The7 Feature: Jacklyn Uy of JackKayePhoto

If you read Maan's Pregnancy post, the beautiful photos from her maternity shoot (full set here!) were done by our featured personality today - photographer Jacklyn Kaye Uy. Here, we ask her 7 questions about her newly branded lifestyle photography (and her gorgeous Instagram feed!)

1) Tell us a little about yourself

I’m Jacklyn Kaye Uy and I am a family lifestyle photographer.

2) How and when did you get started in photography?

I took up photography for the worst possible reason, a boy. He told me I “had an eye” for it. I’ve since kept on working to improve my photography but I dropped the boy a long time ago.

3) You started with commercial photography, when and why did you decide to focus on lifestyle photography and how has the transition been like?

A lot easier than I expected. I love fashion photography, you get to experiment and be creative. And I bring a lot of my experience there into my work now.

4) We love how your photos have a certain aesthetic. Describe your brand of lifestyle photography.

I’ve definitely been influenced by my commercial work. While I’m shooting I have a tendency to think about how the photos would look if they were all laid out together in a magazine or something.

But also, since I have been fortunate enough to have lots of opportunities to travel, that’s become a big part of my style as well. One of the best (and most poetic) compliments I’ve ever received from a client was: “the moments and angles you captured could have easily slipped through the cracks of time and memory. You’ve given us such irreplaceable treasures.”

I’m not sure I’m worthy of such high praise but capturing that feeling is all I am looking for. In the end, I want to give families beautiful images of their real lives. A moment of genuine connection and love. My favorite photos are always when the laugh or kiss or quiet moment they’re having is real.

5) What are your favorite subjects to photograph?

Mommies! I believe there’s something beautiful in every woman. But moms sacrifice so much for their families. Your body completely changes while you’re pregnant and then afterwards you barely get any sleep because you have to take care of everyone else (with dad’s help, of course). It’s easy to forget to take care of yourself. I hope I can somehow make mom feel as beautiful as she is, whether it’s by getting all glammed up and making her feel like a fashion model or by capturing her love for her little one which is just (insert heart eyes emoji here haha).

6) We love your Instagram feed! Any tips for us non-professional photographers on how to make our photos and feed look good?

This is where thinking of photos like they were laid out in a magazine comes in handy. When I work on my images I already know which ones I want to showcase and which ones go together. I like to think of my Instagram feed as if it were a landing page in a website. All the images that you can see together at a glance should go together or tell a story. Although, I admit this is easier said than done. Often, I just go running to my sister (blogger extraordinaire Kryz Uy) in frustration and ask her to “fix it” for me.

7) What advice would you give someone who wants to get into photography seriously?

Practice and be patient. I joked earlier that someone said I had an “eye” for photography but looking back at old photos I have no idea what they were talking about, because seriously, I am horrified by what I thought was “good” back then. But I shot every day, literally, every day. I took endless pictures of my family and when they were sick of me I took pictures of my coffee cup or my desk. Eventually, I figured out what I liked and just kept working on that.