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Former UVC Student Turns Photography From Hobby Into a Career

9:43 PM · Feb 4, 2021

Born in Roseburg Kelsey Saracco fell in love with photography as a child and has since made a career out of photographing weddings. After saving her money for years, Kelsey bought her first digital camera when she was only nine years old. “I marveled at how small the world looked through the viewfinder, and at the way pushing the shutter could freeze a moment in time,” Saracco said. “It was exhilarating to me then, and it still is now. What started out as a simple creative outlet started turning into something I was really excited about.” Kelsey attended Umpqua Valley Christian school from kindergarten through her senior year in high school, an education that Kelsey says still plays a role in her life today. Kelsey first began making videos with classmates for school projects, recorded sporting events and assembling them together on the computer. She also started experimenting in taking photos of families she babysat for, family and friends. This led to her wanting to learn how to edit photos herself. “My dad was a web designer at the time and taught me the ins and outs of Photoshop,” Saracco said. “I was hooked.” In High School, Kelsey was committed to the idea of a future in photography. “I documented everything around me and spent hours editing photos after I finished my homework,” Saracco said. “I could not get enough! When I was sixteen, I started taking senior photos for my older sister and her classmates in 2009. That started a snowball effect, and people started hiring me to do “official” photoshoots for them. This continued until I photographed my first wedding at nineteen years old.” Once Kesley started photographing weddings, she was confident it was the career she wanted to pursue. “Each year I continued to shoot more weddings, practice, study new techniques, and perfect my editing,” Saracco said. “It all started when I was nine years old, snapping pictures with my little brick of a digital camera, now I am 28 years old and shooting wedding photography for a living.” As Kelsey reflected back over her educational years, she credits her school and teachers for the formative lessons she received both inside and outside of the classroom. “UVC is extra special because it is a small school environment where teachers partner with parents to raise students up both academically and spiritually,” Saracco said. “I knew that I loved my school environment and cried plenty of tears when I graduated, but I have been surprised continually over the past 10 years to see the seeds planted during my years at UVC continue to produce fruit in my adult life.” “I learned things like most would in school about music, writing, team sports, etc., but the lessons that have stuck with me the most were shared by my teachers when they were “off the clock.” How to navigate conflict, how to forgive, where to turn when I am lost.” Kelsey, who owns Kelsey Raeanne Photography, had to make several changes on the fly in 2020. "I was taught back then how to work together with people (in student leadership) who have different opinions than me and 2020 offered a lot of opportunities to practice that life skill in my personal life as well as my business," Saracco said. "One of my favorite things about working with brides is getting a peek into their lives and what they love!" To find out more about Kelsey’s photography business visit her website at: https://www.kelseyraeannephoto.com/ Photo of Kelsey Saracco, Picture she took at a wedding and Diamond Lake & Mt. Thielsen.