Michael and I started dating when we were 15 and 17! We're high school sweethearts! He asked me out one night after choir practice at church. He dropped me off at my house and then told me to get online. Yep. 8 years of dating started through an AIM chat!! I STILL give him a hard time about that. I'm happy to say that his anniversaries have only gotten better with time!

just babies!

Not only are Michael and I high school sweethearts, we've also known each other for our WHOLE lives! We met when we were toddlers and our families have been great friends for over two decades. We honestly don't know what life is like without one another. After dating for 8 years, we were married on 10-10-10 at our home church in Sparta, Virginia. We celebrated and danced the night away with family and friends under a tent in my family's backyard! Best. Day. Ever.

married

In 2012 we decided that it was time to grow our little family... so naturally, we got a puppy! Bokeh boy entered our world and life would never be the same! This apricot colored Bichpoo brings SUCH joy to our life and he'll always be our first baby!

bokeh boy

I started this business in 2008 when I was a Junior in college. I always loved graphic design and after an internship, I realized that I wanted to work for myself and Katelyn James Photography was born! I worked on the business full time and went to school full time until I graduated in 2010 with a degree in Communications! When I graduated, the business was so well-established that I didn't send out any resumes! I continued growing KJP instead

started

Michael and I photograph anywhere from 25-35 weddings annually but that's not our only role in the industry. We absolutely LOVE equipping and educating other photographers through monthly one-on-one coaching sessions, speaking engagements and in-home workshops! The amount of friends we have made through teaching is just incredible and I'm so thankful for this part of our business! 

teaching

Right after we were married, Michael took a job as a high school youth pastor in Richmond, Virginia. We moved to "Short Pump" and fell in love with the area, the people and our new church family. After two years of attempting to coordinate two completely opposite schedules and trying to manage a business that was exploding on my own, we decided to start praying about whether or not God wanted us to become a husband/wife team. It was such a hard decision, but we knew this was our next step. Michael joined KJP officially at the beginning of 2013 and we have LOVED this season of life as business partners!

joins KJP

As we’ve continued to grow the educational side of our business online, we have realized that truly nothing can replace the joy that we experience when we open our home to photographers and teach in-person workshops!! In December of 2014, we found land that we knew was our dream lot! After a lot of hurdles to jump over, we purchased that land in August of 2015 and In the Spring of 2016, we broke ground on our forever home out in the country! We custom designed this house to be a home that was made for hosting! We specifically designed the kitchen and living spaces with photography workshops in mind! Building a house makes for an exciting year...

a house

.... but we quickly found our that our 2016 was just getting started! In the early summer of 2016, we found out that we were PREGNANT with a baby girl! Everly James Alsop was born in February of 2017 and our lives changed forever! Michael can’t help but tear up at every daddy/daughter dance and I can’t help but think about how I would want Evy’s wedding day captured while I’m photographing for our KJ Couples. Having a baby changes every aspect of your life but what I didn’t expect is for it to change our business for the better! Evy has given such a beautiful new perspective on life and we are so in love with her!

 had a baby!