A Day in the Life of VHT Studios’ Photographer Kim

We’re not all lucky enough to get paid to do exactly what we love, but this hobby turned career story will bring you some hope. What started as Kim and her camera documenting family vacations, turned into a college degree and then a career.

But Kim doesn’t set her camera down even in her free time. When she’s not shooting for VHT Studios, she’s a volunteer “retriever”, helping families find their lost pets through social media photography. Needless to say, dogs played a big part in our few days working together.

We bring to you A Day in the Life of VHT Studios’ photographer Kim. We’ll be taking you through her challenges and successes, the relationships she has formed with her clients, and catching her in action.

Based in the Minneapolis area, Kim balances meeting a wide variety of new clients while also keeping open communication with her top clients. Getting to know people and their process isn’t new for Kim. As she approaches new challenges and new people, she quickly learns what makes them tick.

On our first stop of the day, we paid a visit to Denny and Sheila Loving, two real estate agents selling their own home. “It was a different experience selling our own property because we were busy getting everything to look just right. There is so much emotion involved when it’s your own home. We lived there 26 years, a lot of good memories.”

And with a lot of memories comes a lot of pressure. But with plenty of preparation and communication, Kim was ready for the challenge. As realtors, the Lovings already have a firm understanding of a show-ready home. With Kim’s dedication to the home and time spent with the Lovings to perfect the shoot, the home received multiple offers with one accepted within a week.

“Everything turned out so well with our listing, we were very happy to work with her again. Kim was very good at communicating what to expect with the photography shoot and had suggestions on how to showcase our own home. We trust her ideas.”

On a Premium shoot like the Lovings, Kim doesn’t come without her tips and tricks. As we went from room to room, many of the photographs were of Kim’s pointer finger. “When I put my finger in front of the lens, this means I am starting a new bracket. It keeps my brackets together and helps me stay organized later on.” (An old trick from a wise college professor goes a long way.)

The experience at our last stop was much different from our experience at the Lovings. On the other side of town, we met realtor Liz Flynn, the sellers, and their whole fam. What may have been an intimidating shoot for some, was just a normal day for Kim.

“Kids around the house doesn’t faze me. My job is to take beautiful photographs to sell the home.” Liz, Kim and the homeowners had the process down. As we moved from room to room, the homeowners and family moved right along with us; changing light bulbs when needed, slightly shifting furniture to get the perfect angle and doing some final touches on the decor.

“When I’m there while Kim is shooting, I will make sure the next area is perfected. I trust Kim and the work she does, so I know that she will do her thing while I add those finishing touches.” With Liz and the family ready to take on the day, those finishing touches were perfected with ease. Sometimes all it takes is a flower vase to tie the room together.

By spending time with each of her clients and understanding their visions, Kim has grown her network and shown them the value of professional photography. “A teacher taught me to not only see what I was photographing, but to give photographs life, so others could see and feel what I saw.”

And after a few days of meeting clients, seeing some nice listings and getting to know one of our outstanding photographers, we have a little more insight into Kim’s daily adventures as a real estate photographer, her shooting style, and the lasting relationships she’s cultivated with her clients.

We even took a little time to relax, talk about dogs and eat Juicy Lucy’s.