Meet Kirsten Lee | Atlanta Family Photographer

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

Hi Kirsten, why did you pursue a creative career?
All my life, I’ve loved being an artist!! I begged my parents for art classes when I was in elementary school and eventually they gave in. I was willing to take art classes at night after school from 4th grade through 12th grade. In college, I found my love for working with children with special needs and eventually ended up with a master’s degree in special education. I enjoyed teaching for many years after that. After becoming a mom, I learned to love art again through my camera. It was something that came naturally to me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. After my second child in 2011, I decided to turn it into a business and start Kirsten Lee Photography. It has taken a lot of hard work to be a successful business owner and it is something that I truly enjoy. On the creative side of photography, the one thing that makes me the happiest is finding that “yummy light”. Yes, it sounds ridiculous but when you find that golden sun outside and you use it to make your subject pop through your camera, it makes your heart burst with happiness. I’m always looking around my environment looking at how light can change the way we view the world. Almost 10 years later, I’m still chasing the light through my camera lens. I LOVE my job and career as a family photographer. In the past two years, I’ve expanded my business by teaching others in my community how to use their own DSLR cameras. Adding camera classes to my business has allowed me to come full circle. I have combined my love of teaching, art, and photography together!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Every photographer or artist has his or her own “style”. Over the years, I’ve focused on creating art that will resonate with my clients. I want my photos to capture my client’s personalities, love for each other, and tell their story. I love using sunlight and bold colors in my work. My goal as a photographer is to create images that become timeless over the years. My clients can look at their photos and remember that season of life. I recently asked my clients; “What three words come to mind when looking at my photos/art?” and I LOVED their responses. They used words like thoughtful, captivating, magic, personal, colorful, and unique. Hearing how they view MY art allows me to continue my journey of creating as an artist and photographer.

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.
I would take them into the city to Ponce City Market! It is such a fun area to explore and you get a little bit of everything! You can shop, eat, and even go for a walk up on the Atlanta Beltline. I live in Douglasville, which is about 25 minutes west of Atlanta. It is a great community to be part of and I would totally share my community with my bestie. Our family loves going to Downtown Douglasville and eating dinner at Fabiano’s Pizza or Gabe’s Downtown. Both are great restaurants here in our community. For a fun outside activity, we love to explore Clinton Nature Preserve, which is full of fun nature trails.

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?
My husband has always been my biggest cheerleader! From the very beginning he always has been there to help me with ideas, plan out my business, and support me along the way. My children are also there cheering me along the way. They love to help me and see that I’m apart of our community. It is so important to show our children that we can pursue our dreams and hard work really does pay off.

Website: kirstenleephotography.com
Instagram: instagram.com/kirstenleephotographyatl
Facebook: facebook.com/kirstenleephotography

Image Credits
My headshot is by Shannon Akins Photography All other images I send over are mine