Inspirational Tales
There’s something magical about holding a camera in your hands - the feeling that in a single click, you have the power to freeze time. As a photographer, I’ve come to realise that photography isn’t just about capturing what’s in front of the lens; it’s about telling a story, kindling emotion, and revealing the unseen beauty in everyday moments.
Whether it’s the joyful chaos of a wedding, or the depth in a simple portrait, each photograph becomes a memory, a piece of art, a reflection of life itself. In this blog, I want to take you behind the scenes of what it’s like to see the world through a photographer's eyes - and why every shot is a blend of creativity, emotion, and a little bit of magic.
On September 21st 2024, I spent the afternoon with two beautiful girls - Kasey Campion and Lauren Murtagh in Dunboyne Castle Hotel & Spa. As well as doing a photoshoot, I was blessed to have the opportunity to have a chat with these two rising TikTok stars.
Kasey: I’ve always loved being on video - my parents filmed us constantly growing up, so being around a camera felt natural. I’d post videos to my private story for years, then thought, why not share them online? So I did a little bit of TikTok here and there through college, but obviously I was so busy and when you're in college you still care what everyone thinks. So I said once I finish college, I’ll properly start trying with this thing. I had one viral video which really helped because that gave me a base following of 6,000 to start off with which was great. But even after that I didn't straightaway think that this will be a big thing. So yeah I tipped away for about a year just videos here and there. I got no views, no engagement like maybe 100 to 200 views. But then January last year 2023, I was like right I want to take this seriously now posting all the time and then I started going live on TikTok and then I just grew overtime and now it's just gone a bit mad. Now, I post 3-4 times a day, and it’s really taken off. I absolutely love it!
Lauren: The way I got into it was I wouldn't say an accident necessarily. But I put up a video and it got so many views that I got my base following of 6,000. And then Kasey was going live so I thought sure I will start going live too. Then next thing I had 10,000 followers. I then was like I may as well start posting, I had no videos up and there's 10,000 followers there so I had nothing to lose! I wasn't posting regularly, I was just posting here and there, I didn't really care anyways of what people thought. At the time, I didn't have a great friendship group and they weren't very supportive of my TikTok endeavour. When I hit 20,000, someone told me that my engagement was really good and she encouraged me to start posting every day. Since then, I have posted every single day, which is coming up to a year now. It's grand, I enjoy it, I like it, just tipping away.
Kasey & Lauren: I know everybody says and this it's easier than done. You just have to not care what anyone else thinks. Anyone that's hating or slagging on you or giving you a hard time over trying to do social media, is 1) jealous or 2) they can't do it themselves. Anyone that is successful or happy won’t criticise other successful people. Anyone can do it. Post stuff that you like posting and if you enjoy watching a get ready with me or a story time, do that don't force yourself to do something that you're not necessarily interested in.
Kasey: As well as doing social media and content creation, I also work for a radio station. So, my dream would be to be a radio presenter, that's definitely somewhere I would like to go. And then even further down the line, I feel like a lot of radio people move onto TV so I could definitely see that at some point in my life. For now, just continue creating content and seeing where I can go with that.
Lauren: I hope to take my music career more seriously. I only do events and pubs, I'd love to start putting out my own music and seeing where it takes me. I'm thinking that when I hit 50,000 followers I will put up a video of me singing one of my originals. Someone reached out to me asking if I wanted to record a particular song, I'm considering it I'll see what the vibes are and see if it gets any attraction, it’s worth a shot. Everyone has to start somewhere. All of us TikTokers started at zero - literally anyone can do it.
Kasey: My favourite part is meeting so many people, though I still can’t believe it - I have the worst imposter syndrome. On nights out, we’ll meet at least 50 girls, and at events like Electric Picnic, the kindness is overwhelming. We get messages saying things like, "You make my day better" or "You’re so funny”, which is hard to believe sometimes because I don't believe them about myself. Younger girls look up to us, and I’d like to think we’re good influences. Honestly, I’ve always said I’d be in media - whether it be TV, radio, or content creation. I used to dream of being the next Katy Perry but then as I got older I was like I don't think I'm going to be a famous singer!
Lauren: We often get messages from moms saying their daughters love our videos. Recently, a mother thanked me for being kind to her daughter at an event, and the daughter joined the live, amazed I remembered her. We also get to meet a lot of people who are in the same industry and everyone is genuinely so so kind. Similar to Kasey, I've always said I wanted to be famous and maybe someday. I post videos and I enjoy posting them and then if the following grows and grows then happy days, it’s a bonus.Both girls agreed, that if they had even 200 followers, they’d still be posting.
Kasey: When I was younger I always watched Ellie Kelly, Keilidh MUA and Charleen Murphy. I feel like they started influencing off. The whole of Covid, I loved Charleen and I still do. In the social media world, they are the ones I aspired to be like. I always want to do better, I don't like comparing myself to others, thinking I need to be as good as them. Everything I do, I am so happy & so proud of, and I want to keep doing better for myself.
Lauren: I’m kinda just doing my own thing. But my Grandad has always inspired me. What I always admired about my grandad, he was always really positive about everything. So I suppose anytime I am being negative, I’m like hold on, Grandad was always always positive about everything and he was always really really nice, so I tried to be inspired by that because he lived in life happy little life and that's what I want to do.
In conclusion, meeting both Kasey & Lauren was a huge eye-opener for me. Celebrating young women in business, and encouraging & supporting one another is so important. As an entrepreneur myself, I could relate to these girls so much. Their enthusiasm and positive outlook on their careers, and even just life in general, was infectious. Girls, yous are a credit to yourselves. I hope this blog can encourage other people of any age to just go for it. See below some of our favourites moments from our photoshoot in Dunboyne Castle Hotel & Spa!
Your friend, Grace x
