About Kaylie

My boyfriend (now husband 🥲) kept telling me I’d be a photographer someday — but I didn’t believe him. That didn’t seem like a real career… right?

But I couldn’t put my camera down. So I started photographing anything and everything: portraits, brands, bands, families, events — whatever I could get my hands on. I was hooked.

Charleston was smaller back then, and word of mouth traveled fast. I built a name, a portfolio, and a growing list of people who trusted me with their memories.

All while being a full-time college student, working two restaurant jobs, and commuting nearly an hour to everything.
But something wild started happening: the more I created, the more myself I became. The fog started lifting.

And this? This was only the beginning.

towards the end of 2018, something shifted...

I figured, “Why not? What’s the worst that could happen?” Word of mouth had gotten me pretty far, but I knew I needed more eyes on my work.

Then 2020 hit… and so did my first viral Reel.
And from there? It snowballed. In just six months, I hit 10k followers, booked workshops and content days across the U.S., and finally found my groove.

For the first time ever, I could say:
“This is it. This is what I want to do with my life.”
Photography wasn’t just a hobby anymore. It was my career. And I was officially my own boss.

In 2019, I posted my first Instagram to grow my photo business — and had no clue what I was doing.

The late nights, the drained savings, the “am I crazy for chasing this?” moments — it all started paying off.

I was booking weddings and sessions across the U.S., living out dreams that had been renting space in my head for years.
My heart felt free. My creativity was on fire.
And I documented all of it — the wins, the flops, the rants on the way home, the random business experiments. I brought my community along for every step.

That transparency built a deeply loyal audience. And soon, my DMs were full of photographers asking, “How’d you actually make this work?”

That’s when something started to shift… again.

2021 changed everything...

I mentored a total of 15 amazing photographers in just a 7 month time frame & realized that everything I did didn't just work for me... it was doing WONDERS for other people too!!

My DM's were flooding with other business owners wanting to learn how to grow their brands & once again, that kinda took off.

I was helping photographers grow with everything from doubling their pricing, generating more inquiries, booking out their calendars a year in advance, using Pinterest to market, how to create a convertible website, you freaking name it!!

After getting a lot of positive & helpful feedback, I realized "wait a minute, I think I can do something with this!!" And that's when...

I started offering 1:1 mentorships for photographers

I’d just moved across the country and knew it was time to start something new. Something bigger than me.

This wasn’t your typical “I got rich overnight” business story. It was me vs. me.
Finding entrepreneurship in 2018 didn’t just give me a career — it gave me myself. It was the thing that pulled me out of depression and helped me feel safe, expressive, and finally… in control of my life.

Elevated Education was built for that version of me.

And for the version of you who’s ready to build more than a business — but a life that actually feels like yours.

I started elevated education co in 2022