Vendor Spotlight | Karly Jo Photography
/In good times and in bad, it’s impossible to separate marriage from family: bride and bridegroom each approach the altar with their own particular origins, wounds, and strengths as they profess their love and fidelity before their relatives and as they embark on their first day as a new family. All of this transpires before the Tabernacle and the Cross, two realities that unite the entire Church: we, Christ’s sons and daughters, his body on earth.
Since marriage and family, life and love are so interconnected, then, it makes a lot of sense that Karly Schafer’s journey to professional photography was shaped by her own family. Karly’s grandfather taught his son, Karly’s father, the art of taking beautiful and technically skilled photos, and her father taught her, starting when Karly received her first camera from her mom in third grade.
Karly enjoyed photography as a hobby for years, and occasionally second shot at weddings. As she planned her own wedding, photography’s unique strength as a storytelling medium struck her, and as she entered into newlywed life, contemplating what sort of career change might lend itself well to eventual motherhood, Karly made the decision to go back to school and earn a Photography degree. By 2011, her business, Karly Jo Photography, was up and running.
These years of creative awakening were accompanied by a spiritual one. Though she’d been born into the Catholic faith, Karly’s family never practiced much. Following the death of her mother, a deeply prayerful woman, Karly was struck by a desire to make the Church the center of her life and entered RCIA. Five years later, as their family grew, Karly’s husband was received into the Church, as well. Though they’ve shot weddings together here and there, her husband generally cares for their four children as Karly travels throughout her native Wisconsin and beyond for weddings and family portrait sessions. Her intimate, film-like images convey Karly’s photojournalistic style, influenced by subtle direction and a desire to make your story--and your family--known and seen.
From Karly: I consider myself to be primarily a photojournalist. I’m capturing things in the moment, as they unfold, to tell the story of your day. Traditional portraiture is also essential, as formal & artistic portraits are a wonderful tradition which help tell the story of your family through the years.
My clients often become my friends. I love getting to know them and their families, being sure to tell the whole story from their day which includes the people they love most.
Karly Jo Photography has been featured on Green Wedding Shoes, Wisconsin Bride, Pretty My Party, and Northwoods Wedding.
