JP Portrait Studio marks 20 years behind the camera

John Kelly’s first major decision as the new owner of a camera store was apparently going to be firing Poppy.

It did not go according to plan.

The two had both worked at Kit’s Cameras in the East Wenatchee mall, owned by John’s parents. John left the valley for college and graduate school. Poppy left for the Army. By 1998, both had returned and found themselves working together, with Poppy managing the store and John working mostly evenings.

They did not immediately discover they were soulmates.

“We butted heads, a lot,” the couple recalled.

When Kit’s Cameras was purchased by Wolf Camera and the Kelly family decided to sell its franchise store, John took over Jan. 1, 1999, renaming it The Camera Shop and 1 Hour Photo.

At a family dinner, he proudly announced his first order of business: “I am going to fire Poppy!”

His mother objected, telling John that Poppy was an asset to the store. John listened.

Twenty-seven years later, John and Poppy Kelly are still working together. Somewhere along the way, they became friends, then best friends, then husband and wife. In 2005, they closed the retail business and committed themselves full-time to the venture that this year marks its 20th anniversary: JP Portrait Studio.

The transition came during a period when nearly everything about photography was changing.

Big-box retailers and the internet were squeezing the camera shop’s sales and photofinishing business. With both working full-time at the store, they began looking for ways to diversify.

At a 2001 trade show, they found a portrait system that projected slide backgrounds onto a reflective screen. They bought it and began taking professional portraits at The Camera Shop in 2002.

Digital photography was emerging, but they weren’t ready to abandon film immediately.

“We continued to use film until we could print a 20x30 portrait and not be able to tell that it was digital,” they said.

Within a few years, they realized professional photography could support them. They made what they remember as an “incredibly difficult and scary decision” to close the store and open JP Portrait Studio in their home.

The business they entered in 2005 would hardly remain static.

Cameras, lenses, lighting and editing software improved. Smartphones put capable cameras into nearly everyone’s pocket, while social media changed how photographs were shared and what people wanted photographed.

For the Kellys, those advances have been tools rather than threats.

“The advancements in technology for photography ... have allowed us to raise the bar on the final portraits we deliver to our clients,” they said. “We love being photographers in the 21st century!”

The work itself has changed, too. Professional high school senior portraits were once a larger part of the market. JP Portrait Studio still photographs seniors, families, weddings and events, while commercial branding and headshots have become an important part of the business.

And then there are the animals.

Pet portraits have grown into an increasingly important specialty over the past three years, and eventually, the Kellys expect it to become their entire business.

“We get tons of dog and cat time and love, that’s the best perk of the job!” they said.

While the subjects and technology have changed, the foundation of the business goes back to lessons they learned behind the counter at Kit’s Cameras: sales and customer service.

JP Portrait Studio’s motto is “Enjoy the Experience, Love the Results!” The Kellys say making people comfortable in front of the camera is inseparable from the finished portrait.

“When people look at their portraits, the feelings tied to those moments are intertwined together,” they said.

The division of labor has evolved as well. Today, Poppy handles bookkeeping and marketing and generally works as a second photographer at events and weddings. John serves as principal photographer and editor.

Their ability to spend their working and personal lives together, they said, has been central to keeping the business going.

“Doing all of this together, as best friends first and married business owners second, makes a lot of our work not feel so much like work, but hanging out together, and having fun,” they said.

They rarely disagree.

“Almost like we are one person in two bodies,” they said. “We know that it’s a little odd and we are incredibly lucky to have each other. ... We are a team in all aspects of our life.”

The most difficult period for JP Portrait Studio was the beginning. Both had experience taking portraits, but not the established portfolio potential customers wanted to see. Building one took time.

Twenty years later, they have considerably more than a portfolio.

The Kellys have photographed weddings and graduations, families and pets, businesses and community events. They have won awards and seen their photography published, but when asked about accomplishments that matter most, they point to giving back.

They regularly discount their work for nonprofit events and donate to fundraising auctions. One favorite assignment was photographing the all-female band Hells Belles for the Cancer Sucks! event in 2011.

“We’ve won awards and we’ve been published but that pales in comparison to the satisfaction we feel of giving back to the community that has given us so much over the years,” they said.

Looking back across two decades now means looking through thousands of other people’s moments.

“It’s a little mind blowing to scroll through the years of galleries of moments and memories that we’ve captured over the years,” they said.

The cameras are different. The darkroom and one-hour photo counter are gone. The kinds of photographs people want have changed, along with the ways they keep and share them.

But John and Poppy Kelly are still doing essentially what they learned to do together all those years ago in a mall camera store: helping people hold onto something they care about.

And, despite John’s original plans, Poppy still has the job.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media