Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaitlin Roten.
Kaitlin, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
My artist story started in college studying studio art. My past self would laugh straight in my future self if I knew I would be photographing schools and families for a living. In my narrow artist’s mind, I would think that would be very far from my definition of art. I had been photographing families and weddings for nine years, but on a whim, I said I’d photograph a school. I never felt like I fit in the DFW wedding scene and when I found that I could be silly with kids and give these beautiful school portraits – I knew that I had found my niche. Making cow noises with my monkey stuffed animal is more up my alley than helping a mother of the bride lace up a bridal gown.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I am a family and school portrait photographer. Both sides of my business I encourage families not to add our photographs to their 15K photos on their phone, but to print out the photos and put them on display in their home. Seeing physical photos in our home brings more love and appreciation for those closest in our lives. We all need a little more of that, right?
Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
It’s never been easier before to become a photographer, but I think this has made it more difficult for professional photographers. As the number of photographers grows, artists must find creative ways to stand out from the crowd. People are demanding better photos, But while our standards have improved for family photographs, it hasn’t quite caught up to improving the quality of school portraits. I like to say that we need to just say no to bad school photos – it is not a laughable rite of passage for our kids to get cheesy photos with ugly backgrounds. With so many people wanting to buy local there should be a similar movement to use a local photographer for school portraiture. I would like to see the surrounding communities use locally based photographers to create beautiful school portraits, so beautiful in fact that they would display them on the walls of their home for years to come.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I update my website and Instagram with my current work (see below!). You can also see my work on the walls of homes all over DFW. I personally install my photo wall galleries in my families homes! These photo walls are featured online to view for design inspiration. Supporting my school photography is as easy as parents talking to the administrators at their school about wanting BETTER photos for their kids. A parent conversation is sometimes all it takes to get me into a school!
Contact Info:
- Website: kaitlinroten.com, www.dallasschoolportraits.com
- Email: photo@kaitlinroten.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaitlinroten/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KaitlinRotenPhotography/
Image Credit:
Kaitlin Roten Photography
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