Incredible Woman #51 - Kay Kanter. The Future, and Beauty Secrets...

KARA: "Where do you see yourself in the future – 10 years, 20 years, 30 years? Tell us some of your short and long-term goals."

KAY: "My goals… hmm. Yes, I set goals for everything. Goals are the key to success. When I set my mind to it, I can achieve it. My parents always told me that I have always reached my goals. I have a plan in my head and I keep going, until I reach it. My short term goal is the same one, in my house, every day. We start our day happy and end our day happy. There is no fighting or screaming in our house in the morning. That just starts everyone’s day off grumpy. And we go to sleep happy. I want my kids to remember that our home was happy. “Happiness is a journey, not a destination.”

I have goals for my photography business. My first and foremost goal is: as a business woman, I insist on keeping the gospel in mind when making all of my decisions. Shortcuts are not my way of business. Compared to some businesses, my shop is little. I am winning over big clients, even though my business is new and small. I give amazing customer service and stand by my word. I don’t get a lot of sleep (haha). I keep my deadlines. I work hard to make my clients happy. I have more than exceeded my goals for this year with my business, because of my success and clientele.

Long term goals are just as important. I must maintain my family life and business life. In order to be completely successful, I must be sure to keep my business life and home life, separate. I must nurture both and not ignore either. I must remember to be humble and grateful for all of my blessings. Family must come first."

KARA: "Share your beauty secrets with us! What makes you feel happy and healthy?"

KAY: "Beauty? Hmmm, beauty comes from within! As a pro-photog, I can absolutely agree with that. You can be the most stunning woman in the room, but if you are ugly inside, you will be standing all alone. I have a pretty heart. I try hard to be a good person. I think, there is a fine line between being self confident and being vain. In order to be confident, you must not doubt your actions. If you are not a liar, you will always remember what you say. It is funny how, now that I am pushing mid forties, all of a sudden “outside beauty doesn’t matter”. Hahaha, that cracks me up. I cut off my long hair to make my mom a wig, when she was going through chemo. It’s growing back now. I still love my super long eye lash extensions!"

Wow! What a wonderful week here on Incredible Women! I loved interviewing Kay. I hope you enjoyed the interview, too. Thanks, Kay!!! I'm crossing my fingers that someday I'll be able to meet Kay in person. ;-) This interview will be posted in it's entirety through Sunday. Spread the word to everyone you know about Incredible Women - I'd love to share all these women with lots of people out there. Have a great weekend!

Incredible Woman #51 - Kay Kanter. Charity work, and Family fun...

KARA: "You are very much into charity work. Tell us about what you are working on."

KAY: "My passion is my charity work. I am one of the volunteer photographers
that works with Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep.


This is a world wide program. I get calls from the hospitals when a baby dies or is near death. I rush to the hospital to take portraits of the babies and their parents. I come back and make them beautiful, put them together as a slide show, and give them to the family, free of charge. The families are very grateful. I often am asked to go to the baby's funeral, also. My goal is to take care of the family without crying in front of them. I usually sit in the parking lot to cry for a few minutes before I leave them. It is a sad thing, but they are so very thankful. The slide shows come out beautiful. Then they will have images and not only memories of their precious baby forever.



My other charity is my own creation. It is called For My Mama a Cancer
Photography Project.

I created this program in honor of my mom. She was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. I couldn't imagine, not being able to remember her face, if she was to pass. I have been interviewed on several TV stations for this program.

I offer to do a photo shoot for the cancer patient and their family, for free, and I give them an 8x10. I am working on my non-profit license for this program. I have had such a great response from Huntsman Cancer Center and other medical facilities in
Colorado. It makes me feel good to help."

Boy, I really wish Kay had been there while I was going through cancer to make me look pretty! What a wonderful thing to do for cancer patients. I hope we can all take a page out of Kay's book of service, and find something we can do to help someone in need.



KARA: "Your greatest passion is your family. Describe some of your favorite memories of your family. What do you like to do together?"

KAY: "I love my little family. We start every morning the same way. Right before our alarm goes off, my son and daughter wake me up. (I am not sure why they don’t wake up daddy, but it is a nice way to start the day.) Everyone climbs into our bed. We snuggle and talk. It is so peaceful."

Tomorrow is the last day of Kay's interview. Please join us as she shares her goals, and her beauty secrets with us.

Incredible Woman #51 - Kay Kanter. Trials, and Photography...

KARA: "Tell us about some of the trials you’ve faced throughout your life. How did you overcome those trials and what kinds of lessons have your learned?"

KAY: "Life is always full of trials. Mine was several years ago, when the jeep I was driving, was run over by a semi-truck. I was sitting at a red light and he didn’t stop for the light. My jeep was crushed around me. I remember opening my eyes and looking at the stars. That’s because the roof of my jeep was torn right off! This accident made me blind. Most people, who know me as a professional photographer, don’t know that I used to be blind. I was a student at the school for the blind in Denver. I used to use a white cane. During all of the medical testing, my docs found that I had a tumor in my brain. Shortly after, I had brain surgery to extract the tumor, my vision came back. It was awesome! I was blind for almost a year. When my vision came back, all of my other senses went crazy. I could smell and taste everything. During this test, I never questioned my faith. Even though I couldn’t see with my eyes, I never saw more clearly with my faith. I am truly grateful for my vision (with my heart) and my vision (with my eyes). "Walk by faith, not by sight."

KARA: "You’ve told me that you have your own photography business. I’m IN LOVE with photography. I’d love to learn more. Tell us about your business – what kinds of photography do you do? What is your all time favorite photo you’ve ever taken?"

KAY: "Yep, I am a business owner/photographer. It has been an amazing ride. My business www.kaykanterphotography.com has grown so big that I have just recently moved into a super cool studio in downtown Salt Lake City. I am commissioned to travel nationally to shoot. I accept most bookings for family portraits, weddings, senior grads, models & actors, commercial and special events. Like any mommy, I love taking images of my children. My children are naturals in front of my camera. They have both been hired in other states for modeling work. What really makes me excited is when I shoot portraits for people and they are so moved when they see them, they cry. Now that is what it is all about. I also, make it a point to give back to our community. I offer to help people who want exposure as a model. I get their images out in front of my commercial clients and potential clients. I try to get them hired as models. It is hard to get into the industry. I have the means; it makes me happy to help. Sometimes people just need a little bit of help getting in the door."


Kay kindly sent me some of her photographs to share with you. If you have time, please visit her website, and sit for a few minutes and enjoy the wonderful slideshows and music...

Incredible Woman #51 - Kay Kanter. Motorcycles and College...

KARA: "You met your husband because of motorcycles! Tell us about that – do you ride your own bike? Do you go on the cool rides, where hundreds of people on motorcycles travel together? You described your husband as “the man of my dreams”. Wow! Do tell!"

KAY: "When my husband and I went on our first date, he asked if I would ride with him on his motorcycle. I had my own motorcycle and never rode with anyone. I agreed to ride with him though. I wanted to sit closer to him, (giggle). He tapped my hands, that I had wrapped around him and told me to hold on tight. He popped a wheelie and we rode it for several blocks. I knew right then that I was going to marry him and spend the rest of my life with him! Yes, we orchestrate very cool rides to raise money for cancer charities. My husband runs the BMW of North Salt Lake motorcycle shop. Both of our mothers had breast cancer, so have a big Ride For The Cure, every year. My husband is the man that I always dreamed about. He is funny, exciting, loving, caring, supportive, an amazing daddy; what more can a girl ask for. I am one lucky gal."

KARA: "You have a BS from Cornell University in Human Services. Tell us how you’ve used that degree – what kinds of jobs have you had? How has your degree helped your throughout your life?"

KAY: "My degree from Cornell University was in Human Services. And now I own my own photography business…hmmm. Before I became a mommy, I used to work in the judicial system. Right out of college, I was hired to work for Mayor Wellington Webb in Denver, Colorado. I worked in the Safe City Office with juveniles, police officers and the judicial system. As I grew to love the judicial system, I worked my way up to the criminal courts; assisting judges in the courtrooms. Having a degree from an Ivy League school helped me get my foot in many doors. Cornell was a very challenging school. Living in New York was a challenge, too. I loved it."

Tomorrow Kay will share some of the things she's learned from trials, and also all about her photography business. I can't wait! See you then...

Incredible Woman #51 - Kay Kanter. Self and Family...

Welcome back to Incredible Women. This week, I'm excited to introduce a truly Incredible Woman - Kay Kanter. Kay was nominated by one of our previous IW - Ginger Johnson. I've have fun getting to know Kay through the interview, and her amazing photography website. (I'm still trying to track down a picture of Kay - I'll add one later.) Let's started this interview...

KARA: "Describe yourself. What makes you an Incredible Woman?"

KAY: "One of my favorite hobbies is riding motorcycles. I love to ride motorcycles (really, really fast). When my husband and I were engaged, he used to teach me to do tricks on our motorcycles. I used to stand up on my seat, riding down the road. I learned how to jump from one bike to another. It was awesome! My whole family loves to ride. That is how we were able to get our son potty trained. We were watching daddy race and he said he wanted to ride motorcycles. I said, “You don’t see any guys out there wearing diapers, do ya?” We made a deal with him, if he stopped using diapers and didn’t have accidents, we would get him a little motorcycle. He stopped wearing diapers that day and never had an accident. He just turned 3 when he started riding his own motorcycle with training wheels.

My talent is… geez… anything I put my mind to, I guess. I love to make fancy cakes. I made my son a 3D Yoda cake and my daughter a castle cake that had close to 1,000 little flowers on it, for their birthdays. I only make a super neat cake once a year. I made my boy a hydra (4 headed dragon) this year, but our Great Dane chomped off one of the heads 10 minutes before our party started. I love, love, love to be behind my camera. I think that is my true talent; taking images and capturing a story. And I love to teach… anyone really.

My dislike is plainly, dishonesty. There is no reason for it. I teach my children that they might get into a bit of trouble if they do something wrong, but are honest about it and accept responsibility. However, if they do something wrong and lie about it, they will be in BIG, BIG trouble. Also, those that don’t follow the rules, make me crazy. If we all followed the simple rules we learned in kindergarten, we would all be one happy little village: Be nice. Share. Be patient. Keep your hands to yourself. Don’t cut in line. Don’t take what is not yours. Be courteous to others. Always tell the truth. Treat others how you want to be treated. And don’t pick your nose.

Life should not be so difficult. I enjoy each and every day, as if it is my last. If you ask my children what I tell them most, they will say, “I love you”. I tell everyone (even strangers) how much I appreciate them… and I mean it. I am grateful and truly blessed. And most of all, I thank the Lord every day."

KARA: "Tell us about each member of your family – what one word would you use to describe each one?"

KAY: "My husband is my best friend. I daydream about him throughout the day. He is my support and an amazing business person. He is a very hard worker and an even better daddy and husband. I love who I have become with him by my side. If I was to describe him with one word it would be: LOVE.

My son, who is 6, is awesome. He is such a great kid. He is truly a gift from God. He has taught me so much. One day, my children were extra naughty. He saw how frustrated I was as I sat staring at them with laser beams shooting out of my eyes (all moms have this talent). He came and grabbed me by the hand and got down on his knees. He said, “Come on mommy, let’s say a prayer. It will help all of us.” The word I would describe him with would be: LOVE.

My little girl, we call bunny. Daddy gave her that nickname, because she is as cute as a bunny. She is a sweet little girl that loves to cuddle with me. She is my little shadow. I could just watch her play and laugh all day. She goes to sleep smiling and wakes up the same way. She is a girly-girl and loves to dress up. I was a tomboy and loved to play with frogs and the boys. I love her so much. My word for her is: LOVE."

If you're new to this blog, this is the way it works... I'll post 2 questions/answers from my interview with Kay each day this week. So, make some time to come back and visit. Tomorrow we'll talk to Kay about her love of motorcycles, and her degree from Cornell University!