Signal Mountain resident Kim Livingood, who specializes in family photography, is donating a portion of her proceeds to MEF if customers mention the organization.If customers mention Mountain Education Foundation before a shoot, Signal Mountain residents Kim and Kevin Livingood are now giving a portion of their proceeds from Livingood Photography to MEF.
The Livingoods have offered their services to a number of charitable organizations aside from MEF, such as the Tennessee River Gorge Trust, Jack’s Chattanoggins and Neema Resettlement Taking Root Community Garden.
Kim Livingood, who specializes in family photography, has several fall mini-sessions planned. Locations include private properties on Signal Mountain, such as the home of John and Lynn Anderson, as well as at Tennessee River Place and the “space house,” among other places in Chattanooga.
The session at the Anderson property was booked within three hours, Kim Livingood said.
“I’m always scoping out different places,” she said, adding that she wants to break out of the usual spots for photo shoots in Chattanooga, such as Coolidge Park.
What sets her photography apart is the quality and her attention to detail, she said.
“We edit until it has to be just right,” said Kim Livingood, who spends five minutes to three hours editing a single photo.
She said she also recognizes good lighting.
“Every situation you walk into, you’re going to have to adapt,” said Kim Livingood, who does most of her shooting outdoors, sometimes with an off-camera flash.
She said it is also essential to know how to adjust someone in posing, which is one of her specialties.
“I can recognize body types and know flattering ways to pose the body,” she said.
Kevin Livingood continues to work full time and started doing photography as a hobby. His wife started to assist him on shoots, and as they were asked to do more weddings and senior photos, they decided to turn their hobby into a business. Kim Livingood, who grew up on Signal Mountain, said family photography suits her because she loves to see the interaction within a family.
“I love capturing the happiness and the closeness, or sometimes the pouty faces,” she said.