Meet Kate Berry | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kate Berry and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kate, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
As a photographer, I feel I have a duty to share messages and stories and increasingly that is becoming important to me, to travel, to meet people of all different backgrounds, cultures, to hear their stories and to share them. It isn’t necessarily my story that needs to be told, but I have a tool to help me tell other, more important stories.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I find it difficult to call myself an artist as I feel I capture moments and document things rather than creating something conceptual/ fine art. I obviously aspire to capture beauty, but I feel what sets me apart is seeing beauty in the ordinary too. I really feel like I’m here for everything – everyone has a a story and something to offer. I wouldn’t want my work to feel out of reach or inaccessible for my audience. I want to inspire people to travel and live their dreams but I’m also here to capture something more grounded and real. Finally – there is so much content and information out there and it’s hard to set yourself apart, but you have to stay true to yourself, the rest will follow.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
LA is comprised of so many different communities and neighbourhoods I’d want to give them a taste of as many as possible. Firstly, my hood, my ride or die – Venice beach. I’d take them to my local spots, Menotti’s for coffee, ceviche at La Isla Bonita on Rose, the beach for sunset. The Underground Museum and the Hammer are two of my favourite museums. Ethiopean food in Little Ethiopia, vegan soul food at Stuff I Eat in Inglewood. Delicious Pizza in West Adams. A cruise round Fairfax Village, Highland Park, maybe down to Long Beach. Olympic spa in K-town. And then I’d drive them up the coast and take them for dinner at the Old Place out in the Agoura Hills.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
It is impossible for me to single out one person, as without the support and encouragement of all of my friends and family, I wouldn’t be here! I have never really had a mentor, I set out on my photography journey alone, but I have constantly had the backing of others to keep going even when the self doubt creeps in and on the days I feel like giving up. I do have to give a shout out to Heather Culp, founder of Mercado Sagrado and fellow photographer who introduced me to a whole new lifestyle when I first started visiting California. We swapped houses when I lived in London and after spending some time living in Topanaga with her dog Avalanche, decided to pursue an artist visa and make the move to LA.

Website: www.kateberry.co.uk

Instagram: katebe_