Dennis Kelly’s interest in photography began at a very young age when his parents gave him black-and-white developing kit as a Christmas gift. He can remember setting up a makeshift darkroom in the basement and watching his first image magically appear in the tray of developer under the dim glow of a yellow safelight. Together with his father, they built a photo enlarger from pieces and bits they found at a surplus store, and Kelly would collect soda bottles and sell water ice to earn money to buy chemicals, paper and film. His darkroom consisted of an old blanket hung from the rafters in the corner of their basement. His love for photography followed him into high school and college, where he did photography for the school newspaper and yearbooks. He got a job at a local studio near his house, sweeping floors, working in the darkroom, assisting anywhere he could, and in the process sucking up knowledge like a vacuum cleaner.
His passion coupled joyously with his love of people. He shot his first wedding photo at the age of 17; soon, he focused his interest exclusively in portraiture. Kelly’s art prints include palm trees, sunsets, tropical beach scenes, flowers, and many more. He’s been obsessed with learning techniques to make people look their best, and to dig deeper and try to create portraits that capture individual’s unique personally. Kelly believes that photographs have the ability to touch people’s lives in powerful ways. The thing he loves most about his career as a photographer is being able to bring pride, comfort, happiness, and joy into the lives of the clients.
