08/18/2026
Hi all!
I know… longtime no see, right?
This is an update that is long overdue. I apologize for how long it has taken me to even find the words, but I also know that most of you will understand why.
Just over five months ago, my husband, Steve, unexpectedly passed away.
To say that our lives were turned upside down is an absolute understatement.
One day, we were a family of five navigating life together. We were raising kids, working, running a business, making plans, arguing about stupid things, laughing about even stupider things, and doing all of the wonderfully ordinary things that make up a life.
And then, suddenly, I was a single mom of three amazing kids who were trying to figure out how to live in a world without their dad.
Have we figured any of it out?
Nope.
Not. Even. Close.
Will we get there?
No.
And honestly, I think that’s completely okay.
Because I’ve learned that grief isn’t something you “get through” and then put behind you. It changes. It evolves. Some days it is quiet enough that I can almost forget it’s there. Other days it knocks the wind out of me all over again.
This is our new normal.
Eventually, I believe we will build something new from the pieces. We will laugh more. We will make new traditions. We will have days that don’t feel quite so heavy. There will be joy again—not the same joy, because we aren’t the same people we were before—but a different kind of joy.
The scars will always be there.
Right now, they’re still red, swollen, and itchy… but they’re healing.
Grief is the cost of love.
And man, did we love him.
Through all of this, there has been one thing that has continued to remind me that I am still me.
Photography.
I started Kelly Kirksey Photography in 2006.
Almost 20 years.
Nearly two decades of picking up a camera and getting the incredible privilege of stepping into people's lives for a little while. I've photographed families as they grew, babies who eventually became seniors, weddings, engagements, milestones, new beginnings, and all of the beautiful, messy, ordinary moments in between.
This business has never just been a job to me. It has been a part of who I am for almost half of my adult life.
It has brought me some of the greatest people, the sweetest families, the biggest laughs, and so many moments that I have been incredibly privileged to freeze in time for someone else.
It has brought me life.
It has brought me happiness.
And somewhere in the middle of losing so much, I realized that I don't want to lose this, too.
I know Steve would want me to keep going.
He would want me to work. He would want me to create. He would want me to make people laugh and feel beautiful and capture the moments they never want to forget.
So I am going to keep going.
Kelly Kirksey Photographer is still here.
It may look a little different as I figure out what life looks like now. I may not always move at the same pace. I may occasionally need a little grace. But I am here, and I am incredibly grateful to still have this business that has been such a meaningful part of my life for nearly 20 years.
And this is where I need your help.
If you've ever trusted me with your family, your wedding, your babies, your milestones, your awkward family photos, your pets, your memories—or even just followed along and supported me from afar—thank you.
And if you know someone who needs a photographer, **please send them my way.**
Share my page. Tag me. Recommend me to your friends. Tell someone about me when they start talking about family photos, senior pictures, weddings, newborns, or whatever life is asking them to remember.
Those referrals mean more to me than you probably realize.
Right now, supporting my business isn't just supporting a photographer.
It's helping me rebuild a life.
It's helping me continue doing something that has always made me incredibly happy.
It's helping me create something beautiful in a season of my life that has been anything but beautiful.
And I think Steve would be pretty damn proud of that.
So here I am.
Still standing.
Still grieving.
Still figuring it out.
Still taking pictures.
And still believing that there are beautiful things ahead.
Thank you for being here. ❤️
