Get to know a little bit about me
Hi! I'm Kristen
EDITORIAL & FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY
To me, it's not just about smiling at the camera, it's about capturing you and making you feel bold, confident, and beautiful.
I would say, my style of photography is uniquely me, but what does that even mean? It means, if you want to feel like you stepped right onto the front cover of a big fashion magazine, I've got you covered. It means, if you're looking for a non-traditional photoshoot, I'm your gal. It means I bring to the table what only I can accomplish and no one can replicate. So, if you're looking for that stand out -wow- in your images, allow me to help you with that.
The Kristen When the Camera is Put Away
I like to say that I'm mom first, photographer second. I'm a mom of two kiddos and 3 (extra) large dogs. I've definitely got my hands full when it comes to my personal life. But on weekends you can find me going out for breakfast, lounging in the sun at the park, baking cookies with my oldest, and trying to get some reading in on top of it all.
My Background in Photography
I love art.
All of it.
From lyrical art to photography art. It's all so good. When I discovered I could make such unique art through my photography it became a challenge for myself to improve, learn, and master the art of the photo. It's an ever growing skill that I'm constantly working on, but I'm thriving now that I've found my style.
I've always had a camera in my hand. I was raised taking photos, as my dad was a photographer, and I attribute that to the reason I'm such a sentimental person. Anything from major milestones, to just a nice sunny day, I wanted to document it to look back on in the future. I'm still that way today (even more so after children). And that was easy to do with my dad's photo guidance and a few high school classes.
I wanted to go to grad school for photography but instead I got my degree in History and English Literature and upon graduating I was kind of stuck. Unsure of what to do with my future and what I wanted to do. Nothing was really speaking to me and the job market was horrendous for history grads. When the pandemic hit I was pregnant with my first and I was fortunate enough to take that time and focus on her. It was during this down time that I realized I wanted to actually try to pursue photography as a career. Take it from what was once just a hobby and means for catching special moments, to something I could support my family with on my own terms. So I got to work. I would say I've always had "the eye" for photography, but I had a long way to go to improve if I wanted to provide people images they paid for. I studied the technical side of photography, from the composition, to shadows, to poses. In my free time I read through major fashion magazines and examined the images closely and took note of how they captured the image. From the lighting, posing, angle of the camera, environmental factors like wind, sunshine, expressions, and so on. There is SO much that goes into taking a photo. I wanted to understand that to the fullest extent. I took some courses from major photographers and taught myself a lot just by experimenting and challenging myself in difficult lighting situations.
I now LOVE a difficult photograph. And by that I mean, setting myself up for a challenging shoot, whether it's because the sun is mid day and casting harsh downward shadows, or you have to find a unique angle to exclude a portion of the background. I love it and I live for the challenge and to me I think that's what sets me apart.
