Today’s the day! Finally, after more than six months of blood, sweat, and tears, my new website (Kara’s Version) goes live into the world 😅🙈 Big launches like this terrify me because there are sooo many details that can go wrong. But before you go any further, for the very best viewing experience, I’m asking that you please wait to check out the new site until you’re at a desktop or laptop computer 🖥️💕 If you’re on a computer right now, amazing! Keep reading!

The last time I updated my website was in 2020, with the rebrand and design process starting before the pandemic even hit. That website (and the work displayed on it) has long since felt like a distant past version of myself. Every time somebody would compliment my website, I would cringe a little bit, thinking “I don’t even recognize the person who wrote or designed that thing.” So much has changed in my life since then. Big life changes, yes, but also small changes that have pushed me and softened me, little by little at times and then sometimes all at once. 

As I changed internally and personally, I also changed as an artist. As I softened into my thirties, my art softened as well. Quieter moments captured, less harsh editing applied. I felt more confident in my art and so much more connected to it. The more I accepted my own emotions as strengths instead of weaknesses, the more I allowed myself to bask in the emotions of your stories, immersing myself in your relationships and creating photos that felt the way your love felt.

When I started this website back at the beginning of this year (my “just a few updates” project), I decided I wanted to be the person to write the copy and design the pages. I wanted to decide how prospective clients would feel when they arrived at karamccurdy.com. I didn’t connect to this girlboss version of myself that was being portrayed through my website, and it wasn’t representative of how I ran my business anymore. Behind the scenes, I was slowing down and becoming more intentional, but my online presence showed me hustling and meticulously calculating my next move. Offline, I was feeling more connected to the quieter, softer parts of myself. The parts of myself that felt like they’d always been there, the way my artistry had always been there, as far back as my sixth birthday when I was gifted my first film camera and empty diary, both begging to be swallowed whole by the little glimmers of creativity that were just beginning to take root back then. Online, there was a focus on having the most beautiful, extravagant wedding day. In real life, I was more concerned with being present in my relationships, being blissfully and recklessly in love with life, and romanticizing everything. The glittery, childlike, girly silliness that I’d been told was weak was actually what made me me, it made life beautiful and worth living, and it was deeply enmeshed in my artwork. Actually… a lot of feelings I had were deeply enmeshed in my artwork, whether I realized it or not. I watched those feelings spill over into my professional work. And you know what?

The work got more enjoyable. I started showing up more like myself. Work felt less like getting the perfect shot for instagram and more like capturing the perfect photo by way of giving my couples space to experience perfect memories, in real time, not for the hope of some future digital validation. My photo shoots became less about standing and smiling at the camera, and more about being fully present with the people you love. My clients became people who were investing in experiences, not just final products. They understood that the beauty of life is that it really is about the journey. I had never felt so connected to my artwork.

To me, it finally made perfect sense. After all, that was the way I’d been focused on living my own life, and doesn’t art imitate life at least sometimes? In the end, it all melted together to create this living, breathing, very gigantic website where I can showcase all the pretty photos I take, sure, but more importantly I get to showcase all of your stories through my eyes, my emotions, my artwork.

I’ll certainly be tweaking the new website in the months to come, but for now, I love this silly little online journal I’ve built. I hope you see it and know you have a safe place to experience life with your loved ones in front of my lens 🫶🏼

Visit the homepage (kara’s version)