Meet Katherine Schultz | Director of Photography
We had the good fortune of connecting with Katherine Schultz and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Katherine, what do you attribute your success to?
There is a beautiful quote that I think of often in my work and that is from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry; “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly.” It encapsulates one of the integral pieces to a successful photography business.
I feel to capture authentic work, you are required to have your heart there in the room. Without it, images can lack depth and authenticity. On many of my shoots – whether that be wedding, newborn or family, I am often bearing witness to big emotions and flickering interactions and those can be missed if you are not paying attention.
Beyond the shoot itself, it is passion and heart for what you do that your clients will feel and want to return to. It needs to be present in every step of the work flow and without it things fall apart,
Photography for me is a dream career but just because it’s my dream career does not make it easy. I feel outsiders look at creative work as a walk in the park but behind closed doors are many hours communicating with clients, monitoring work flow, managing orders, scheduling and so forth. If I didn’t love the people I worked for, have my heart in the shoots themselves, the wheels would absolutely fall off. The grind gets messy and tiring as it does in any job and lacking the passion and heart would see it all quickly disintegrate.
Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I love what I do and it has enabled me to sustain it. It’s as simple and as difficult as that. In my earlier days I definitely questioned whether it was going to be sustainable; whether it could actually be a ‘career’. I put one foot in front of the other and suddenly years had gone by and work continued to flow on through.
I was only 17 when I began my business so I’ve certainly learnt a lot over the years. I’ve learnt how to back myself, to be sure of what I offer, to know my worth as a creative. It’s all a process that time delivers. I’ve also learnt about my strength, too. Operating as a one man show for a very long time didn’t allow for me to crumble, even when I felt like it. I look back over the last few years that have been filled with personal challenges and know that it never showed in my work and I’m proud of that. It’s also how I know I am in the right career.
There are still shaky moments, for sure. I don’t like the feeling of things being stale in my work so I am thinking of what I can do next, where the next challenge will be beyond photographing newborns and weddings 24/7. In the past that has been creating creative retreats for others, mentoring others or teaching workshops. The first time I did any of those, it was terrifying. There is absolutely a feeling of apprehension and self doubt. But it’s a wonderful exercise to set challenges and watch yourself work through them. You come out of them each time with a little more self assurance.
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.
Ok so I’m from Adelaide, Australia. It’s a relatively small city in the South of Australia but best known to the rest of the world as a wine region so it would look something like this:
Breakfast and a walk along our beautiful coast. Lunch at a delicious winery such as Coriole, The Lane or Mitolo and dinner (if you make it that far!) somewhere in the CBD such as Soi 38, Golden Boy or Herringbone.
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?
Every single person who has been close to me in the last ten years because those I kept close over that time all contributed in some way, especially when things got hard,
I’d also like to shoutout to my younger self who never gave up and worked very hard. Cheesy perhaps but I’m working on recognizing myself, too.
Website: www.katherineschultzphotography.com
Instagram: katherineschultzphotography
Other: Tiktok: katherineschultzphoto
Image Credits
Lydia Kammer Katherine Schultz
Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
