20 on Tuesday: Kristy Lane!

Lifestyle Photography:  a style of photography which aims to portray real-life situations in a controlled setting.

Lifestyle photography has been around awhile but it has become more and more popular in the industry in recent years.  I love, love, love lifestyle! It’s my most favorite style of photography and one that intrigues and inspires me.  It may look easy, but there’s a true art to being able to master capturing the everyday moments in a way that they  look and feel like much more than snapshots, yet still look and feel as if the photographer was never part of the scene.

One of my favorite lifestyle inspirations is Kristy Lane.  I “met” this beautiful friend when I took the Bloom Workshop that she and Brenda Acuncius created.  Part of the workshop covers the art of lifestyle photography.  The examples of her work that she shared blew me away.  You might even say they spoke to me.  True lifestyle makes me feel like I was actually there or like I’ve been there before in my own life.  It brings out memories of my childhood when I see lifestyle of children and families.  Lifestyle captures the everyday moments that you hope to always remember.  Kristy’s work does that for me.  She is a master of vibrant color and emotive black and white.

I’ve been able to get to know Kristy better through the Bloom Forum.  I don’t know how she does all that she does with three gorgeous children, a husband, and her work with F8 Kids, but she is always replying to threads with encouragement and humor.  She and Brenda have created a home for photographers around the world to share, create, and inspire.

Hi Kristy,

Where are you from?

Texas, Virginia, then Texas again.

Where is home now?

Carrollton, TX

Are you formally educated or self-taught in photography?

Both. I started out in college when it was still film. I was consumed by it…shooting, developing and printing all of my own work. Then I picked it back up after I had my first son. I was lucky enough to tag along with Gary Donihoo on some weddings where he would show me things and give me little pointers. Just watching him work actually helped a lot too.

How did you and Brenda end up together with f8 Studio?

Brenda and I immediately clicked the first time we met. She’s the big sister I never had, she takes care of me! I think she mentioned in her interview that we ended up getting pregnant at the same time and have babies with birthdays just a few weeks apart, so that brought us closer too. Once we started teaching workshops, we knew we wanted to have a studio together some day in the future. In the mean time, f8 was wanting to expand into children’s photography. I had always secretly wished Gary (he shot my wedding in July 2003) would ask me to come work with him as f8 kids and about a year ago, it became a reality. Bren and I are sort of a package deal so I literally begged her to come on board with me and that’s how we became f8 kids!

I am a proud former Bloomie and have reaped the rewards of all of the knowledge shared.  What has been the best part of teaching for you?

I honestly think that the best part doesn’t have anything to do with photography. We have met so many amazing people through our workshop and have remained close to a lot of them (as you know!).  Brenda and I are surrounded by an online community of some of the sweetest women ever and it has been–in large part–due to the workshop.

Talk to me about personal projects.  Are they important and what have you done lately?

Personal projects are high up on my list and usually include at least one of my kids. I love documenting what they are doing in their lives, especially if it’s a “first” for them. I guess my latest little project was capturing my daughter’s first day of dance class. She’s two!

How do you stay motivated and your photography current?

Unfortunately, I’m not sure that I do! Sometimes when I’m not motivated, just having the camera actually IN my hand does the trick. I love shooting so much, once I start seeing through my camera, I get motivated all over again. And I think the workshop really helps us to stay current. We discuss style and inspiration often so I end up learning from our students!

If you could be invisible for one day with your camera…

Well I’d need two of me because I would want to photograph my family interacting…but I’d want to be involved too! I’d love to capture the times when we’re all hanging out together laughing or when my husband is rocking my little girl at night before bed while I read books to my boys. Probably a cheesy answer but true.

Name a photographer you would like to take a portrait of?

Barb Uil. And I would hope that in doing that, some of her amazing-ness might rub off on me!

What’s your best advice for balancing work and family?

When I can come up with something actually worth saying, I’ll come back and answer this one! I’m exhausted most of the time because I try to not work at all when my kids are with me. Once they are in bed, then I work.

What’s in your camera bag?

Canon 5D MarkII, 85mm 1.2, 50mm 1.4, 100mm 2.8 macro

Talk to me about your lifestyle photography. Do you have a plan before you start or do you let the moment happen on its own?

I like to have somewhat of a plan or some sort of idea about how it will go but it doesn’t always work out that way. I tend to email quite a bit with my clients before our session so we can discuss what sort of things we might do. It’s hard for people to be in front of a stranger with a camera and still act “natural” somehow. Some of my most favorite shots are from the ends of sessions, after everyone has warmed up to the idea.

If not a photographer what would you have been?

I guess a psychologist since that’s what I got my degree in. (I think this is more fun though!)

If you could live anywhere on this awesome planet where would you build your dream home?

Right here. Well…close to here. I have a lot of family here and lots of really great friends so I’m happy right where I am. Plus, I don’t like to fly!

What talent would you most like to have?

Singing! My voice is awful. Really bad.

What are the three words your spouse would use to describe you?

I asked him and it took him forever to finally settle on: smart, driven, passionate:)

Something that is over rated…

Lazy husbands and dads, lol! I’m pretty spoiled by my husband and I think there should be more men out there like him!

Your favorite movie of all time?

Father of the Bride

If you could change one thing you did while starting your photography business, what would it be?

Not start it! I never really intended on having my own business and I’m not sure that I did everything the right way. It was pretty stressful. I really like working with f8 now and having people to bounce ideas off of or ask advice when I need it.