We were lucky to catch up with Katie Levine recently and have shared our conversation below.

Katie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you share a story with us from back when you were an intern or apprentice? Maybe it’s a story that illustrates an important lesson you learned or maybe it’s a just a story that makes you laugh (or cry)? Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style.

I had the unique experiences of interning for both Vogue Magazine at their LA offices, and interning for the photographer Annie Leibovitz. Interning I think is one of of the best thing you can do for your career (paid, or unpaid if you can make it work!). I treated both my internships like master degrees, Dedicating my everything to soaking up every bit of it. Learning how to use my ears -instead of my mouth, to learn and grow. The craziest experience I ever had interning for Annie Leibovitz was assisting on a Louis Vuitton Campaign where the location was an construction site on the 80th floor, no windows, in the middle of manhattan. I had to ride the construction elevator, it was so scary but was a sink or swim moment. Beyond that, my internships was my first time around famous people, which then lead me to have a calm about me when I eventually started photographing celebrities myself.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve been doing photography my entire life. My father who was a hobby photographer put a camera in my hand as young as 3 years old. I fell in love with doing portraits in high school. That’s when I technically started my business at 16. From there I went to college for photography. I did my internship at Vogue which is where I got most of my fashion knowledge. After I graduated college, I moved to NYC to intern for Annie Leibovitz. After a year there, I continued to assist other photographers until I eventually branched off on my own in 2015. Since then, my fashion + celebrity career launched. I’ve been fortunate to photograph everyone from the Kardashians, to Marisa Tomei, to Chance the Rapper. During the pandemic, I fell in love with my now husband and we made the move to Arizona. Since then, I’ve realized my passion is helping highlight local businesses “star power” and help elevate branding for them.

Have you ever had to pivot?

During the pandemic, my business came to a complete stop. To stay creative, I started doing facetime shoots with model friends. From there, I realized the potential to do these as headshots for companies that have gone fully remote. Since that idea, I’ve now done more than 3,000 facetime shoots all around the country and world. It has become my bread and butter to my business and added a new element to my business.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source of new clients is word of mouth. I have built a reputation of taking high quality times that feel the most authentic to the customer. Treat every customer how you would want to be taken care of. Go above and beyond and you will see the customers keep flowing in.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.katielevinephoto.com
• Instagram: katielevinephoto

Image Credits
Katie Levine Photography