Check Out Kristen Rutherford’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristen Rutherford.

Kristen, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My husband bought me my first Nikon SLR back in the late 90’s and I fell in love with it immediately. I brought it everywhere we went. We moved from NYC to LA and I was working steadily as a television writer on game shows, info-tainment shows, award shows, talk shows – the kinds of scripts people don’t realize are written.

While I was a staff writer for Attack of the Show on G4 in the mid 2000s, our tech reporter let me borrow a Nikon D60 DSLR, and then Nikon very kindly let me buy our test model for a SUPER cheap price. People saw my work and started asking me to shoot their family photos, or portraits – and I became the school photographer for 2 preschools.

Then the world shut down, and in that global pause, I took a breath and realized that even though I really enjoyed writing, and was good at it – I was passionate about photography. I started to wonder if I could make my side hustle my front hustle – and move my front hustle to the side.

I decided to call my business “Kristonian Photo” because I’m originally from Washington D.C., and my NYC friends nicknamed me “Kristonian” like Smithsonian. I put myself out there and said “I am a photographer now,” – and when I did, it was like an explosion of booking work – as if people had been waiting for me to have the courage to declare it. Photography is a gorgeous balance for my personality. I love to connect with people and learn about them. But after a session, I need to be alone to recharge my social batteries. I’ve always been an artistic person, and used art as self-care, so the quiet solo hours editing a session are the perfect way for me to feel happy and restore myself mentally.

So now I work steadily as a full time photographer – but I still take writing jobs – I’m currently the lead writer of the Crunchyroll Anime Awards Live from Tokyo. I used to travel quite a bit to Tokyo for work when I was at G4 as a writer for Attack & Ninja Warrior (Sasuke.) For over 20 years I’ve embraced the jet lag to walk the city as it wakes up, shooting street photos. There’s nothing like a rainy night in Tokyo, the neon reflections in the streets and the seas of umbrellas. I love to photograph people in a way that evokes the idea of being alone in a crowd, but not lonely. I’m currently working on a personal photo essay inspired by something Lorde said on the Therapuss podcast – that when you are in a big city, you can have moments that are “private, but shared.”

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Oh man, yes, I have struggled. Like I said – I was working full time as a writer and doing photography as a side hustle – and one of my gigs was shooting school photos for a preschool. It was a nice little bit of extra money, but when parents would ask me if I could shoot their family photos, I always said “no, no, this is just something I am doing for the school.” But then I thought – you know what? I really have this dream of being a full time photographer, so I’m going to dip my toe in this water and see how it goes. So I said yes to taking someone’s family photos — and sadly they were not a great match. They yelled at their kids the whole time, the dad was … not a nice guy, seemed very put out to be there, and refused to do anything I suggested. Then, when I delivered the photos, they said they hated the location I picked. I was way too green to understand how to pre-screen a client, and barring that, take control of a session to establish myself as the one in charge. And unfortunately, instead of brushing myself off and moving on – I let that set me back for TEN YEARS. I popped right back into my shell like nope, nope, nope, I’ll just keep on writing, I’m successful at that, it’s fine. I let that experience rob me of YEARS of a photography career.

I also weirdly struggled with guilt! People move to Los Angeles with dreams of becoming a writer – and here I am, making money, working steadily and very successful in my field -like waaaaah it’s been 20 years of steady work and waaaah i am tired of it and want to pursue something else. It felt not fair to – I don’t know who? To somehow be a little tired of it! I had to get over that immediately – my life is my life. I would be the first person to encourage someone to break out and pursue something new.

I was also kind of stuck in this mental jail of “pick a lane.” As if somehow, working as a photographer meant I had to stop taking writing jobs – it was this weird old fashioned mentality. I think I used to worry about being seen as a dilettante, until I had a meeting with a woman about a collab opportunity and when I told her my story she said, ” Wow! It’s amazing how you’ve been able to diversify your talents and interests throughout your whole life to be successful.” So yeah – sometimes you need to just flip the script. I’ve been a writer for so many years but sometimes you need help punching up your own story.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I do all kinds of photography, but I really specialize in and love doing portraits. Most people feel hella nervous to stand purposely in front of a camera for a “formal” photograph. I’m good at disarming people when they’re anxious so they immediately feel grounded, connected, comfortable, and most importantly, supported and taken care of. There are all kinds of ways to make people feel cared for -for instance, I spend a lot of time studying posing, so if someone steps in front of my camera and says “ugh I don’t know what to do with my hands!” I have the answers for them. I’m so proud of how many times someone has said to me after a solo, corporate, or family session, “I was so nervous but that was so fun!” or, “That is the best picture of me anyone has ever taken!” or my favorite, “That really looks like me!”

I think when all is said and done, people remember how you made them feel, and I work hard to really see people for who they are. When I do school photos, I don’t run the kids through like a factory. I take the time to talk with them a little. I respect them. I ask them things straight up like, “do you want to smile?” or “do you like your braces?” because you know what? Some kids are not smiley kids! (But I also have rules about not smiling- which are basically you can’t be looking like a serial killer, so you need to follow my directions. haha) A lot of parents tell me they love my photos of their kids — but honestly, the proudest I feel is when a middle schooler or teenager says they love their photos.

Teens are the greatest, I treat senior sessions like magazine editorials, and really enjoy spending time with them and listening to them talk about what they’re into. I’m psyched because this spring I’m changing things up a bit with my editorials and offering stylized senior photo shoots, but instead of shooting with me solo, you bring your friend group and we run around while you hype each other up. Senior year is the last time your friend group will be like this, this moment will never return, so let’s document it.

I think that’s the most important thing for me when I work with someone. That you share with me the love of this era for our family, the beautiful way you are right now, the child as they are in this moment, the event as it happens. Of course, we can pose a little bit for the mantlepiece – but I love doing sessions with people who embrace what is what in this very second.

That family that made me retreat back into my hidey hole didn’t like that their kid wanted to make a fox face. He was obsessed with foxes and when I would point my camera at him, he would put his hands up like paws and accentuate his teeth to be like a fox. They screamed at him to stop and just be “normal.” I remember I felt so sad – I thought, what if someday when he’s grown and gone, you find that you miss this little boy that just wanted to be a fox.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
The world feels really heavy right now, so I’m always trying to find ways to not drown, and instead be active, bring joy, or help. I’m from D.C. and I know a lot of what we see in the news is straight theatre. But now those performances have reached another level and are causing real danger – social media has amplified everything and there’s a firehose of information coming at us. Our lives are designed without our input to draw us deeper and deeper into darkness and anger. The tiny spaces in our days where we used to be able to have a quiet moment to think or zone out have been robbed from us – think about when you get your gas, and when you put the pump in your tank, it triggers a loud, tinny sounding advertisement – that small crack of silence has been filled with crap – and I think it’s why you can feel a low hum of anger in the air.

What matters to me is what I can control, and how I can use what I do in a positive way. That means being active instead of passive, offering photo sessions to people in a way that lifts my city, my neighborhood, or someone in need, not to raise my own profile or virtue signal.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kristenrutherford.com
• Instagram: BIZ INSTA https://www.instagram.com/kristonianphoto PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECTS https://www.instagram.com/kristonian
• Other: https://kristenrutherford.substack.com/