Professional photographers Butch McCartney and his wife Kelsy, both of Wausau, glance at images taken during a photo session Tuesday, April 5, 2016, at The McCartneys Photography in downtown Wausau.(Photo: T'xer Zhon Kha/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)Buy Photo
WAUSAU - Photographers Kelsy and Butch McCartney are so used to working and creating things together that they finish some of each other's sentences.
The McCartneys specialize in documenting other people's weddings and married each other in 2009, shortly after they launched their company.
And they just opened a new studio on The 400 Block. They'd been casually looking for the right space in Wausau, but without any luck.
"We wanted to be downtown," Butch said. "But nothing was..."
"Inspiring," Kelsy finished.
They agree their new space is just that. Mere days passed between the day that Butch spotted the open storefront behind the stage on The 400 Block and the day they signed a lease, Butch said.
They've renovated and done a few photo shoots in the space but are still finishing details and decorations. It's located at 325 Jefferson St., where a picture window lets in sunshine to reflect off white walls and pastel furnishings. Kelsy described it as light and airy, like their photography style.
The space used to house a Pizza Pit and the Little Italy restaurant before that, said co-owner Gwen Paul. She's been an owner for a couple years and helped refurbish it.
Buy Photo Professional photographers Kelsy and Butch McCartney direct and photograph Emma Walters during a session Tuesday at The McCartneys Photography in downtown Wausau. (Photo: T'xer Zhon Kha/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)
"I really appreciated the architecture, the tin ceilings, the hardwood floors and the brick walls," Paul said. Her husband liberated those wood floors by hand, pounding through terrazzo, a hard aggregate flooring. They split the first floor into two commercial units and the McCartneys are their first tenants. There are apartments upstairs.
The building's been around since at least the 1960s, said Ben Clark, archivist with the Marathon County Historical Society. It was vacant for much of the 1990s and before that hosted a Christian Science reading room, dentist, home loan company and a couple dance studios, Clark said.
"I think it's a good location for them and the work that they do," Paul said of the McCartneys.
The couple had a studio space a few years ago, but most recently worked from home and on site at weddings. They shoot at events from Door County to the Twin Cities, the Northwoods of Wisconsin to Chicago, and travel for an occasional destination wedding.
They use film photography as well as digital.
"It's very soft and romantic, so it pairs beautifully with weddings," Kelsy said of photos taken with film. The two are taking more and more senior and family portraits, and bringing film photography into that realm as well. Butch said they have more film cameras than digital, and film is making a comeback.
Buy Photo Professional photographers Kelsy McCartney and her husband Butch, both of Wausau, work on a photo session with student Emma Walters Tuesday, April 5, 2016, at The McCartneys Photography in downtown Wausau. (Photo: T'xer Zhon Kha/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)
Some of their photography packages include bringing in local hair and makeup artists to help the seniors dress up. "They feel like they're getting the royal treatment the day of the session," Kelsy said.
Parker McCartney also hangs around the studio, greeting clients and easing camera shyness. He's Butch and Kelsy's 4-year-old shaggy little dog.
"He's our secret weapon during portrait sessions," Kelsy, 30, said. "He just brings out the smiles."
The couple met in Wausau, Kelsy's hometown, about 10 years ago. Butch, now 35, was working as a photojournalist for the Wausau Daily Herald before he followed Kelsy to Minnesota, where she was working at the Target corporate office. It wasn't a good fit for her.
In 2009 they became entrepreneurs, following slightly in the footsteps of Butch's parents. His mom has a boutique in Door County and his dad is a cartoonist who does caricatures of dogs.
"Getting out on your own, it's scary," Butch said. "But it's awesome. We love working for ourselves."
"We started and we didn't have a plan B," Kelsy said.
Buy Photo Professional photographers Butch McCartney and his wife Kelsy, both of Wausau, flip through their photo albums during an interview at their studio, The McCartneys Photography in downtown Wausau. (Photo: T'xer Zhon Kha/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)
Nora G. Hertel: nora.hertel@gannettwisconsin.com or 715-845-0665; on Twitter @nghertel.
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Source: Photographers open studio near The 400 Block
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