Kelly Yu: You Geaux Girl

MEET TEEN ENTREPRENEUR KELLY YU, a senior at Lusher Charter School who started her own business as a photographer, videographer and social media consultant when she was fifteen.

Age: 17

BE ADVICE EVER RECEIVED:

“Chase the lion.” (The lion represents your life’s biggest, most daunting passions. You’re supposed to chase the lion, not run from it.)

PERSONAL MOTTO:

“Live in the present.” (It’s really easy to get caught up in always trying to do more… I need to be reminded to stop capturing memories sometimes and instead live in them. Life is also about spending weekends with friends, consuming bags of Takis at an alarming rate, and binge-watching The Office for the third time.)

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?

I’d love to say that I’ve had a camera glued to my hand since I was a kid, but I didn’t develop an interest in photography and videography until my first year of high school. My school offers a four-year concentration in Media Arts, so I decided to try it out. I fell in love with the ability to capture a moment or memory. I used to be really shy and found it hard to talk to people, but using a camera really helped me express myself.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BECOME A “CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR”?

In 2016, Kev Sikorski, a famous Instagram photographer I had been following for a while, posted that he would be in New Orleans shooting the NBA All-Star Game and wanted to collaborate with locals. I met up with him and we spent the afternoon taking photos—sneaking onto hotel rooftops and dodging cars and people to get the perfect shot. I realized how fun photography can be. I’ve also been inspired by the stunningly beautiful work of filmmakers like Sam Kolder, Casey Neistat, and Matt Komo. I started out by asking my classmates to model for me and did photo shoots just about every week to get better. One day, I took photos of a friend in front of Piccola Gelateria and the owner asked me to share the photos with him for their Instagram. It hit me that there’s a need for non-traditional, affordable content creators who understand social media, so I pitched myself and ended up becoming their creative director.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR COOLEST GIG YET?

A photo/video campaign for the restaurant review site Zagat! They sent me to 15 New Orleans fine dining restaurants and my job was to shoot the food, eat the food, and conduct food reviews. I went to every restaurant with a different group of friends. Having a five-star restaurant chef serve me an eight-course meal with the restaurant entirely to myself was incredible.

WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSONS YOU HAVE LEARNED AS AN ENTREPRENEUR?

Realizing that I can’t and shouldn’t do it all on my own was life-changing. Whether it was talking to the people over at Junior Achievement, asking for loans from my parents, or getting advice from my teachers, I wouldn’t be where I am without the help of others.

Kelly Yu

Kelly recently created a film for the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation’s 18 in ’18 art competition that will debut on October 18th. Split into five parts – Uptown, Garden District, City Park, Downtown, and French Quarter – it lets each of the 18 teen finalists share their story and their New Orleans.

Photos by Kelly Yu | @itskelieephoto | keliee.com