Monday, November 22, 2010

Atkinson, Ne Lifestyle and Art Photographers: {On The Benefits Of A Makeover...}

I really do look at photography as an art.  Unfortunately, in this digital imagery world, the value of custom photography has declined significantly, but in my book, it is a timeless medium for which I have a huge appreciation.  I have been obsessed with National Geographic since I was a young child.  The glass plate negatives that were created of my ancestors over 130 years ago still haunt me.  The images captured by photojournalists around the world feed into my iGoogle home page daily.  The stories that are captured through those images are the source of inspiration for much of my teaching and writing.  I share the stories of my ancestors with my students as we study about the journey of America.  I show images captured by photojournalists that illustrate the lives of everyday people, and we read their stories.  I love stories, and I love images that tell a story.

I also follow the blogs of many seasoned photographic artists, and while their style may not be my own, I appreciate the heart and soul they pour into their work.  I do my best to put this effort into my own work, and as I continue in my journey, I get excited to see my growth and am always looking forward to new challenges.  I look at this craft as an artistic capture of a moment in time, which is why lifestyle photography attracted me so much and why I wrote my tagline to be “Capturing Life…Moment. By. Moment.”   I look at the images of my children that I love most, and they are the images where they are simply being who they are.  They are the images where they weren’t even looking at me.   My favorite images are the ones that were created organically, the ones that tell their story. 

I have been giddy for a month waiting for this moment.  Not a big deal to many, but my artistic identity is really important to me.  Think about it, what would jello be without the JELL-O?  What would McDonalds be without the golden arches?  What would Nike be without the famous SWOOSH?  Helping a client identify you with your brand is a really important step toward success in the business world.  I will not claim to know all the ins and outs of this, but I have done a great deal of research, and over the last several months, I have put a great deal of thought into what my artistic vision is.  I have worked very hard at trying to fine tune my craft, spending hours (usually after everyone is in bed, supper has been cleaned up, and papers have been graded, etc…) reading, thinking, imagining, and creating.  It is not perfected, and it never will be, but I am on my way.  The journey has been very challenging and very fulfilling.

 I realized my photographic vision was simply an extension of my personality…free-spirited, organic, playful, with a little drama mixed to keep it interesting.  The people who know me best see this side of me, but in the past, sometimes I hid this in the classroom, afraid that if I showed that side of me I wouldn’t be taken seriously.  This art has liberated me to an extent, and I find that I am a much happier person when I don’t try to hide myself.  That new found confidence has filtered into not only my art, but also into my classroom.  I share my passion and excitement with my students, and though they may think me silly for my giddiness about these little things, I hope that just a few may take that excitement and apply it to their own lives.  How wonderful it feels to have PASSION, and how liberating it is to SHARE it with others!   It was in the re-discovery of my passion that I realized I wanted an artistic identity that would illustrate my personality and artistic vision.  That is where this design comes in. 


I am blessed to have had the opportunity to work with On The Spot Studios for my branding identity.  She took my visions and, as her tag-line state, truly brought them to life.  This new identity fits me perfectly, and I am so excited to put it to use.  Thank you so much Tiffany!  You are AMAZING!!!


9 comments:

  1. Your new branding is GORGEOUS! Enjoy it! :)

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  2. It looks wonderful! I'm in love with it.

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  3. YAY!!! I just love it!!!! The colors, your k and l...everything!!!

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  4. AMAZING! I have been looking for something like this...what a perfect package. Simply beautiful (and you stole my absolute favorite yellow color)! :)

    Congrats!

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  5. Tiffany rocks! ROCKS, I say! :) I love my set too. Congrats!! It looks great!

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  6. Your blog looks wonderful! You are my blog idol now! My goal is to one day have my blog look as great as yours!!

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Katrina Lee Photography is a professional custom photography business specializing in natural light and location portraiture as well as fine art portraiture.