a job with major competitor, I fell out of love with what I was doing and decided to go back to school.
I didn’t care much for photography as a kid, probably because my mother was always taking pictures of our family and she would load us up in the car, dress us in matching outfits and drive us out to a field of bluebonnets once a year, and I was over it. As I got older and she got this cool new Minolta, I started becoming more interested in the technology of the neat autofocus system and started to play around with it. I also remember how sad she was when she dropped in the ocean one year while we were in Rockport during a family vacation. I recognized how much it meant to her and how strong her love for the art was.
So, when I got to my junior year in high school and needed to choose an elective, I picked photography. I followed suit my senior year mostly because I may or may not of had slight crush on our hip teacher who always kept her pet gecko in her shirt pocket, plus class was always fun and full of friends.
After high school, I took a few night classes with my mom. The instructor was a teacher friend of my dad’s, I remember him being pretty cool for the most part; no crush this time and no lizard but It was a really great way for my mother and I to connect.
But that was it for a while, years in and out of school trying to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up. Then I got a job for a biotech company in The Woodlands while I was going to school. It was nothing special until I switched departments and was given the opportunity to create, build and eventually travel – Israel, Paris and Japan. Also, at this point in my life, I had reconnected with photography thanks to these trips abroad for work. I was re-inspired with this new ‘digital’ photography age and was now the proud owner of a Canon Rebel (thank you Andre Aggasi). As I traveled for work, I wanted to bring back something other than gift store items from these countries, I wanted to bring back memories, so I took my Rebel.
Fast forward 17 years after my last instructional photo course; I had lost my mother in a tragic car accident along with two other family members in 2003, and am now living in Austin and working in biotech. Uninspired and uninterested with where I was professionally, I felt at the end of my rope. I needed something different, so I quit to go back to school. This was one of the most liberating moments of my life.
While I was in school, I started working in photography almost immediately. I photographed houses for sale, second shot weddings and did little photo jobs here and there, and soon landed a part-time job in the photography department at the school I was attending. Getting that first paycheck working in the field of my newly-chosen profession was, well it was pretty damn cool.
About two years later, upon completion of my photography courses, a longtime family friend mentioned a job opening at the Texas House of Representatives. “It’s not a glamours job and you’ll have to wear a suit and tie, but it’s something,” I was told. I needed something work-wise because, as great as some of this sounds, behind the scenes was not all sunshine, rainbows and pixels.
So I applied, interviewed and was hired to be a session photographer. I knew nothing about politics, especially state politics, but I could shoot and get paid to do so. As session was wrapping up, I was asked if I was interested in a full-time position; I was a single father of two boys at the time and this question could not have come at a better time in my life. I accepted, of course, and a few months later I was brought back a full-time photographer.
Now, almost 11 years later, I am the senior photographer and photo editor for the Texas House of Representatives.
“Leap and the net will appear.” – John Burroughs
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, not at all. It definitely cost me. There were things that happened in my personal life that went sideways. Being a newly single father while working part-time and going to school is not an easy task. There were some tough times mentally, physically and financially. I had to learn to prioritize and keep the big picture in mind. Luckily, I had a good support system of family and friends and I pushed through.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a professional photographer in Austin, TX and the senior photographer for the Texas House of Representatives. I’m a storyteller at heart, I love how a well-created image can tell an entire story. So, I guess I would have to say that I’m a documentary and portrait photographer by trade and recently, I have been teaming with local small businesses and professionals to document their “day in a life” of them and their business and/or an interesting portrait of them in their element. I want to tell their story.
How do you think about luck?
I was lucky enough to have the people that I had and have in my corner that believe in me. Lucky to have a family friend and a fellow co-worker and instructor tip me off to the job I have now. Lucky and grateful for all the people that stepped in front of my lens. But it wasn’t all by chance- I was willing to take action.
Contact Info:
- Email: kylewoodsphoto@gmail.com
- Website: kylewoodsphotography.com
- Instagram: kw_photo_atx
