“I’ve come to realize that trying to market yourself to the masses pushes you to conform, and conforming makes it easy to get lost in the crowd”
SOULDEGA: When did you know you wanted to be a photographer? And furthermore, make a career out of your medium?
KATHERINE: I grew up taking pictures with an old Minolta camera I inherited from my father. It was mostly a hobby at first; I loved documenting my baby brother who was born when I was 11. At the time I was pretty invested in a path in drawing and spent all four years in high school in an intensive drawing curriculum. My school also had a dark room and so I took photography classes on the side where I learned how to develop and print my own film. Despite graduating high school with an AP drawing portfolio, I enrolled in a photojournalism class my freshman year in art school at the University of Michigan. I had the privilege of working with Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist David Turnley who had documented South Africa under Apartheid and Nelson Mandela; the election and inauguration of Barack Obama; the fall of the Berlin Wall; the Dalai Lama. He introduced the ideals of humanist photography which were rooted in documenting the human condition and emphasized agency, empathy, and intimacy in storytelling as a tool for social change. I ended up spending nearly every semester of my college career documenting various individuals in my community and working on photo stories in Detroit — and for the first time in my life I felt like I was making a difference though the images I was creating. And that was it; I knew that this was what I was meant to be doing and I couldn’t turn back.
SOULDEGA: How do you prepare creatively and mentally before a shoot?
KATHERINE: Over the years I’ve learned that prioritizing my mental health is one of the most important factors especially when it comes to preparing for a shoot. I perform much better when I’m calm and collected and can just get into the state of flow when shooting, and for me over-preparing and over-thinking can actually be counter-productive. However there’s definitely a fine line to achieving this balance.
One of the main elements of my process is research. It’s simple and maybe obvious but feeling informed about anything that could be relevant to the shoot goes a long way; this usually includes a little bio on who I’m photographing, what I’m shooting them for, any recent work they are promoting, etc. Additionally, I always make sure that I have familiarized myself with the client and their brand, and communicated to make sure that we’re on the same page about expectations for the shoot.
Oftentimes I’ll have a client send over a mood board for inspiration and creative direction that I can study and use to find further images with a similar aesthetic that I’m drawn to. I’ll create a saved folder in my Instagram for a particular shoot full of imagery that I’m inspired by, and that can help inform my direction for the shoot. I think it’s really important to reach a point of collaboration with a client where I am meeting their needs but not sacrificing my own viewpoint as an artist.
The day before a shoot I like to make sure that I have all of my equipment ready and will literally pack my bag with everything I need so that there is no risk of forgetting anything the day of; this also allows me to take the night to relax and take my mind off of things so that I can wake up feeling clear headed. It gets to a point where I just have to let go and believe that I have all the tools I need to get the job done. In my opinion, it’s the candid or spontaneous moments that are the most beautiful to capture, and those are far beyond anything you can prepare for or control anyways.
SOULDEGA: What is your approach in making your subjects feel comfortable in front of the camera?
KATHERINE: Representation and agency in photography are two of the most important issues that I am constantly grappling with as a photographer. It can be daunting to meet someone new, let alone have the responsibility of capturing them in an authentic and intimate way. I will often start out an interaction by clearly establishing that I want my subjects to be able express themselves in a way that is comfortable to them; I will tweak certain poses on occasion but – contrary to many photographers in the industry – I prefer not to direct very much, and instead leave space for my subjects to represent themselves. I worry that over-directing can take away a subject’s agency and solely fulfills the photographer’s motive, and in my mind a photograph should be a collaboration between subject and photographer.
My mentor, David Turnley, often used the term ‘becoming a fly on the wall’, which referenced the ability to not be overbearing; to achieve a certain amount of trust with a subject that allows you to capture candid moments without being noticed – that’s something that really stuck with me. Finally, just being a nice, genuine person can go a long way and is unfortunately not the most common thing, especially in the fashion industry in NYC. I find that when I’m willing to be myself with someone, they are willing to do the same. I’m most happy when I’m working with people who are nice and I get along with and only hope the same for those who work with me.
SOULDEGA: Who are three of your favorite photographers and how have they inspired you?
KATHERINE: There are so many photographers from different time periods and genres who have inspired me and helped mold the photographer and person that I am today. One of my all time favorite photographers who has been a huge influence on my work is Annie Leibovitz and her portrait work. Her ability to capture the inner soul of a person in such an intimate way is so inspiring to me and something that I try to emulate in my own work. A more recent example of someone I am constantly inspired by is Micaiah Carter. His work is aesthetically and technically gorgeous, original, honest, and the way he captures people’s personalities is remarkable. Additionally I think his work is culturally really significant because it’s given agency to viewpoints that are traditionally underrepresented; he is quoted on his management’s website saying “I really want my photography to be a quality platform for representation of people of color that hasn’t been seen before” – I personally have made it a goal of mine to focus on helping bring agency to people who traditionally haven’t been given it, so he’s a big inspiration in that way. Another favorite photographer of mine is Diane Arbus. She is most famous for her work with marginalized groups and can therefore be viewed as controversial to many people. To me, however, her work is beautiful in the way that it shines light on the importance of representation of all people for their unique qualities. Because it was hard to pick three, a few other people who I’m endlessly inspired by are Camila Falquez, Deana Lawson, Carlota Guerrero, Dana Scruggs, Mary Ellen Mark, Richard Avedon, Petra Collins, and Tyler Mitchell.
SOULDEGA: In a Social Media world where everyone's ideas and mediums are on display, how do you stay focused on your style and approach to creating?
“...the best way to get the attention that you want is to use what differentiates yourself; to find your own voice and your own community.”
KATHERINE: Social media puts a lot of emphasis on likes and followers, and in the beginning of my career I definitely got a little caught up in this constant fight for attention. I was so focused on getting my work seen and my name out there that I would post content specifically that I thought would do well on social media, but that often did not represent my own unique identity, aesthetic, perspective or values as an artist. I’ve had clients that would tell me exactly how I should photograph them to an exact angle, composition, and pose, and I did it in order to appease them — even though at that point it could have been anybody standing behind the camera taking those pictures. I started to study my Instagram analytics religiously and would obsess over posting at the best time each day for maximizing followers. At one point I reached a personal goal of mine of achieving 10,000 Instagram followers but didn’t feel particularly proud of or satisfied with any of the work I was producing. I started to realize that if I didn’t push back against the pressure to conform, I wouldn’t have any way to differentiate myself from anyone else.
I decided to go back to my roots in attempts to find myself again and completely refocused my entire career. I brought out my film cameras — which have always forced me to be more intentional about the way that I see and shoot — and I started producing my own make-shift shoots with friends and models from the rooftop of my Brooklyn apartment. I started to care less about what the internet at large thinks and more about creating work that I believe in, and in working with clients who share similar values. While I’ve lost some of my 10,000 followers, I’ve gained more attention and support from the people that matter to me. In the process, I’ve come to realize that trying to market yourself to the masses pushes you to conform, and conforming makes it easy to get lost in the crowd — instead, the best way to get the attention that you want is to use what differentiates yourself; to find your own voice and your own community.
SOULDEGA: Are there any new creative or healing routines that you've been exploring during these uncertain times?
KATHERINE: This is a hard question because I’m still in search of the answer. 2019 was an exceptionally difficult year for me professionally and personally —and while I got to a point where I was working so hard that I was feeling burnt out and desperately needed a break to decompress, reflect, and process, I never would have expected that this was how I would have got that kind of time. As a self-employed freelance photographer, when COVID hit I essentially lost everything – from my job to my financial security – overnight and I was desperate to maintain any sort of control over my life. This whole situation has been so crazy and challenging to navigate — and while it’s been a strange dichotomy of trying to confront my feelings/emotions and trying to distract myself from it all, I think it’s given me a lot of perspective about really what matters in life. I think what’s been the most healing for me has been to try and maintain connection with friends and family; I’ve been quarantining in what is essentially the middle of nowhere in upstate New York with three other people who are working from home full time, and so I’ve had a lot of alone time. While photography has always been my escape that allowed me to zone out the rest of the world, I’ve been somewhat photographically blocked and uninspired — I’m most passionate about photographing humans and the human condition, and in the time of COVID this is near impossible for me. I’m trying to stay positive and go with the flow and channel my energy elsewhere for the time being. Accepting the situation for what it is and my lack of control has been surprisingly healing and has also made space for more positivity. I definitely feel like I’ve been trying so many different activities to pass the time — exercise, cooking, baking bread, puzzles, zoom calls, cocktail experimentation — and at times they feel like just that; mere distractions that don’t quite satisfy me no matter what. But I think that’s okay –I think it’s better to try and make the best out of the situation and try to maintain our mental health than to not try at all – and in the process if you wind up with an amazing cocktail or a homemade loaf of bread, even better!
