Who is Kay Ingle?

It’s true, my legal name is Courtney but I named my photography business, Kay Ingle Photography. I have two people that hold a special place in my life, one with the middle name of Kay and the other with a maiden name of Ingle. I thought I should name my business after two people that have such a huge impact in my life.

I photographed my first solo wedding in May of 2008, at a little church in Findlay, Ohio. It was then that I realized I was meant to be a wedding photographer. I love being able to capture all the emotions and the joy in the air on a wedding day in photograph.

The list of things I won’t do in order to capture a real moment in photograph is fairly short. I have been caught climbing on top of my car during a wedding, running around barefoot so no one can hear me approaching, on a roof or hanging out a window, and honestly you will most likely find me on the ground or floor during your session or at your wedding at least once because I think it’s a cool angle.

I graduated in 2010 from Ohio Institute of Photography specializing in Portrait Photography. I am also an active member of W.P.P.I. (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) and P.P.A. (Professional Photographers of America). I also was awarded Bride’s Choice from WeddingWire.com where I hold a 5 out of 5 star rating.

When I returned to my hometown after graduation to work at my grandparent’s pizza restaurant, because those student loans don’t pay themselves, is when I met Lacie Kay Sherman. She had only been working there for a short time and to say we didn’t see eye to eye when we first started working together, would be quite the understatement. Turns out, she is one of the most incredible people I have ever met. I can’t believe how much room I have in my heart for her. I have a love affair with Tank, Lacie’s Jeep Wrangler, where we have shared many memories, including heart to hearts ranging from new loves, break-ups, and sharing our wildest dreams. Throughout the years, we have not only become the best of friends but she has taught me so much about what life is supposed to be, and I am allowed to make mistakes. That I was not only put on this earth to impress other people and pay bills. She came into my life during some of the worst years and not only stuck around to see some of the best years but supported and encouraged me every step of the way.  We share a love for cheap beer and ugly plaid couches, so naturally I would name my photography business after her.

(Side Note: No judging, this picture is from Instagram.  I know you might be thinking,  if her best friend is a photographer, (i.e. me) why wouldn’t she have a professional photo. We are working on it, Lacie is a tough client.)

{Caption: Who is the cute baby that Lacie is holding? Well that is my son, Elliott George when he was almost 6 months old.  Now he is four and still melting my heart almost every day. I tend to capture images of him whenever I can and shamelessly post his sessions, so rest assured you will surely see him grow through the site.}

Growing up in our family pizza restaurant is probably where I get my undying love for pizza. All jokes aside, pizza is my favorite breakfast, my favorite lunch, and my favorite dinner. I love pizza in a car, I love it here and there, and I love it anywhere. I love it on a train, I love it in a box, and of course love it delivered. Growing up in a family owned and operated pizza business most certainly taught me my work ethic as well as my love for pizza, and it explains how my back up plan for life is to launch great reality TV show called, “Hotel California,” featuring my family, Lacie, and the world’s greatest small town pizza shop. For those of you out there that did not grow up inside a family business I cannot fully explain the experience. I can tell you that I have more memories inside those pizza shops than I do in any home. I learned so much about life, business, and that working hard for something is always worth it.

I received my first digital camera at my 15th birthday from my parents; I could tell my mom picked it out because it had a rhinestone for a shutter button. Don’t worry, I have upgraded since, but I do still have it. See, my mom will put rhinestones on anything if it holds still long enough. By anything, I do mean places such as, on the walls in her ½ bath, the rear view mirror in several cars, and of course all electronics. But in all seriousness I got my first photography job based on the pictures I took on that camera – another reason I truly believe the saying, “it’s not the camera, it is the photographer.”

It’s like telling Melissa Ingle-Clough, owner of Frosted, she must have a really great oven that makes her cakes. Trust me it’s not the oven, it’s the baker. I met Melissa during my first full-time year as a wedding photographer in Dayton, Ohio. Fate happened to place our offices across the hall from each other. Melissa is a successful woman entrepreneur, and she continues growing her business while having four kids climbing all over her. She has the drive and determination to achieve anything! She has taught me so much about organization. Without her I might still be running my business on post-it notes. I mean she makes to-do lists that span for the whole week, and they often include items such as “make to do list for someone else.” She has been a great cheerleader in my photography journey as well as my personal life. When based out of Dayton, I used to set up a mini-office on the far counter of her commercial kitchen. While she baked and decorated, we would drink un-imaginable amounts of fountain Diet Coke. I would edit pictures literally all hours of the night and day. Some nights we were just cheering each other on, and some nights we cried. Every night we laughed, and some nights we would trick her husband into making us dinner at 2AM. Throughout all these years, I found she has been one of the most influential people in my life. Not only is she the kind of friend you can be completely real with and tell your craziest ideas, but she is also there to keep me grounded when those ideas need squashed. So in honor of our mutual love for Diet Coke (especially from McDonald’s), I decided to use her maiden name in naming my photography business.

 

{Caption: Note that the fourth kiddo mentioned above was still cooking in the left photograph. The photo to the right is one of my top favorite photographs, to the far left is Melissa Vietor. Take my word for it,  I am the luckiest one in this photograph mainly due to the fact that not everyone can have two best friends named Melissa.}

I have always been a fan of the “to-do” list, like the ones you write on paper with a pencil, so I can cross it off as I get things done. So as my life has changed in several huge ways in the past few years, I thought why not a “to-do” list of goals to do just for no other reason than just for myself. I really challenged myself with some of the items. Up until 2017, my idea of working out was sitting on an exercise ball while editing photographs. One of the goals was to run a 5K. With the help of a few beers and a few great friends, I not only signed up for a 5 mile run (over-achiever, right!), but I showed up, actually completed the race, and was rewarded with a whole pumpkin pie which I ate with a fork on the walk back to the car. As I continued down the list of “to-dos” I found myself on a softball team, CLGSA on Sundays. I found that I love this community of softball players and met the love of my life, Tina during this new adventure. I could hardly stand it but I waited almost an entire year to ask her to be my wife, on the field during the game! We are currently planning our own wedding day coming up in September 2020!

I dream to photograph every type of wedding before the end of my career, or to photograph as many different types of weddings as I can. I have had the honor of photographing several different types of Christian weddings, Muslin wedding, Hindu weddings, Indian weddings, Civil ceremonies, pop-up weddings, courthouse weddings, same sex weddings, transgender weddings, and elopements. I can’t wait to see what else my couples have planned! I love to learn and photograph all the different traditions and cultures of everyone’s big day. Every wedding is unique. I have never seen two weddings the same!

What is in my bag?

GEAR: Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 7D, Canon 70-200mm 2.8, Canon 50mm 1.8, Canon 28mm 1.8, Sigma Art Series 18-35mm 1.8, Portable Flash and an assortment of fun handy things.