Author // Shannon Edwards, Place Bulimba
Capturing special moments that we often miss, photographer Katrina Christ found her love for family portraiture at a young age.
Having worked as a nanny through her teenage years, Katrina Christ picked up her first camera and naturally shot the happiness that was around her.
Operating out of her East Brisbane studio, Katrina Christ Photographer captures the essence of family life and depicts the kind, playful nature of children.
It may sound a little cliché, but Katrina’s pictures really do paint a thousand words.
Katrina welcomed us into her studio where she shared why she believes family photography is important, as well as the stories behind the beautiful images that cover her walls.
How did your photography journey begin?
I was at a time in my life where I was questioning what to do for my career.
It all came down to the two things that I enjoyed most, which were photography and makeup.
From there I studied photography at university and when I finished I followed my heart to work as a fashion photographer.
At the time I was also shooting weddings and I discovered that what I really loved was the personal connection and response from shooting families.
I had a mentor tell me that the best thing I could do was focus on one style of photography... so I chose families!
From there my business, Katrina Christ Photographer took off.
It’’s a beautiful, feel-good businesses as we attract wonderful families who really adore their children.
These days I look back and feel very lucky because my love for makeup crosses over into my everyday working life as a photographer.
For photoshoots we always offer our makeup services to mothers as we want them to feel really nice and pampered, and I absolutely love that.
Why did you chose family photography?
As a child, my parents never took photos and as I grew older I always thought how special it would be to see images of me and my siblings growing up.
It’s not just about photography - a family photo offers so much more than that, as it shows children how loved they are.
I always say, once you put photos up in your house, it becomes a home.
How would you describe your style of photography?
Our style is very much about documenting a family with the idea that, as children are growing up, you can share those memories and pass down the photos through the generations.
With our style of photography, it’s easy to add onto a collection of images.
This means that we often photograph someone as a child, then years later they come back for a shoot with their children to add to the collection.
We don’t want the images to be to staged, we want to capture the raw personalities of kids and families as they are.
We often go to the homes of the families, as that’s where everyone is themselves.
Our shooting style is very relaxed.
We don’t mind if a toddler is chucking a tantrum - we’ve seen it all and we’re here to make things as easy for you as we possibly can.
I feel very honoured to be welcomed into their home and to be welcomed into their world.