The Power of Being Seen Just As You Are with Kimberly Witort

How can a camera become a mirror for the soul? In this inspiring episode, I chat with Kimberly Witort—a seasoned photographer whose lens has captured not just faces, but entire journeys of transformation.

With over 20 years of experience, Kimberly is renowned for her headshots, personal branding, high school seniors, family portraits, and her signature “As You Are” sessions. But her story goes far beyond the frame. After leaving a successful corporate career to follow her passion for photography, Kimberly’s world was turned upside down by the pandemic and personal upheaval. A cross-country move to Arizona became the catalyst for self-discovery, healing, and a renewed sense of purpose.

Kimberly shares how photography became her anchor through heartbreak and change, helping her—and countless others—rediscover their truest selves. Her approach is raw, honest, and deeply human: no glam, no pretense, just pure authenticity. Today, Kimberly’s mission is to create a safe space where people feel truly seen, using her camera as a tool to hold space, show love, and reflect light.

Tune in as Kimberly summarizes her incredible journey and reveals how photography can help anyone reconnect with who they are. Whether you’re a creative, a seeker, or simply someone looking for inspiration, this conversation will remind you of the power of being seen—just as you are.

Connect with Kimberly Witort:

https://kimberlywitort.com/

 @kimberlywitorphotagrapher

Transcript

Theresa Cesare: 0:06

Welcome to Heart to Talk the podcast. I am the host and creator Theresa Cesare My intention for this podcast is to deliver to you wisdom, inspiration, and consciousness. Through solo episodes and conversations amongst insightful people. It is my greatest honor to bring to you talks that come from the.

0:31

Welcome, amazing listeners. Today I have the absolute pleasure of welcoming an extraordinary soul and talented artist, Kimberly Witwort. Kimberly is a seasoned photographer with over 20 years of experience specializing in headshots, personal branding, high school seniors, families, and her signature as you are Sessions, photography has been the constant in her life and intimate companion through heartbreaks transformation and healing. Today. She offers deeply human and honest sessions that focus on capturing people exactly as they are. No glam, no pretense, just truth. Through this work, she has not only rebuilt her business, but also rediscovered herself. Her mission is simple, yet powerful, to create a space where others feel safe enough to be seen, truly seen friends, I am so excited to bring to you my conversation with Kimberly Witwort Girl, I would love for you to literally just go in and tell this audience about you. Your story, how did you become a photographer? Oh gosh. Yeah. Woo. Okay. I've been a photographer for over 20 years now, but through the majority of that I was in corporate America. I worked for State Farm for 17 years, and so I always did it on the side. But I started out because I drew people, I would take photos or magazine photos of people and I would draw people from the photos but I just was like. I really wanna just this is instant gratification, being able to photograph someone versus drawing someone. Right. And so I just started photographing my friend's kids and kind of the same as most photographers. And then you like photograph babies and then you photograph weddings and then you do this, and then I've done it all. I've done weddings, I've done the newborns, I've done pets, and people are my specialty. It just grew from there. It just was like kind of an obsession. And I, self-taught through YouTube and trial and error but I've put my camera down several times because of life, events, breakups and things like moving and, restarting my life over. And it's been different each time that I've re, entered the world of photography. And this time was definitely, was kind of a begrudging process. I moved here after a divorce. A really painful divorce. I just wanted to leave everything behind. My parents had moved here shortly before me, so I had, you know, my parents to kind of soft place to land and I'm so grateful for that. So I was able to take time off and walk in the desert and dance in fricking the monsoon season and like, which was amazing. And so. But then, real life kicks in and, I'm like, okay, what kind of life am I gonna create? The last thing I wanna do was photography. I just was so burnt out emotionally. I just wanted a nine to five where I could just go to work and just. Come home I learned how to do stained glass in that whole time and I was like, I just wanna come home, do stained glass and tinker around with my plants. But I just wasn't gonna be able to do it financially, like long term. And so photography was my best bet for financial stability and success and growth. And, and I say begrudgingly because I just, I was very. Emotionally burnt out. And so it was a thought of picking up the camera.'cause it's a very personal thing to photograph people. And, but once again, photography coming in and being honestly my longest term intimate relationship. Like, we're back. Fine. We'll get back together. We're back together. And so I thought, okay, I'll just, I'll just join some networking groups and meet people.'cause I didn't know anybody. And so I just kind of started, tried to pick up where I left off in Washington with my business, but I hadn't really picked up a camera in probably two years and so it was very foreign. I was super rusty. I felt like I had to relearn everything, but I was like, okay, I'm just gonna try and pick up where I left off and see what happens. So I was really just winging it. I just was like, I'm just gonna do this, photography again, it's like the hand pushing me. And so,, meeting people and learning to trust people again and trust myself again, like that was the biggest thing. Like when do you say no? Is this no a real no or am I just No, because I'm scared and I don't wanna do something. Right. It's like, same with a yes. Like you want it to be a real Yes. Not just because you wanna please somebody. Yeah. So learning that again, and I feel like I'm finally kind of getting to a much more grounded and. Confident place again, feeling a little bit more like myself. But, I used to do like a full kind of magazine type experience where they come in, they get their hair and makeup done, like fancy clothes. And it just wasn't feeling like me anymore. It just didn't feel right. And years ago I had dreamt about, I was like, gosh, it would be really cool just to shoot everything in black and white. Like, I just loved that idea, but I was just like, that's crazy. No one's gonna want that. You know? And I. I just happened to stumble upon a little, workshop with this photographer and she was doing sessions that she called as you are Sessions and they're all in black and white. And I was like. Oh my God, this is exactly what I wanted to do before. Like this is, yes, this is a sign. Like I have to follow this, I have to just see what's gonna happen with this. So I end up reaching out to somebody and that I thought would be amazing in the experience and love the experience, just to try it out and just see how it felt. And then I had a videographer come in and take some video of it, and it was. Life changing. It was so easy. First of all, it just flowed and the images were, oh my gosh, I squeal a lot when I get, yeah. Oh, I get a picture that I love. Whole session I was amazing. And then after we looked at the images together and everyone left, I started sobbing. I was just like crying because I was like, oh my gosh, this is exactly what I've been needing. And it just lit me up in a way that I thought I couldn't feel again. I thought I'd lost that. And so I've just been working on, having more people come in and do it because at first when I tell people about it. The people are nervous. Like they don't Yeah. They're like, what? But maybe I should talk about what the process is. So what it is, it, it's, you don't have to change anything about yourself to be worthy of being photographed. It's about photographing people as they show up in their everyday life. Mm. You know, you don't have to buy any special clothes. And it's not like no hair or makeup or anything like that. Yeah. It's. It's how you show up. So if you wear hair, makeup in your day, that's how you show up. And then there's no editing. I don't do any editing. It's all shot in black and white. And then after the session we sit down together and we look through all the images. And I encourage my clients to like, sit with the ones they don't like too. You're gonna see ones where your face is weird and like, you're seeing everything. I'm not calling anything. And it's so amazing to watch. It's different for every person. And it's different for me, but it's like it feeds their souls in whatever way needs they need to be fed. And then I in turn get to be fed by it too. It's just, I almost feel guilty sometimes doing it.'cause it's just amazing. Just, you're like, I love it so much. Yeah. And. It's about movement. I mean, I'll direct in things, but it's not about posing and getting to this perfect look. It's just about your expressions, your silliness, your, playfulness, your sadness, your whatever. It's just freeform. So that's where I'm at, right. With that. And I'm just so excited and, yeah, he reached out at the perfect time. I just feel like it was just divine timing.'cause I was like, I wanna share this with as many people as I possibly can. So. Oh, I think everyone needs to hear this. Yeah, because it's so unlike anything I've ever seen. You had mentioned that you have discovered yourself through photography, but it looks like this also helps others. Yes. Rediscover themselves. Yeah. A hundred percent when I photograph people, I'm discovering a piece of myself each time too. I'm meeting them where they are and I am seeing myself in them and their story, and it's just a beautiful exchange between people and I'm just grateful that, that it played out the way it did. I'm really excited about the work I'm creating and that's huge. It took a long time for me to even be able to project myself into any kind of future. I just couldn't see, was in survival mode and I'm still cultivating that, like getting that joy back and getting that excitement for life back. And this has been such a huge piece of it. And to think I started, I picked up my camera like. Fine. I'll do it. I'll do it fine. Oh my goodness. And what would you say is your business's mission and your soul's mission? Are they the same? Are they? Pretty much, pretty much. It's definitely been alignment of that, where they're kind of the same thing. And photography is obviously something that I've had for so long and I feel so grateful that I was given a passion for it. But I think it's definitely just a tool that I have been given to use to. And I know it sounds cliche and stuff, but just like spread light and love in the world and mm-hmm. Shower people with love and just make them feel safe and seen and hopefully spark some kind of inspiration that they need for whatever they're going through or what they wanna pursue or overcome or celebrate, just whatever it is for them. And what, what is the name of your business? It's just my name Kimberly. We tot photography. I do headshots and branding and families and seniors. I still do all that stuff and still love that. But yes, the as you are sessions are particularly. Soul aligned for sure. For me. That's incredible. Yeah. So how can we find you to book a session and what could we expect? I am on Instagram as Kimberly, we tot photographer and on Facebook as well. My website is is just my name Kimberly. We tot K-I-M-B-E-R-L-Y-W-I-T-O-R-T. And. I have, images on my website. You can contact me through there, through my Instagram. I'm gonna be running an as you are ad soon, so hopefully get the word out more and there'll be even more information on that where people can see. Right now I just offer the digitals because I just want people to have them, but I have a gorgeous handmade album that I have made in Italy that. I think is an amazing way to just keep that and always have it as a reminder to look at the photos we lose our way sometimes. Mm-hmm. And photography again has been kind of that anchor for me to remind myself. I've done self portraits of myself too, and I look back and I go, oh my gosh. That's where I was then. And it reminds me of the journey I've had. And it's just, it's really powerful. And so, yeah. I love that. In this day and age, especially with our iPhones, we get such incredible pictures and some of us find the comfort of that. There is a, it's easy, we can do it ourselves, we can add a filter. But what would you say is the game changer for someone to actually invest in themselves and actually invest in either the come as you are or any of the other photography services? I think it speaks to taking action is a huge part of that and, a signal to the universe. Like, I'm ready. I had a particular client recently that did a branding session. She's amazing. And she does sound baths and things like that, and breath work. And after the session she, it, it, like everything opened up for her and her business. She finally got her own space, it validated her as a professional in a way that she wasn't prepared for., And even during the session she's like, I've never really just seen myself seriously as this. And I just feel like I. I am this, like I can do this. And I've heard that with clients over and over again. So I think a lot of it is the, the action and the message of I'm ready to take this next step and to broaden my horizons and I. Sly, for lack of a better word. I love that. And you're so right. It's like you're worthy of it. I love watching people use their images and also incorporating, I'll tell them like, this is my process. This is how I document for my social media, and I just share what I know. Like I don't claim to be any expert or anything like that. I just document what I do and that's what I recommend to people if they're,'cause a lot of the people that come to me. They're not really doing social media, they're just realizing like, okay, I really need to do this. And so I'm like, just start by documenting what you do. And it doesn't have to be complicated. It doesn't have to be scripted. And you're gonna learn about yourself as a business owner doing that too. And I can help facilitate that with images. And I can do videos for them too and show them like, this is what you can do and I can continue to help you. Or you can, go and do it yourself as well. Like, I'm okay with that too. So yeah, it's powerful. It's really powerful on a spiritual level and on a professional level. So I just, it's kind of a no brainer. You know what I really love is. That you're a conscious business person, you can totally tell when someone works on themselves how it translates in their business. I think it's so important. A lot of my healing journey was facilitated by doing CODA meetings, which is a codependency meeting. So I just wanna throw that out there because I think everyone can benefit from looking into codependency and how it affects people. It's like a 12 step program and I needed to do something free, so I. I started going to meetings and doing that and like my list of audio books is all self-help books like codependency. You and me both by the way. Yeah. Codependency no more like, what are the symptoms of codependency like,'cause someone listening might be like, okay, so, oh my gosh. Well, it's very encompassing. I think that codependency is kind of like the baseline. Coping mechanism that humans have. I think it's kind of everybody is codependent to some level. We are codependent beings. We need each other, right? But like anything, it can go into kind of toxic realms and because we're sort, we learned survival techniques when we were kids and you know, as we grow up, you, you hope that you realize. By self-reflection. I don't need to do those tactics anymore. And so there is actually on the website, it's a very extensive list. So it's, it very, there's like lists about like how you are in denial about things. A slow self-esteem, character traits. There's five categories and list. To start for anybody, I highly recommend just looking at that list and just reflecting on yourself, like, how do I show up in this? And then on the other side of it, it shows when you're healed, what those traits look like when you're in a healed space. So you do get to see like, okay, this is kind of like a natural point, part of being a human, but this is what it looks like when you're more balanced and healed. It was life changing. Life changing. So I highly recommend, and if you don't wanna do the meetings, I totally get it.'cause it's very awkward to sit in front of a, a full of strangers and share like deep, dark secrets. But it is, it's transformative. It helps you be vulnerable, which I think is so powerful. It's terrifying, but powerful and I highly recommend it. I highly recommend it So, yeah. hundred percent. My business is founded on personal development. That's job security for you. Yes. I keep. But it just, with anything, you gotta like reenergize, you go to the gym once, it's not gonna give you the results forever. And same thing with like, probably even in your business, the inspiration and motivation. It's like, what do I gotta go to next? Yes. Not always doing the same things, but maybe do it a little different too. Yeah. Um, prime inspiration and especially'cause creativity is such an energy as well to emit. Oh yeah. So girl, for me, I cannot push out content if I am not behind it. Oh, yeah. You know what I'm talking about. Oh yeah. My, my content ebbs and flows with consistency because of that very reason. like if I'm not feeling it. I'm not feeling it, so I just, I've tried to just accept that about the process. Yeah. And not, must post this many times or must do this. Yeah. Like I, I try to be more consistent. That's been a constant journey as a creative, to have the consistency and discipline, but at the same time, I can't force it. You know? Yeah. When I, whenever I forced things in my life, just in general, not even in business, it's not really worked out that great. Yeah. You know, I allow things to come to me because those, I think are the truly the things that are truly meant for me. So, oh yeah. Well, I can feel it. Girl. You're just magnetic. So we're gonna pivot to our closing questions. Okay. The traditional questions I ask every guest that comes on. And so the first one, Kimberly, what is your favorite book? I know you said you have a lot, lot of, also, I'll tell you my, I, I did put a favorite book, but it's from when I was a kid. Okay. And it is called The Maze in the Heart of the Castle by Dorothy Gilman. And it is kind of like, it's a, a kid that goes kind of on a spiritual journey and discovery after his parents die. And it's kind of like fantasy and, and, but it, I just, I remember listening to it as a kid and I just absolutely loved it. So I'll stick with that one. Otherwise, I love that it would just be you, a bunch of self-help books. I love that. Thank you so much for that. And then the second question, what is your favorite affirmation? I would say the thing that I probably have said the most to myself is trust the process. Trust the process. And accept things as they are, not how I hope them to be. So live. I love that, basically. Yeah. I love that. And what do you wanna be known for your legacy? Making people feel good about themselves. Making them feel safe and I, yeah, just making them feel safe and seen to, and, and hopefully inspiring them to, to do something that they wanna do and, and let go of anything holding them back. I. Mm. And just authenticity. I mean, that's really something I really strive for to be totally myself and so people can be themselves. Ooh, I love that. Oh, I just love you. Alright, and the last one, what are you most proud of? Not giving up and. Remaining with an open heart in spite of like all the, all the stuff I've gone through. And that's been a huge thing that I did not want my heart to close. And I mean, it, it did, it did. Let's be real. It shot. Yeah, it did. Did it have a lock on it? Yep. She's still, she's still in, you know, she's still in protective mode a little bit, but working on it and, and. And not allowing that to, to stay stagnant. Like I wanna have an open heart through my life.

Theresa Cesare: 20:16

Thank you so much for tuning into this episode. Please download, rate, subscribe, and share this podcast. Also, be sure to visit my theresacesare.com to check out my inspirational merch, connect to my social accounts, and much more may you continue to be filled with wisdom, inspiration, and consciousness. Otherwise, friends, I will be back for another episode of Heart to.