Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Kay Canavino grew up in Manhattan, Illinois, a small farm community outside of Chicago, where her natural surroundings provided a major influence for her photography.

Kay came east to attend school and lived and worked in the Boston area for most of her adult life. She received a bachelor's degree from Northeastern University and a Professional Diploma from the New England School of Photography. She honed her craft assisting the well-known Boston photographer Steven Grohe. She worked on varied tasks, from set building and creating special effects in the studio, to location work, such as lighting the entire New York Stock Exchange trading floor for an annual report.

In 1981 she opened her first studio in Boston's Fort Point Channel at 34 Farnsworth Street. There she joined the group of artists who eventually developed the first, large-scale artist-owned building in the US, the Brickbottom Artists Building in Somerville, MA. She owned and operated her studio at Brickbottom from 1988 until the fall of 2002, when she moved to the Berkshires.

In 2003, she purchased the historic East Renfrew school building in Adams, Massachusetts to be her permanent studio, where she provides traditional and digital photography to business clients. Kay is a member of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce and is a graduate of the Berkshire Leadership Program. Also, she is a member of the Ad Club of Springfield, Last Word Toastmasters Club of Pittsfield, and Berkshire Professional Women.

She also continues to expand her fine art photography which has been widely exhibited. Her fine art portfolio can be viewed on this website.