Rising Stars: Meet Kris Rose of Santa Monica

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kris Rose.

Hi Kris, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I first began taking photos January 1st, 2024 as sort of a new year’s resolution thing. But before you write me off as a walking cliché, let me try and provide a little context into how I got here today, and then feel free to write me off, sound good? So my creative journey probably began back in 2010, my junior year of college. I had just moved back home to L.A after making the difficult decision to step away from playing college basketball which was a lifelong goal of mine. At this point in time I was feeling like I had lost my identity and was in desperate need of a new “mountain” to climb. I’ve always had a passion for storytelling and my friends kept encouraging me to try my hand at stand-up comedy, so like any naive twenty-year-old with zero experience I said, “For sure, I could probably be good at that”. So, I signed up for an open mic, prepared what I thought was a hilarious five-minute set, got on stage and instantly found out that I was in fact NOT good at that. I bombed. Super hard.

Those five minutes of silence felt like legitimately three hours. I’m not even positive what happened next but I’m pretty sure I blacked out from embarrassment. One second I’m on stage and the next I’m driving alone in my car listening to Coldplay. But as bad as the night was, for some strange reason I just remember feeling like I had to get back on stage. Maybe a part of it was my ego in desperate need to redeem itself, but I truly believed I could get good at this. It was possible, I just needed to stick to the formula.

Now you’re probably asking what the hell’s the formula? Well back in high school, I was fortunate enough to have a mentor in basketball teach me a system that would literally become my north star for whatever I wanted to do in life. And it was broken down to me into four simple categories. I was taught that if I ever wanted to become good at something I must be passionate, I must be curious, I must be consistent and lastly, I must have fun. Now obviously, this formula is just a framework, mantras don’t magically make you better, I’d still have to put in the work. But as I applied this formula to my life in high school, not only did it improve me as a ball player, but it slowly started to instill an unshakeable confidence inside me. And that resiliency would grow to the point where no matter how crazy a dream I have, and regardless of outside opinion, I know that if I put in the sweat equity, the rest will follow.

And over nearly the past two decades, it is that confidence that has helped me venture into every new creative space I’ve stepped into. Without it there’s no doubt I would never have played college ball, performed in L.A’s biggest comedy clubs, or even build a wine company from scratch. And I most certainly would not have picked up an old camera on January 1st, 2024 and be crazy enough to think that one day I’d be getting interviewed, let alone actually paid for my photography. Yet somehow here we are. Over the past two years I’ve absolutely fallen in love with the craft and form of storytelling. I’ve always felt as though I could vividly see an idea in my head before starting a project, I’m just finally the one behind the lens bringing it to life. There’s no doubt I have a long way to go, but I’m enjoying the process and once again sticking to the formula. And although the formula won’t always guarantee success, it will always guarantee my best. And as long as my best is better than bombing hard as shit on stage in front of six strangers at a bar in North Hollywood, I’m cool with those results.

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?
They say a smooth road makes for a boring ride. And I have to admit, boring would have been pretty nice at times. But unfortunately, no, my journey has been a bit of a rollercoaster both professionally and personally. In the past decade alone, I’ve experienced multiple career changes, close family members suffered serious illnesses, I launched a business the same month we had a global pandemic, and I had to bury my father two weeks before what was supposed to be my wedding day. It’s been a lot. But hey, it’s been a lot for everyone. Especially these last five years.

So for better or worse it’s kind of made any struggles I’ve experienced with photography really not so bad in comparison. Of course I still go through the same stuff everyone in this industry has to deal with. Finding job opportunities, getting my work seen, breaking into certain spaces, etc. But honestly that all just comes with the game. I think for me, the biggest challenge I personally face is time. In the past I usually become pretty one track minded when I lock into something. But these days being a Dad is by far my most important job, so finding that healthy balance between work and family time is something that’s a big priority for me. And not that I’m super old or anything, but sometimes I do feel like I got started pretty late in the game. With so many of my peers having started in their teens or early twenties, I feel like I’m on this crash course, constantly cramming my brain with information just to keep up. Obviously this is my own insecurity and most days I feel pretty good. But there are definitely some days where I feel like, “man, it sure would be nice to have a photographer on set to come take these pictures”. Imposter syndrome can be a real asshole.

With that being said, while time can certainly feel like my weakness, I’ve also found my life experiences to be my strength. For example, there was a time when I used to let failure control me. If I felt like I came up short on my goals, it was like a sword going through my chest. This is embarrassing to say but in literally every phase of my life I would think, “This story is going to be such a sick book one day”, only for it to blow up in my face and leave me devastated. But what I couldn’t see at the time was that those “failures” were simply just my experiences, and each experience is a chapter in the greater story of my life. Some chapters are funny, some are sad, in some I win, and in some I lose. But collectively they have all shaped and molded me into the person I am today. And when it comes to photography, I understand I’m very new to this, I am going to fail A LOT, but I don’t have the time to be paralyzed by it. So now whenever I face obstacles or setbacks, I literally just say “Cool, add it to the book” and keep it moving. And I believe that mindset has played a major factor in my growth and the rate in which I’ve been able to progress.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
While it’s hard for me to say I specialize in any one thing at this stage of my photography career, I think I probably get the most juiced up shooting sports. Any sport is a blast to shoot, but action sports have definitely taken priority this past year. There’s just something so powerful and inspiring about capturing these incredible humans doing things 99% of the population would never dream to attempt. I’m from the generation that used to stick posters of their favorite athletes on their wall so I feel like I’m always subconsciously hunting for that “poster” worthy shot and whenever someone tells me they want to frame a photo I’ve taken that’s like the proudest moment for me. The thought that my photos might be shown to these people’s kids and grandkids someday is something I do not take lightly. And as long as I am able to make them look as badass in a photo as they do in real life, then I have done my job.

I think one of the things that has helped set me apart is having a consistent style. And to be honest I didn’t even realize I had a style until multiple clients started hiring me specifically for my style. So then I thought, shit, maybe I do have a style after all haha. I feel like I didn’t realize it probably because it just developed organically over time, shooting whatever interested me and learning new skills through trial and error. Something I’m still doing to this day. I learned the basics taking some really awkward street photos, mostly of trash cans and old people sitting down on benches. Once I felt more comfortable, I think I naturally gravitated towards shooting basketball because that was the sport I played. But I really sharpened my skills when I started photographing skateboarders. Skate photography is practically like an entire genre unto itself. It comes with its own set of rules for how skaters and tricks should be photographed, traditional photography rules do not necessarily apply. And I think taking the skills and styles that I’ve learned from each environment and blending them together in a way that feels very much like me, has undoubtedly helped my work stand out in the process.

Lastly, I think what probably sets me apart from others is just my overall experience creating in other fields. I want my clients to know that they are not just hiring a photographer, they’re hiring someone with over twelve years of experience creating and producing content across various social platforms. They’re hiring someone who understands the demands of having an audience and the pressures that come with running a business on a tight budget. So if you’re looking to bring on someone you can discuss your creative needs with, develop a concept, and help execute the concept, I am your guy. However, if you need someone to just show up, shut up, and take some photos at your company event or whatever I can totally do that too haha.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up I was a pretty out-going kid. Much like today I had the ability to get along with anyone and I wasn’t really into rocking the boat. My siblings were all much older than me so when they went off to college my friend group really became like a family to me. But it was in fourth grade where I think I really found myself, or found myself as much as a ten year old can. I remember discovering I had a sense of humor and that pretty much became my superpower that I leaned all throughout school. And probably still do to this day.

I was born and raised in Santa Monica, California so I spent a lot of time outdoors going to the beach, playing basketball, football, and skateboarding. I grew up in the 90’s so our parents still had very limited ways to track us back then. Around eleven or twelve my friends and I would all get dropped off at Douglas park on Wilshire, which was the meet up spot for skaters, and we would then hop on the Big Blue Bus and take it all over the westside. We’d go mess around in Venice, Palisades, Westwood, and be sure to make it back to the park before our parents would pick us up. They never even had a clue we had left. I’m glad I got to experience that type of freedom as a kid and I’m also relieved as a parent in 2025 that my own kids will not be able to say the same LMAO.

By the time I was in High school I was pretty much locked into basketball. That was my whole life. I viewed myself back then as a pretty serious athlete, however I recently read through some of my classmates’ messages in my senior yearbook and pretty much everyone talked about how stupid or funny I was in class, so unfortunately nobody else seemed to take me very seriously. I also had intense ADD growing up and I remember I had to break my life down into three categories. School, sports, and social life. I knew even at a young age there was no chance I could focus on all three successfully, two categories were my absolute limit. So yeah, that’s pretty much the reason why I never had a girlfriend growing up. Or at least that’s what I would tell myself…

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/k.rosegoes/

Image Credits
Kris Rose