Bryson Keltner Photography, Belmont Blvd & Acklen Avenue, Nashville, TN (2026)

10/31/2024

“I started posting about horror movies on TikTok around three years ago. I posted one video, & it went a little viral. I started gaining followers. So, I posted another & that one also went a little viral. I began getting more comfortable actually speaking in my videos. Then, I started getting opportunities for collaborations & brand deals. It has grown to almost 40,000 followers. I joke & say I have a double life because I have my regular counseling job & then I come home & make videos about horror movies. It’s two separate worlds.

“Not everyone likes horror, so I think a lot of people who don’t get it think horror fans are weird. They usually turn out to be some of the best people. It’s odd, because people who love these insane, violent stories often use it as an outlet, & they are some of the most adjusted, nicest people in the world. Horror has been a very outcast type of genre, so it is very accepting. It’s an extremely diverse community.

“I first watched ‘Scream’ when I was five with my older sister. She had all the ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ and ‘Scream’ movies on VHS, & I always wanted to do what she was doing, but I was also very freaked out by them. When I was 10, I saw this Halloween special talking about all these different horror movies & I somehow became fascinated by them. I started learning about the history of the genre & it kind of snowballed from there.

“My favorite scary movie is still ‘Scream.’ I’ve seen it so many times, & I’ve met a lot of the cast members. I think it’s a perfect horror movie because it references so many classics but it revitalized the slasher genre.

“I think horror—since its start—has always been used to reflect or commentate on society, even if people don’t always see that. It’s been used to talk about issues or what’s going on in the world. Sometimes it urges people to think about things differently or it represents people who feel underrepresented on screen. But sometimes it’s just escapism & it’s just fun to watch something a little weird. Obviously you wouldn’t want to watch these things in real life, so that’s what makes it interesting.

“I like to say that I’m a horror movie lover & aspiring aficionado. It’s a big part of me.”
-Brianna Nalley, (Louisville, KY)

09/17/2024

Part II
As if one of your best friends getting married wasn’t exciting enough, one of mine asked me to officiate her wedding ceremony. An online ordainment and a lot of scribbles on a ceremony draft later, I ushered my friends into the start of their marriage.

During the wedding day, I couldn’t help but take a few photos of the getting-ready process. This process has always fascinated me—it’s a day of anticipation, photos, laughs, and memories, leading to a pivotal point in someone’s life that transforms before everyone’s eyes. I’m honored that I got to be part of it in such a way. -BK

09/09/2024

Part I
The most Kentucky proposal story. My friend, Nicky, was preparing for a classic Kentucky day—a day getting all dressed up and heading to a horse racetrack. It was our friend, Alivia’s, birthday, after all. We were to celebrate Alivia with a day of watching the races, taking photos, and being fancy.

Little did Nicky know that the entire day was a ruse. That I was taking photos of everyone, but it was solely to test lighting. That there was a script that our friend group was operating in order to signal the order of events. That everyone there had a role to play in clearing passersby. That Jordon, despite the chill, was sweating bullets because he was about to get down on one knee.

On a Kentucky Saturday, we watched a friend achieve pure joy, and this day will always be one of my favorites. -BK

09/08/2024

Hi there. It’s been too long. The last couple years have been such a whirlwind. I moved to Nashville, started a new job, traveled—well—everywhere, & have been creative in other ways besides my photography or blog.

I haven’t done many photo shoots of late, & when I’ve done them, I haven’t really added them to my page or portfolio. Now that I’m a little more settled in my new city, I’m excited to get back to taking more photos & sharing more stories—two things that bring me immense joy.

Stay tuned for posts for the first time in a long while, & if you want a few creative photos in the Nashville or southern Kentucky area, you know where to find me. -BK

11/24/2022

“Friendsgiving is extremely important in my friend group. We’ve celebrated it for the last eight years.

“Friendsgiving started with a group of college friends and friends of friends in 2015 who wanted to get together to share food and our favorite memories throughout the past year. In 2015, it was a large group of people who would bring a dish they wanted to make and/or was affordable for college students to share. Due to our college student status and that we were not used to catering an event of 15+ people, overbaked goods and raw turkeys were features of the first friendsgiving; however, creative to-go ordering and laughs were shared over this meal and the tradition continued.

“Now, eight years later, the group is smaller as people grew in different directions or moved away, but the food is delicious and edible. The same core group of friends from college have continued coming and sharing their difficulties, triumphs, and perfected recipes. Some of our favorite friendsgiving activities include: playing board games, sharing stories, and playing “mafia” which is a storytelling murder mystery game.

“My favorite friendsgiving memories usually involve taking turns sharing what we are thankful for. Friendsgiving gives us the opportunity to share love and gratitude with each other.”
-Nicky Williams (Bardstown, KY)

11/23/2022

“We all met in law school. It was Mary Elizabeth and I first. We were causal friends 1L year, and then we became really close doing a mock trial competition, mostly because it was us panicking because we had no idea what we were doing. Then honestly we kind of masterminded (lol) our friendship with Morgan. We thought she was so cool, but the summer after 1L year we took a summer class together and we would bring her a sweet tea every day until she was stuck with us.

“Now we all live in different cities; I live in DC, Morgan lives in Louisville, and Mary Elizabeth lives in Austin. It’s has definitely been an adjustment not seeing each other every day, but between the constant FaceTimes, texts, and trips to see each other, it feels like we aren’t any less attached at the hip. There’s nothing like having people who you know will drop anything for a call or to even jump on a plane if you need it. I’m confident that even as things continue to change, that will always be the case.”
-Ellen Hancock (Louisville, KY)

Thanks for following along with Ellen, Morgan, & Mary Elizabeth these last few months! I LOVED doing three different concept shoots with them, and I knew immediately that their friendship was special. If I ever need a lawyer, I know who my first calls will be. -BK

11/23/2022

“I am a County Cooperative Extension Service Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences. As an extension agent, it’s my job to teach underserved audiences (both youth and adults) in physical and mental health, life skills and consumer awareness, individual and family development, income and workforce development, community and economic development, volunteer/leadership development, and more.

“I love that each day I learn something new and experience new challenges. One day I might be leading chair yoga at the senior center, the next day I might be helping preschoolers learn cooking skills, and the day after that I could be helping families with tips on budgeting and personal financial goals. Each day is a new challenge and I feel like what I am doing matters because it helps others.

“I feel good about the work I do, knowing that I have had failures as well as successes. It’s important to embrace failure, learn from it, and do better in the future with what we’ve learned. In addition to learning from mistakes, part of growth is also celebrating successes in your career (and in life) while recognizing that there’s always room to grow.“
-Alivia Faris (Ewing, KY)

11/22/2022

Holiday do-nothing mode activated.

11/09/2022

“I speak five languages: Japanese, Korean, Cantonese (which is a dialect of Chinese), Burmese, and a little bit of Thai. A good friend of ours married a Japanese lady and I just kind of starting diving into it because of her. It turned into a huge passion of mine. I would love to go to all the places where I can speak the languages. To anyone wanting to learn a language, I’d say it’s a lot of determination and self-discipline, but if you have your mind and heart in the right place, you can do it. It can get really difficult, so it’s a lot of telling yourself to not give up. It’s more than worth it.” -Katherine Lone (Indianapolis, IN)

10/30/2022

“I love being creative with photos, especially when I’m able to go out of the box with people. This shoot was *definitely* out of the box. These friends wanted a fun-themed shoot of a cool, retro apartment with attitude. For inspiration, we pictured three twenty-somethings getting ready for their night in a New York high-rise. They don’t care if their neighbors think they’re loud or how much their rent is.

“We ran with that idea and put some records on. We snacked and laughed. The girls did their lipstick and danced around to Fleetwood Mac. I stood on the bed and lied on the floor to get odd angle shots, and I even stretched pantyhose over my lens for a few photos to make them look hazy.

“We had so much fun, which is what photo sessions should be. The end result makes me smile, because why be posed and boring all the time? Like the ladies in these photos remind me, life is too short to be anything but fun.” -BK

10/28/2022

“My dad’s side of the family is white. My mom’s side is fully-Filipino. My grandparents moved here from The Philippines, so I’m second-generation. Growing up, my family never made it a huge deal that I was multiracial, but I did notice when I got older that people do sometimes look at me differently. I was born and raised here as an American, but sometimes people just assume I’m from a random country when they see me. But the thing is, nobody really asks me where I’m from. I get called Hispanic a lot or people guess some countries in Asia, but they rarely get it right. I’m proud of my family heritage.

“Family in Filipino culture is huge. It’s probably one of the most important things. Any kind of get-together is a big party whether it’s a birthday, a wedding, or just a celebration of a promotion at work. Everyone will make traditional dishes for a buffet spread. Spending time together is important, and it creates a cozy feeling because you’re surrounded by people who are all like you. It’s very loud and fun. We laugh until we cry. That has really translated into who I am as a person. My favorite times are when I’m surrounded by my friends or family. Whether we’re having a meal together or just sitting on the couch watching Netflix or celebrating someone’s wedding anniversary, I love being surrounded and having that sense of home.

“Home is wherever my people are. It’s Lebanon, Kentucky because that’s where my mom is. It’s Louisville because that’s where my dad is. It’s my friends when we’re together. It’s my circle.”
-Todd Shellhamer (Lebanon, KY)

10/23/2022

We had wayyyy too much fun with this one.

Bryson Keltner Photography

10/31/2024

09/17/2024

09/09/2024

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11/24/2022

11/23/2022

11/23/2022

11/22/2022

11/09/2022

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