Meet KyAnn {Young Creatives}
Today I’m so excited to be featuring KyAnn Molina! I have had the pleasure of spending time with this sweet girl on three different occasions, the last being at her WEDDING in October! She is a precious friend and talented photographer, and I hope you guys enjoy getting to know her better as much as I did!
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Photo by the lovely Jessica Lauren Photography
Hi, friends! I am KyAnn (newly) Molina! I just got married two months ago to my best friend, Mathew, and we are loving figuring out this crazy journey of marriage in our cozy little apartment in Wichita, Kansas. We also have a pet hedgehog, Roger, who is pretty much the cutest thing around and is even cuter in a Santa hat, as featured below. ;) I am 19 years old and a wedding photographer who is absolutely in love with her job! I’m obsessed with Bath & Body Work candles and I almost constantly have a candle burning. Christmas is my favorite season so I’m trying to soak up December and all of the coziness and sweet traditions it brings with it! And lastly, I’m sad to admit, Dr. Pepper is kind of an addiction of mine-even more so than coffee. ;)
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Italy. I have always dreamed of going to Italy and shooting a destination wedding! How gorgeous would that be?! And come on, you know the food would be amazing!
What do you do? What’s your creative passion?
I am a wedding photographer, who loves marriage as much as weddings. I love couples who value their marriage over their wedding day and we almost always end up being great friends even after their weddings! I love capturing emotion and the intimate moments that make up love-the little moments that most people aren’t privileged enough to see, but I am blessed enough to get to capture those moments so you can keep them and treasure them forever. I love capturing real life moments and memories, the sweet moments when couples think no one is watching-those are my favorite because it is the truest view of them. My husband and I are also working towards being a full time husband + wife team (we haven’t officially announced this yet, so shh!), which we are so excited about!!
What are three words you’d use to describe yourself?
Friendly. Real. Passionate.
I use those words because I love meeting new friends and I pride myself on being as authentic as possible in everything I do. Life isn’t perfect and I would never want to put on a show that it is because people learn from the hard moments and your struggles just as much as you do. I’m very passionate. I’m kind of an all or nothing girl. If I want something, I will go after it with everything I have.
How did you discover your creative passion?
I have loved photography since I was about 10, but I always dreamed of doing wedding photography specifically. I shot my first wedding for a friend when I was 16 and fell in love with capturing love stories and getting to be a part of such an amazing milestone in people’s lives. I spent a couple years after that shooting lots of seniors and families and just learning as much as I could. This past year was my first year offering and advertising weddings, though, and I loved everything about it! I am so excited for 2016 and all that it will bring!
What is your favorite part of what you do?
I love getting to meet so many amazing people! It is so much fun to get to meet people in all different walks of life, from all different backgrounds, with all different interests. I meet a lot of people who have similar interests or experiences-but I also meet a lot of people who are completely different than I am and I love that! I love getting to hear people’s stories and hear what they are passionate about and then being able to capture that from behind the camera! My goal is always to capture WHO they are in a way that clearly depicts them. I’ve made so many amazing friends through this journey and that is my favorite part!
What is your wildest dream?
My wildest dream is to start shooting destination weddings. It is something that I have dreamed of for quite awhile and now I just need to make it happen! Like I said earlier, I have always dreamed of shooting a wedding in Italy! But I’d also love to shoot a wedding in the Caribbean, Australia, all over, really! ;)
What is one piece of advice you wish you’d been given five years ago?
I wish I had been told to slow down and enjoy what I had right then. To be honest, I was told that, I just didn’t listen very well. ;) I have been working 40+ hour weeks since I was 16 and because of that, there were a lot of moments I missed out on in high school especially. I spent so much of my time working that I missed out on so many activities with my friends and just being able to enjoy that time I had being in high school. It is all too easy to spend your time just wishing for the future-wishing to grow up, wishing to graduate, wishing to start a career, wishing to get married, wishing to have a baby, etc. But if you spend all your time wishing, you miss out on the amazing moments happening in your life right now! I still have to be reminded to slow down and just enjoy life in the present, but I’m working on it.
What’s the hardest thing you’ve been through and how have you grown from it?
2014 was a really hard year for me. There were kind of two parts to it, the first being that I had a lot of health issues that were very scary and there were a lot of unknowns at the beginning. I am a very independent person and those health issues forced me to rely on others for everything for a time in my life and that was really hard for me to accept. I had to learn that I can’t do everything on my own and that Christ doesn’t create us to do everything on our own, either. It is more than okay to need help! I also had some relationships in my personal life that just weren’t healthy relationships and ended with a lot of hurt and bitterness. It was definitely a journey figuring out who my true friends were and who was really pushing me TOWARDS Christ and who was pulling me away from Him. I have the best friends and family in the world who were so supportive and always there for me and I am so grateful to them for that!
Who is your biggest inspiration and why? What have they taught you that has made an impact?
My biggest inspiration is my aunt. She has been through so many trials and struggles in her life and it has only made her come to Christ. All of her struggles have made her draw closer to Christ and really live her life to be an example of Christ’s love. Some of the things that she has been through might make you want to give up, but it has only made her stronger. It has been such an inspiration to watch this amazing transformation over the past few years and it is so amazing to see that the worst struggles in her life have actually brought her to a relationship with Christ that is inspiring everyone around her.
What is your favorite Bible verse?
Jeremiah 29:11:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
This verse is applicable to so many aspects of my life, but it’s a great reminder that no matter what, God has your best interests in mind and even when you don’t know what it is, He always has a plan that is far better than our own.
xoxo
Micaela
