Imagine Magazine interview

The wonderful folks at Imagine Magazine asked me a few questions recently. Take a peek:
   
http://emag.imaginenews.com/#page/8 

Slow Summer

Shooting kids, shooting grown ups, shooting stills, shooting video. July into August is usually my slow time and I get to goof off and enjoy Summer... not this year. Phew! Lots of good stuff going on. Will share more at the end of August. Or follow me on instagram @kimlowephoto 
   
Hope you're goofing off and enjoying Summer!!

Inspiration.

I'm not sure if I’m tired this morning because of the margaritas from Rosa Mexicana and Committee Boston last night and wine from the amazing McBride Sisters at the AdClub Women’s event yesterday OR if my exhaustion comes from the amazing female speakers whose inspirational words flooded my mind and heart yesterday at the Women’s Leadership Forum.

I’m still trying to process it all — from the young mountain climber Sasha DiGiulian, who climbed even though the dudes climbing next to her told her ’This is no place for a girl.’ (talk about climbing mountains!) to Reshma Saujani who began the non-profit and movement, Girls Who Code, striving to get more girls into STEM fields. From Kelli Carlin, daughter of George Carlin, telling us that if you don’t have your own truth, you don’t have your own power, to a local mother and nurse, Christine McSherry who not only saved her son, she saved thousands of other children who were dying from rare diseases in this country by never giving up. Unbelievable!! You’re tired just reading this right?!

And that was just who was on stage. There were 1200 amazing women in the room!! (And a small handful of brave men.) Not only was I lucky enough to hear these incredibly inspiring stories from the speakers, I got to spend the day connecting with amazing women right here in Boston: Amy Flanagan, Andrea Becker, DeMane Davis, Jane Hirschi, Rachel Houk-Seeger, Carol Lee Kelleher, Sue Kingsbury, Molly Scannell, Kathy Kiely, Ellen Lacey, Noreen Moross, Margie Sullivan, Julie Paquette, Michelle Coughlin, Kathleen Schiffman, Margaux Stunzi, Julianna Akuamoah and so, so many more. What a day!

I felt so lucky to be in that room and to have played a small part of the event by filming and photographing some of these incredible women. With my ad in the WLF program reading “Inspiration is contagious. Congratulations, you’re a carrier.” I was trying to speak to each individual person at the event, but I’m also speaking to you now. We are all carriers of inspiration. Small or big. Think about that for a little while. And I hope it makes you tired, too.

[ View the videos here: http://vimeo.com/kimlowe/videos ]

NEW WORK: Unfiltered

Sometimes the trickiest part of a shoot for me, as a director or as a photographer, is actually just picking up the camera. THIS was one of those shoots.

On this day, there were so many moments I didn't want to be shooting — I wanted to put the camera down and just start talking with the amazing women I was shooting. I was moved and inspired by them repeatedly. It took all my energy to lift my camera and do my job.

Here's just one of many videos:
http://vimeo.com/154069780

To see five other videos from this shoot and be inspired yourself, click here: http://vimeo.com/kimlowe

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I feel very lucky to have played a small role in a big event this week. 
   
The AdClub had their annual Women's Leadership Forum. A few weeks ago, they approached me about using my photography for their banners, programs, books and more. Of course I said 'Of course!' Their theme this year was "What do you want to be when you grow up?" And they needed photographs of girls to work alongside quotes and answers to this question. Well I have shot some incredible girls in the past ten years and I was happy to share those beautiful, happy faces with the AdClub for their event. 
   
What I didn't realize was how amazing they would make my work look. Big, bright banners rose up over my head as I entered the venue. Photographs flickered on big screens. A book met me on my chair filled with smart, funny quotes and beautiful photographs. For a second, I didn't even realize they were MY photographs. 
   
I was honored that they used my photography. I was even more honored to be in a room filled with 700+ great women (especially at a table with two of my favorite women) and be in the audience listening to and absorbing messages from leaders that I've admired for a long time. 
   
When you get a chance, not IF, but when you get a chance, watch the video on the AdClub website. You will be inspired by the amazing speakers. Listen to Azure Antoinette's poem — not once, but twice, so you don't miss anything. And you will be moved by my friend Chris Edward's remarkable story. You'll want to give him a standing ovation right there in your living room.   
   
http://adclub.org  

Trending for 2015

So I've read that a trend for 2015 in the photo-advertising industry is that clients are no longer expecting a photographer to capture a single photograph for say, a print ad, but are requiring a photographer to capture a library of imagery. A library is necessary to a client because their advertising needs have changed over the past few years — an image for a print ad may be needed still but along with a Facebook cover shot or post, a blog post, a tweet, an instagram image, a banner, a meme, etc... you get the picture. What's interesting is that — well, I've been shooting libraries for clients for years now. Because I wanted that from my photographers when I worked on Royal Caribbean and John Hancock in my Art Director/Designer years, I guess that's why I've always done that for my clients in my Photographer years. 
   
I mention this as I just finished organizing a library of photography from a photoshoot with FamilyFun magazine last year. It took me a few months to narrow down 5,000 images to just 75 but take a peek. My team and I worked hard (really hard in 95 degree temps too) to capture a range of shots for the 6+ scenarios in a single day photoshoot:
   
http://www.kimlowe.com/#/categories 

Take a HAPPY break

Behind the promotional series "Take a happy break!"
   
HOW IT STARTED: 
Many people over the past few years have told me "I feel so happy when I visit your website. It makes me feel good." Immediately I thought how nice that I can give them a little 'happy break' in their crazy day. I was in the advertising world for a decade—sitting in an office all day and a lot of nights and even on weekends. Sitting in meetings after meetings. It's tough! Really tough! It's one crazy day after another with so few breaks. I get it. So the "Take a HAPPY break." series began last year. 
   
Take a HAPPY break. Blow bubbles.
Firstly, I mailed out and hand-delivered bubbles to approximately 50 specific creatives in and around Boston and NYC. The bubbles were to promote a new gallery of bubbles imagery I had recently shot. Click here to view this work: http://www.kimlowe.com/KIMLOWEPHOTO_buuubbbbllles.pdf
   
Take a HAPPY break. Plant something.
Then came the tomato seedlings which was to draw attention to my new video series "Gardening Tips from a 3 Year Old." I grew these seedlings in my cellar with the help of my 3 year old son, the star of the videos and then delivered them around Boston. And sometimes I had him deliver them with me -- up the cute factor. Click here to view this series: http://vimeo.com/channels/gardeningwithkids
   
Take a HAPPY break. Eat something sweet.
And then, a couple months ago, I hand-delivered crates of Cuties clementines to very specific creatives and agencies to promote my new photography and tv spots for Cuties clementines. To view the tv spots, follow this link: http://www.kimlowe.com/#/motion   
   
And it's still on. I've got a couple more "happy breaks" to share. Watch your desk. 
   

Sorry Budweiser

Okay so Budweiser's 'Best Buds' ad was the best of the SuperBowl ads. But did they have kittens and babies and hedgehogs in their ad? No they did not. 
    
The Cuties Citrus ads (that do have puppies, kittens, babies and hedgehogs!) can be viewed here. Sorry Budweiser. 
   

Editing.

I made a chunk of videos in my years as an Art Director. Brand essence videos for clients. New business videos for pitches. And so on. In all those years I did not edit the video. I concepted, I directed, I tweaked... but I was never the one editing the lengths of flippin footage. Until now. And not until now did I truly understand and now appreciate what goes into editing. It's a lot of long, tedious work — multiplied by days. It's insanity. I will not edit another of my videos. Ever. I'm saying it here. I mean really, how many different angles of worms in a bucket did I really need to capture?!   
   
Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend everyone. I'll be editing. 
   

Eight shoots, one day!

The Two Birds 'Holiday Card' Fundraiser

The crew and the volunteers arrive. They don't know the families, the bidders. They don't know the children who'll receive warm clothes because they donated their time and talent. But yet, they walk through the door and leave their personal lives outside the studio. They volunteer for one reason: the kids. 

   

It's all about the kids—the children arriving with their parents to be photographed and the children who will receive coats and clothes, the ones who will be able to play in the snow this winter in winter clothes, not spring clothes.

   

So I thank you. I thank you if you shared a post about the fundraiser. I thank you if you bid and lost. I thank you if you bid and won. I thank you if you volunteered the first, second or third year. I thank you if you volunteered all three.    

   

It's not an easy day. It's eight professional shoots in less than six hours. The stylists lay clothes out for the kids with as much effort as they do for a big client. They make the kids feel like rockstars. The hair and make up artists give the children a glow and a sense of confidence—they make the kids feel special. The volunteers snatch the kids up in their arms and play with them like they've known them for years. That amazes me. Every year. No one spends time on their phone. No one is reading the newspaper. Every person in the studio is present — fully present. It's a unique day.  

   

I love that one little girl kicked her parents out of the shoot because she was having so much fun and wanted all the attention. I love that I got to meet Chickie. I love the emails from parents weeks later telling me their children are still talking about the photo shoot. I love that 7 families have been repeat customers. I love that the children sit on my lap and take pictures of their family with my camera. I love the little boy who tickled me to death. I love when I receive the families' holiday cards in the mail. I love the five adopted vietnamese children that made me stand up and dance my heart out. And I love that we raised $3050 this year. 

   

I am changed by this project. Unexpectedly, forever changed. I am full of joy and gratitude.

   

Two Birds 2012

This is not just a photographer putting your child in a chair and taking their picture. Not even close! 
   
It's a wardrobe stylist having cool clothes ready when your child arrives, letting them play dress-up and be silly. It's a hair and make-up artist ready to curl, straighten or tease your child's hair and then put a glow in their cheeks. And then you've got a photographer whose energy rivals a 3 year old's ready with her camera. 
    
Here's a clear picture of what you get:  
http://tinyurl.com/2BIRDSVIDEO
   
Bidding begins Oct 15th! Start here: 
http://tinyurl.com/C2C2BIRDS2012

TWO BIRDS: The Stylists

The kids don't come to this event to see me, the photographer. I'm okay with that. They come for the "star treatment." They come for the stylists.They want to get their hair styled and their cheeks to glow. They come bouncing through the door excited to see what clothes the stylist has brought for them. And that's the cool part — the wardrobe stylists find out a week in advance who the families are, they see photographs of the kids, get their sizes, and then go shopping for clothes to fit that child specifically. It's pretty cool! The stylists make the kids feel like rockstars!! Not me. They're amazing!
    
One day, eight spots. 
Bidding begins October 15th. Follow this link if you're interested in making a bid: http://tinyurl.com/C2C2BIRDS2012
    
Follow this link to see a behind the scenes video.
   

We've been very lucky to have some of Boston's top hair + make-up artists and wardrobe stylists with these great agencies: 
Ennis, Team and Zero2Sixty.

2¢

Every artist has a shadow and I know that imitation is a form of flattery. But, unfortunately, my shadow has completely made me reconsider mentoring grown-ups stuck in an office job hoping to become a kids photographer. This "artist" has copied my work, my locations and even my language. My entire brand that I worked tirelessly on for years. I know it's part of the digital age — it's just so easy to copy instead of creating your own art and building your own vision. The latter is harder and takes time. 
    
I hope that this person finds their own voice and grows into their own comfortable skin. It's the journey that is part of the art — not just the final photograph. It's knowing you evolved in to that creative body. That's my two cents.
    
I will continue to mentor young artists. That will never change. I am working with one child right now that will be having her own show in her living room/gallery. She's working toward ten photographs before school starts. She's a remarkable young photographer and I'll post about her amazing summer journey soon! She's more dedicated than anyone I know!!

    
[  Click here to read the artist Marina Abramovic's Manifesto. ] 

INSTaGRAM

If you can't seem to get enough nosepicking or naked bum jokes here on my blog, feel free to see what other flippy material I can offer up on Instagram. And you might also want to consider therapy. Have a great weekend everyone! 
   
Follow link to kimlowephoto on instragram. I'm just getting warmed up.
   

Kim Lowe Brings Holiday Cheer to C2C

PDN's Barbara Goldman posted this about me and my recent work with Cradles to Crayons and Boston Parents Paper:


Kim Lowe is one very talented woman who wears many hats. She is a Boston-based mama and a kids and lifestyle photographer. She graduated from the Art Institute of Boston and became an art director-designer at several big-time ad agencies including Hill Holliday and Arnold, and even managed to win a few awards. With ten years of ad experience under her belt, Lowe decided to put it all to use doing something she loved more. She opened her own photo studio in 2003.

Recently Lowe was contacted by Susan Flynn, Associate Editor of Boston Parents Paper, to shoot their December holiday cover of  Clara from The Commonweath Ballet's 'The Nutcracker.' As an avid reader of BPP, Lowe was thrilled to do the assignment. Because the publication is free, they offer full-page ads in exchange for work that is done for the publication. The ad space did not really work for Lowe and her audience, but she knew of a group who could use the exposure and promotion, especially at this time of year. Lowe used the ad space to help promote the kids non-profit organization Cradles to Crayons. C2C was founded in 2002, with the mission of providing children ages 0 to 12 some of the most important basics of life—free of charge. These basics include clothing, school supplies, toys and much more. They provide all the physical goods that help children feel safe, protect them from the elements and help them to learn. C2C was thrilled but unfortunately didn't know how to pull an ad together in just two weeks. Lowe put on her hat as art director. She used one of her shots of a little boy bundled up in the snow, wrote the headline "With your $25 donation a child gets a winter coat. And the freedom to bury himself in the snow," and also designed the body and copy of the ad. Which she said was "...easy and fun."
    With the ad created for C2C, she started work on her shoot for BPP, set for Sunday October 30th, notable this year as the weekend of the great snowstorm that hit the whole Northeast. Lowe was scheduled to shoot young ballerinas of The Nutcracker in a dance studio that also happened to be dark, was in a basement and had no windows or natural light. As luck would have it, the dance studio had a power outage from the snow storm, and Lowe had barely any light for the shoot or heat for her young dancers. They had to bundle up in coats to stay warm between shots.
    The challenges mounted but the ever-resourceful Lowe used a monolight and a few carefully placed reflectors and was able to capture the grace and joy of the young ballerina Clara meeting the Nutcracker. "The girls were real troopers," says Lowe. The BPP magazine with Lowe's cover of Clara jumping for joy came out December 1st and can be found all over the state. In her e-mailed response to Lowe, Associated Editor Flynn could not have been happier, "The photos look terrific! Lots of choices, which is great. You have so much fun energy and helped to make the ballerinas feel relaxed. Thank you!"
    The C2C ads that Lowe created will run in the Boston Parents Paper, Boston Business Journal and on local billboards, all space offered up for free. They will also appear in Old Navy stores across Massachusetts as they help C2C collect donated kids clothing this holiday season. “I was happy to do this for Cradles to Crayons because it's been a tough year for them and the families that depend on them. They need all the exposure they can get,” says Lowe.
   
And still there’s more, Lowe also donates her photography for her “Two Birds" fundraiser that she began two years ago that also helps the C2C organization. She posts 45-minute time slots on her Facebook page, and parents can bid on those timeslots to get holiday pictures taken of their kids. Their entire bid is donated directly to C2C. “It's not just sitting down and getting a pretty picture taken — each timeslot also has a hair and makeup artist and a wardrobe stylist to pamper the kids and make them feel like superstars. It's pretty cool,” says Lowe. "Some of the kids don't care about getting their picture taken -— they're just excited to have their h+mu and wardrobe created by a professionals." The entire crew donates their time and talent—it's really a group effort. Photography retailer EP Levine, also in the Boston area, donates the lighting equipment, and different photographers donate their studio space each year.
    Kim Lowe certainly knows the meaning of gift giving with her photography for all seasons. You can see more of her kids, lifestyle and product work on her site and also on PDN's photoserve. For more information about Cradles to Crayons, please visit their site at www.cradlestocrayons.org.
   

Best client ever!

You're probably sick of me posting about the best client ever, B. Toys, but I can't help myself. They send my kids toys with sweet little messages handwritten to me. I can't think of a better way to begin a rainy day. Well, except if it was delivered by a handsome Swede offering to give me a free massage. I'll have to talk to the client about that.
   p.s. If you don't own a B. Meowsic, get yourself over to Target. Your little ones (and big ones) will go crazy for it! Ellen DeGeneres did!

Photographers on Photography Interview

Alison McCreery of Photographers on Photography interviewed me recently.

 POP: Why did you decide to focus on kids? KL: Grown ups don’t like me. Well, that’s not entirely true, a couple do—my parents, and I'm not 100% sure of that even—but I’m okay with that. First of all, kids are way more fun than grown-ups. When was the last time an adult stopped playing with a toy to pick their nose right out in the open or when have you ever made a grown-up so happy they literally started jumping right in front of you? 

  

Click here to read the entire interview on POP. Be warned—you may feel like flying a kite afterward or giving someone you love a noogie. 

  

An Agent

Finding and choosing a rep is hard—really hard! It was easier to find my husband actually. Of course I wore a lot more skirts ten years ago. 
   
So I've been approached by seven reps over the past few months. All wonderful reps! But one stood out over the others—and I'm happy to announce that I've signed with Tracy Bennett Stewart of Zero2Sixty here in Boston. Just what I need is another "marriage." No really, I mean it. It is just what I need. And a great agent-photographer relationship should feel like a healthy, happy, working marriage. I think I've found that with Tracy.

To Flash or not to Flash?

My friend Will Burns of Ideasicle recently said that he thinks he can do all his work from an iPad2. Which is a real bummer for people with sites created with Flash, like me. Anyone visiting kimlowe.com on their iPhone or iPad get rerouted to my blog and miss out on my fabulously-entertaining-mindblowing website (slight exaggeration there). A lot of photographers, artists and designers are in the same boat.  
  
If a prospective client is only using their iPad to view online portfolios then we could easily get overlooked for a job. Especially if people are replacing their computers and laptops with an iPad. And as Will pointed out, most people using iPads are creatives.
  
So you can 1) recreate a new site, 2) reroute viewers from your site to your blog or 3) I'm still figuring out #3, I'll get back to you.   

Facebook

Tiffany Meyers interviewed me and another photographer, Tom Hood, about how and why we use Facebook to help our photography business grow. It's worth a read. A few years ago I never would have thought it would be a "requirement" to use Facebook in branding. It's an invaluable tool to me now though—I even let it come into play when I'm holding a camera shooting. As crazy as that sounds!  
   
Click here to read the article on Adbase/FoundFolios. 
  
Follow this link to Kim Lowe Photography on Facebook.