I never liked being told what to do, so I REBELLED!
As a teenager I was told, “Fix your hair, it’s too curly, too messy.” I REBELLED! I dressed in bright colors and wore fun fashionable clothing. Some people were turned on by my personality and others were not. I didn’t care. I attracted the people who got my vibe and who wanted to know me.
Born and raised by my mother as a latch-key kid, I learned to entertain myself. My Mom had art supplies, fashion, and home decor magazines laying around the house. I spent my time looking at photographs in magazines, reading, and creating. Magazine photography shaped my impression of how people should look, and I became somewhat of a perfectionist about my personal appearance. It was no surprise that I decided to go to cosmetology school and become a hair designer.Â
As a hair designer, I could create the images I saw in the magazines, but after 10 years, I grew tired of hair design and wanted more creativity in my life, so I decided to shift course and attend art school.
Shortly after graduating from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, I came to a revelation. Reflecting on the past, I was focused on a photograph I had made of my grandmother. I observed the deep wrinkles embedded in her skin. I thought about the pain she had been through. I felt a deep appreciation for who she was as a widow, a mother, and caretaker of a critically ill adult son. My grandmother radiated wisdom and perseverance. It was then that I realized, beauty is not what’s on the surface. It lies deep within, at the heart of who we are.Â
After graduation, I freelanced as a commercial assistant working with professional photographers creating pictures for businesses like Froedtert Hospital and Harley Davidson. We often worked with advertising agencies who oversaw our work with a meticulous eye. I enjoyed freelancing and also worked on my own, photographing children and weddings.Â
I found myself wanting more and more to draw out people's inner nature. My passion is to discover and project the beauty that lies deep with in a person's heart. This became the founding principle of Stacy Kaat Photography.
What if others could see and feel that confidence, that wisdom, that perseverance that lies within you? What if you could better attract the people who just naturally get your vibe? What if you could be the REBEL you were born to be? My greatest gift is my ability to help you do that!
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