McKayla Nevers’ in-depth understanding of cameras, her state-of-the-art education in audio, and her passion for storytelling make her a multihyphenate with a unique portfolio of work.
She first picked up a camera during a film class in high school, which helped her discover a lifelong passion.
“I took a photography class and learned completely on film, so I learned the nitty-gritty,” she says.
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Rachel Von Art LLCContent Creator McKayla NeversLater, when deciding on a college and degree, Nevers’ love of music won and she decided to attend the University of Saint Francis for music technology. Graduating in 2019, the lifelong Fort Wayne resident didn’t have much time to find her footing after college before the COVID-19 pandemic changed life for everyone.
Nevers put her cameras down and settled into a nine-to-five job. Eventually, she felt frustrated over her lack of creative outlets, so she picked the camera back up, and dove headfirst into building a creative career.
After a lot of networking and portfolio building, Nevers was able to make the leap from her nine-to-five to full-time, freelance creative earlier this year. You might have seen Nevers on the social media feeds of local businesses like Conjure and Electric Works and if you haven’t seen her in front of the camera for a local brand, you’ve likely seen work she’s created for brands like Velocity Human Design and Optimization, Baker’s Dozen, or Papi’s Pizza.
Even her hobby work, like photographing cars and taking landscapes of Fort Wayne, stands out amongst other local perspectives. When she isn’t taking creative stills or videos for local brands, Nevers is exploring telling her own story online– documenting her everyday life in short format videos.
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Rachel Von Art LLCInput Fort Wayne sat down with McKayla Nevers to learn more about her journey settling into Fort Wayne’s creative community, and the challenges and joys that come with freelancing.
Input Fort Wayne: Can you tell us about your style of work?
McKayla Nevers: Whether it's landscapes, cars, or branding, the process is similar, but it's also different. Over the last few years or so, I have made some presets for myself, but those presets are also extremely different from each other, so I end up having to make adjustments. I adjust all the basics to get to a good starting point, but masking is where I feel like my style shines through. Like with car photography, I know that I'm going to make the car full of texture and the overall picture a bit darker, which I wouldn't do for a landscape or branding. I try my best to use my style and fit what the client is looking for.
I change it up because I really start to get annoyed with the look of my own pictures. I felt like everything was starting to feel very too similar. I was looking at my Instagram feed and I'm like, everything looks really green and really rich. I don't like that. It's also a test of your own skills, a test to think outside of the box. I was feeling like I was getting far too into the box. I was getting way too comfortable in my style.
It's always fun to try to make a digital picture look like an old film picture or to again just completely change the vibe of something, which I find myself doing a lot with my pictures.
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Rachel Von Art LLCContent Creator McKayla Nevers at her computer.IFW: When did you first start experimenting with video?
MN: Around my junior year of college, I started to film on my phone, just making little vlogs out of family trips and whatnot. Then I got my first camera which was a Sony A6300. I did so much research on it because I knew I wanted to do videos and I wanted to do photos. It’s something I always wanted to do. Then I started doing weddings for families and whatnot.
IFW: You went to school for music technology. Can you tell us how you ended up doing photography and videography?
MN: I always liked music a bit more than photography, so I went to Saint Francis and that’s where I got my degree in music technology, with a concentration in production recording. I wanted to go into the behind-the-scenes of music. My goal was to be a mix engineer.
Then I got into a predicament my senior year of college. Around my junior year of college, I started to film a bit more and I was like I don’t know if I want to pursue this music career. So I sat down with one of my professors Mark Everett to discuss what my senior project was going to look like. It settled me down and made me realize that I didn't ruin the last four years of my life and that I'm still on a really good path and that I can still use all the skills that I have gained to not only push me in this direction but help further my career.
We decided that I would combine my two interests in the project and make four cinematic films for the seasons. I filmed all those and then I either mixed and mastered the songs or curated the songs but looking back on those videos now it's so bad. I didn't know anything completely self-taught when it comes to videography. I'm still learning things today, but that's kind of where I dipped my toes into it.
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Rachel Von Art LLCContent Creator McKayla NeversIFW: What do you enjoy about the creative process?
MN: I really like creating. I’ve always loved the storytelling and all the effort and passion that went into it. That's what I liked about music too– how much emotion was in it.
IFW: How did you build up a portfolio when you first started?
MN: To help build my portfolio I would push myself to make reels. I wasn't super comfortable with videography at the time, so I pushed myself to put myself out there, to take pictures of Fort Wayne more, and grow my platform because my following isn't that large. I wanted to make that base of this is where I am in Fort Wayne and this is what I can do with places in Fort Wayne. It was mostly just building a portfolio from nothing. Most of the stuff I was taking pictures of wasn't a gig. It wasn't a job.
I started working with Ruth Yaro and Upper Valley a lot. I didn't know the first thing about being a PA or working on a large set and they took me on to some really cool projects and I learned a lot from them, which also then led to more networking opportunities.
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Rachel Von Art LLCContent creator McKayla Nevers takes a photo at Electric Works.IFW: Before becoming a full-time creative, you worked a nine-to-five job. Can you tell me about making the transition from that job to being a working creative?
MN: During the COVID-19 pandemic, I took a step back from videography for a few years. It wasn't until 2022 that I really got fed up with my everyday nine-to-five job because I didn't have that creative outlet anymore. That's when I realized that I really wanted to work with companies to do branding and do social media and that sort of thing.
It was kind of terrifying, to be honest. Even though I do put myself on camera for a lot of my clients I am not an extroverted person at all and so that part was really scary and just being super blunt with people to tell them, “Hey I am career switching. This is where I'm at. This is my portfolio. I know it's not large but I'm still trying to build it.”
In 2023 I hit the ground hard with networking. My boss at Utopian helped a lot with getting me connected with some really cool agencies in town and with other creators. I met with anyone and everyone that I could to just put my name out there. It did land me a few shoots and it has landed me jobs that I still have today.
At the beginning of this year, I quit my nine-to-five job. I was at the point where I had gained a few retainers and, yes, I could have kept working that nine to five and made more money but I would have been exhausted. I knew that I was in a good position where I could leave and take on those retainers, take on new clients, and be okay.
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Rachel Von Art LLCContent Creator McKayla NeversIFW: Most of your work is with local companies. What is it like to see your work representing and marketing them?
MN: It feels really special. I love Fort Wayne. I've been here my whole life and to see Fort Wayne come from what it was to what it is now and to be able to capture that and kind of document that– it just feels really special.
My most recent project, though my name isn't on it, I know that I did it. It's just the fact that I know that picture and some of my friends are like, ‘Hey, you took that picture!” It just feels really special to be able to be connected with my city in that way.
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Rachel Von Art LLCContent Creator McKayla NeversIFW: What are some of the challenges you have experienced as a freelance creative?
MN: There are quite a few challenges that stand out, one of them being the amount of opportunity. Fort Wayne may be the second largest city in Indiana but still, we don’t have as many cafes or restaurants as Indy. This made starting out difficult. Knowing people is a huge factor here. Not knowing many creatives or business owners made it difficult to get my foot in the door. You only have so many opportunities to do so. To go along with that, finding a business that doesn’t already have someone creating their content can be difficult. I got told no a lot starting out, but I kept pushing and putting my work out there.
IFW: What is Fort Wayne’s creative community like?
MN: The one thing that I learned is that the creative community in Fort Wayne is full of amazing, helpful people. We've all been in that spot before. We all know what it's like to start off and it just felt so nice and validating to know that my experience wasn't a unique experience and to know that there are people around me to help boost me to that next level.
Big shout out to everyone at Upper Valley Film Co. They brought me along on so many sets and taught me a ton. Also, a shout out to my professors at Saint Francis– Mark Everetts and Miles Fulwider.
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Rachel Von Art LLCContent creator McKayla Nevers reviews an image on her camera.IFW: What advice would you give to someone picking up a new skill?
MN: My best piece of advice is to go out and do it. Picking up a new skill can be scary but the more you try it the more comfortable you’ll become.
It's kind of how I feel about going to the gym. It might be the last thing you want to do but you just have to do it. Whether it’s a project that you don’t want to do or maybe you’re very insecure about it– you just have to do it. It's one of those things that's not an option. While you're doing it, you're going to feel completely different than before. You're going to be very proud of yourself. It's probably going to go much better than what you expected. Again, in the end, you're going to be so much happier to pursue it.
I think it’s important to be honest with yourself, always continue to learn, and ask questions. Everyone is continuing to learn all the time. Don't walk in the room and act like you know everything because you don't. Being humble about it is important.
IFW: What goals are you focused on right now and how do you invest in those goals?
MN: Growth. Growing more as a business, working with more small businesses, helping more small businesses grow, and continuing to grow as a creative and as a person.
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Rachel Von Art LLCContent creator McKayla Nevers takes a photo at Electric Works.IFW: If you’re not out capturing Fort Wayne and its small business, what occupies your time?
MN: If I’m not doing that then I’m playing with my dog. (If you follow me you’ll see him a lot.) His name is Geo, after National Geographic– not because I'm a photographer but because that's what he watched as a puppy. If I’m not with him, I’m playing video games and I’m a huge fan of F1.
McKayla Nevers will be the Featured Creator at Creator Space's event on September 21 at Cinema Center at 5 p.m. This event is free and made possible by support from Arts Midwest.