Being seen isn't about being validated by someone else. It's about finally seeing yourself.

And if you've made it this far into my story, you're feeling that gap too, between who you've become and how you're still showing up. A brand shoot, done right, closes it.

This experience changed how I understood visibility. I realized brand photography wasn’t just about images. It was about helping women see themselves clearly enough to step forward.

Today, I guide women through that same transition, helping their visuals finally match the authority they’ve already built.

Why I do this work now

Make sure you have a "real job"

The 15 year detour

The Facebook ad that changed everything

I hated my brand photos

I grew up in a home where it wasn't safe to be seen. So I found a way to see the world without being seen myself... I picked up a camera.

Photography became my voice when words felt hard. I was the shy kid who'd rather read than talk, who could barely articulate her feelings but could express herself through the lens.

When I told my dad at sixteen that I wanted to be a photographer, I didn't expect him to say... "That's a great side gig, Kristen. But make sure you have a real job." So I tucked that dream away and told myself it was fine. 

Over the next 15 years I built a successful graphic design career, which I loved, but you know that feeling when something is missing, like a lost tooth you keep coming back to?

One day I picked up my camera again, just for fun, and reconnected with a forgotten part of myself. A weekend photography workshop led to second-shooting weddings and family sessions, and suddenly I was getting paid to do what I'd always loved! 

But between sticky toddlers, and anxious brides, I kept coming back to the same question... Is this really the impact I came here to make?

Cue a divinely timed Facebook ad for a course on brand photography.

Entrepreneurs were building, intentional businesses and they needed photos that matched their energy?? My whole body said YES!

Suddenly it all made sense, carrying my camera everywhere, the graphic design background, my love of stories. It was all coming together into something that was starting to feel like my purpose. But there was one catch. I'd have to do the thing I'd been avoiding my whole life.

I'd have to be SEEN. 

I could make other women look amazing in front of the camera, but the moment it turned on me, I froze. But I knew that if I couldn't show up for my own shoot, how could I possibly guide anyone else through theirs?

So I did it scared.

The very first time I saw my brand photos, I hated how I looked. All I could see was every perceived imperfection. I closed the gallery.

But I came back. Again and again. And by the third time through, I started to see myself more clearly. I could feel my energy, my presence in the images. I saw someone who was confident yet scared, powerful and feminine, strong and soft, all the things I thought I had to choose between. And there they all were, at once. Just me.

That photoshoot released a belief I didn't even know I was carrying. And in that moment I knew I wanted to help other women feel that shift. 

The evolution from 2018-2025

Storycatcher Photography exists because one brand photoshoot changed how I saw myself