Meet Kristine Herman | Wedding Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristine Herman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristine, what is the most important factor behind your success?
When I first started my business I focused really hard on being the best photographer I could be. While in the beginning, having the skills of my craft was important, looking back I realized the key to my success wasn’t just that I was good at my job. Every step of the way, the connections I have made helped me tremendously with accomplishing my goals. Genuine connections and making real friends have helped me move my business to the next level every time. My business wouldn’t be where it is today without the vendors who trusted me to refer me to their clients.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My goal going into wedding days is to be able to capture my clients day that reflects how I see it unfold but also how they are as a couple. I use two different mediums with film and digital during the day to capture the moments in a way to tell the story that is inspiring and create romantic and classic images for my couples to cherish for 50 years +.

I like to think of myself as a mixture of both a director and collector. I collects moments that reflect the occasion as well as gently guiding and directing my clients so they look and feel their best. I think this gives my clients the best of everything because they get to see the small moments but also get images that make them look like their best selves.

Wedding photography isn’t just taking great photos of the day like many think. There is so much that goes behind the sense on how those photos were created as well as most importantly the experience of the couple. Being emotionally intelligent is such an important skill that I have that is such a huge part of being a part of weddings. The day is so emotional with so many moving parts and different family dynamics to be aware of. It’s so important to be aware of all the dynamics of day since we are with the couple the most. Whether that is knowing when to insert myself into a situation and when to fall back is so important so you allow for clients to be able to be present and have the best day possible.

Before I was a photographer, I had a completely different career path. I played college basketball and then coached at San Jose State. I learned very quickly that the coaching and the sport world was not for me. I had always learned pretty quickly what I didn’t want to do in life but was still having a hard time figuring out what I did want to do. At this point basketball had been my entire life for 15 years and I didn’t really have any other routes that I thought I could take and I felt very trapped. When I found photography it was breath of fresh air because I knew exactly I wanted to go that route. It was definitely the biggest challenge into jumping from a career that I had to something entirely new and not a typical 9-5 job but it was so worth it.

There are so many lessons I have learned is nurture your relationships. Relationships in the business are so important when it comes to having other photographers questions or be able to refer clients to each other. The business can get really lonely since you are working alone for most of the job so in order to thrive mentally and well as professionally is finding your people in the industry. I am lucky to have a lot of great relationships all over the nation and continuing to love on them and their businesses.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shoutout to all my friends in the industry who believed in me and continue to support my business.

Website: www.kristineherman.com

Instagram: @kristineherman_

Other: tiktok: @kristineherman_