We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kirsten Albert. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kirsten below.
Kirsten, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
When I was in middle school I was really finding my place in the world through art and taking photos, whether I was truly aware of it or not. I started out taking photos on my old Ipod touch and would show my mom. She started to quickly realize that I had an eye and would always be encouraging me to keep taking photos. Growing up, I always remember my mom taking photos. Around birthdays and graduations as I got older, we would dig out bins and bins full of photographs of my childhood, family events, landscapes, my mothers garden, all shot by her. While she never took up photography professionally, I truly believe she pushed some of her desires to do so into me. When I got into high school I was disappointed when I had to wait until sophomore year to take a photo course. I became hooked more and more into photography and by junior year I was in the advanced course. Senior year, I decided I wanted to apply for an independent study to be able to spend more time learn about photography and hopefully dabble into the film photography world. The administration denied that and no matter how hard my photography teacher, Abigail Cramer, and I fought for this course, they still denied it and destroyed the darkroom. In turn, I decided to take my senior privilege for a semester having one period off and instead of going home I would stay and do more and more creative work. In these high school courses I learned a lot about taking the photographic medium out of its traditional rectangular format and how to turn it into more tangible and sculptural pieces. This was entirely intriguing to me. The college deadline creepily approached and I had to figure out where I wanted to go to school and what for and there, of course, was the pressure of choosing a major for something more practical over going to an arts school. For a moment there was a possibility that I would go to school for Marine Biology, but I realized how much I loved taking photos and how much joy and passion that filled me with and how hard I fought to try and obtain an independent study course. There was no way I could possibly do anything else. Photography was it for me. The following fall, I ended up at the University of the Arts studying photography.
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?
When I went into college, I was a major introvert. I told my family that I strictly wanted to be a landscape photographer and I never wanted to deal with photographing people. Going through more and more photography courses and working in a studio setting while learning about fashion photography, those thoughts about not wanting to deal with people changed. I loved being able to capture photos of people in a fun and creative light, sometime I even started putting myself in front of my own lens. I began building crazy sets on my own and getting ideas bigger than assignments given that I couldn’t not let myself follow through with. In 2020, I was in my last semester of my senior year when covid hit and we all went online, which was excruciating. With all the time in the world, I decided to teach myself how to develop my own color film in my bath tub. Shortly after graduating I had the opportunity to visit my family out in California, somewhere I have always seen myself living, and by 2021 I moved from Philadelphia to California to sail bigger waters. I knew there was so much more that I could experience on the west coast so I took a leap of faith and moved with nothing, no money, no driver’s license, just a big dream and my family to support me. I started working in a crystal shop, where I was able to expand my knowledge in my own spirituality and beliefs and it is still expanding to this day. I worked on a farm where I met a wonderful woman named Kathy who connected me with her friend, Bonnie. Bonnie and would chat about how I studied photography and art when she mentioned her son, Paul Goodman. Paul is an amazing writer and director who, at the time, was about to start filming a feature film, and needed more hands on set. I quickly jumped at the opportunity of being a Production Assistant on his film No No Girl, without having any knowledge on what it meant to even be on a film set or any of what that position entailed. Three days later, filming began and i was on set with such an amazing cast and crew who welcomed me in with open arms. I quickly started working with the Director of Photography, Ben Slavens, and basically worked under his wings. He was able to teach me so much more about lighting and equipment and set etiquette. By the end of filming I had Assistant Camera and Grip and Electric titles under my belt and a new set of friends that I am so happy to call family. After this set I started working at multiple different film labs where I still am currently, developing hundreds of rolls a day and bringing so many peoples photographs to life. From time to time I shoot when I can, I have done engagement shoots, couples sessions, and even worked with musicians, such as Hannah Leigh, on creative portraits. Besides your traditional photography, I try to break the medium in ways that intrigue me, for example, making cyanotypes, collaging, and doing polaroid emulsions lifts. I am always trying to find new ways to take photography and make it something more.
Outside of photography, I am exploring different ways to be creative, even in combination with my spirituality. I have been working on making very intricate spells candles in which I dress the candles with crystals, herbs, and other small meaningful objects. This has taken me into designing tarot journals and planners and hopefully will be working on my own decks in the future.
I find a lot of my inspiration for everything from the natural world around us and nature. Trying to spend time outside is very important because that is where I find all of my inspiration. Being able to be fully present in small moments is so important to my practice and stepping outside and being surround by water and tall trees has been the best and only reset I could ever need.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is being able to get a message across. If I am able to make someone feel something from a photograph, see photography in a new light. If I am able to bring someone an ounce of confidence when they see themselves in a photograph I have taken, I know I have won. As creatives, we have the power to not only do things for ourselves but to do so much more for other people.
While things like engagement shoots and portraits are the real money makers of being a photographer, the money aspects are not what makes it important. It is an opportunity to show yourself your true talent and express your passions and through doing that you make others feel welcomed, loved, and seen.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I want to be able to build diversity in the creative world. Photography specifically is an industry that I still feel like has a lot of work to do. I have worked for a few photographers who claim to have inclusivity, but slowly realized under the surface that is all a front. I truly believe that we, not only as photographers, but as humans, all have a seat at the table and a story to tell and for some of us that just happens to be through photography. Day in and day out, photography becomes more expensive and out of reach for EVERYBODY to access who feels the desire to access it. I hope to highlight everybody throughout my photographic work and through my connections, I hope to uplift everyone who needs it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @k.albertphoto
Image Credits
Personal Portrait shot by Alex Hancak