Meet Kate Hampson | Photographer

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

Hi Kate, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
The greater the risk, the greater the reward. It doesn’t always work out, but I’ve found a good balance just by being true to myself.

Changing all my branding to a polarising aesthetic was a huge risk. I designed and built the website myself, to appeal to couples seeking a photographer for their wedding, not a ‘wedding photographer’. The punk rock vibe wasn’t intentional at first – I built the website I would want to see as a prospective client and it grew from there.

I am also a film-only photographer. Niching down that much was a risk! It worked – I’m flooded with enquiries from fabulous couples looking for the nostalgic beauty of analog.

Moving to the States from London nine years ago was a huge risk, but its been a great adventure! Since starting my business here, I moved down from San Francisco. By strategic use of search engine optimisation, I had clients already in place by the time I moved to Los Angeles. I’m returning to London next year, and have successfully implemented this strategy again.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’ve been photographing on film since 1981, so it only seemed natural to bring it into my business. As far as I’m aware, I’m the only film-only wedding photographer in Los Angeles. I’m really proud of sticking to what I love, rather than changing everything about myself to suit the industry. Film delivers instant nostalgia, evoking old boxes of photos from your nans attic. I believe so strongly that photos should be printed, all my packages come with a print folio.

Wedding photography should not be about trends and ticking boxes off shot lists. I capture the energy, emotion and feel. This is a story of their day, and so many parts the couple don’t get to see. I find this infinitely preferable to 100 posed photos on a pretty mountain. My couples and their families choose the oddest, accidental images for their final albums so I make sure to shoot more of them!

My photography has been described as real and energetic and right in the moment. I think having a live music background, and going to a lot of raves in the nineties, makes me want to document the chaos and people having fun. I pose absolutely ZERO of my subjects, Even in the studio, we just have fun and make magic.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Griffith Observatory is a photographers dream, try to arrive before 10am for free parking. Sunrise if possible. There are some gorgeous hikes in the park too. Take lots of water.

Nightlife: Whisky a GoGo, Rainbow, The Roxy, The Troubador, Bird bar Long Beach *used to be called Ferns, Black Bar, The Echo, Gaslamp Long Beach has a good 80s night.

Daily Planet book shop, Amoeba Music.

I surf at Sunset Beach, and El Pescador at Malibu is pretty great too!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Rod Judkins was a lecturer I had at Central St Martins. He’s written a few books on creative thinking – I recommend all of them. https://www.rodjudkins.com/

Oli Sansom from Briars Atlas was a huge help and support, he has a built a whole community of photographers doing things differently. Check him out – https://strangeatlas.co/

I’d be nowhere without the support of my loved ones, the music of David Bowie and the constant inspiration of Mick Rock in my head,

Website: https://katebunnyhampson.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katebunnyhampson/

Image Credits
Kate Hampson – all images. Apart from Kate Hampson’s portrait, which was taken by Sam Yafai