Kristine Wreyford, shot by Isabell N Wedin

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I live in Stockholm, Sweden as of 8 years back. I moved here directly after graduating from the University of North Texas with a Bachelor of fine arts degree in photography. I had planned on moving back to Sweden from Texas for several years since I am half Swedish and had lived in Sweden when i was younger. So as soon as school was done I gave away all my belongings, sold my car, and packed one suitcase. Luckily my plan worked and I was hired right away as an photo assistant upon arrival in Stockholm. I spent roughly 5 long years assisting different photographers, before breaking out on my own. I now share a studio in Södermalm, and shoot beauty and fashion editorial jobs for Swedish magazines.

How did you become a photographer?
I became a professional photographer after studying and working with photography almost half my life. It took years to get to the point I am at,  and I have still not reached my goal. 10 years of study combined with 5 years of assisting lead me to where I am today.

Has photography always been a big interest of yours?
I first became introduced to photography when i was about 8 years old.
My father who loves photography, introduced me. I started out in the darkroom developing film and printing pictures before i actually began photographing myself.
At 14 i enrolled in a photography course in school and instantly fell in love with the medium. My first camera was an Olympus OM 10, my dad’s old beaten up 35 mm. I was drawn to photographing people more than still life and realized very quick this it was what I wanted to do.

Shot by Kristine Wreyford

When did you realize photography could be your job?
At the age of fourteen i purchased my first Vouge and when I opened that magazine and saw all of the beautiful fashion editorials I knew that was exactly what i wanted to work with. The first photographer who inspired me was Ellen Von Unwerth, who still to this day is one of my favorites. It never crossed my mind how much work and dedication it would take to make it in the world of fashion photography. To me it has always been plain; this is what I am meant to do and what I love.

Which is the best photo you’ve ever taken?
It is very hard to choose one photo as my favorite since I am always my worse critic. Usually it is the photo that has been taken in the spur of the moment and isn’t planned that ends up being the most appealing. That is when you truly capture the soul in the eyes of the model.

Which is the best part about your job?
I love everything about my job! I must say that the best part is photographing, really getting into the shoot and having a good connection with the model. When you know you have captured the image and you start jumping up in down with excitement. That is the best part!

Shot by Kristine Wreyford

Which is the hardest part in your job?
Selling myself to new clients and trying to bring in new jobs. I am not really good at selling my talents and unfortunately that is a big part of my job. Contacting new people and trying to convince them to hire me. It is really hard to do no matter how confident I am in myself.

Where do you find inspiration for you work?
There is inspiration all around from a song to an artwork to a poem. Even a new city inspires. Many times dreams have inspired ideas as well. I am also a “magazineaholic” I can’t get enough of magazines so i find a lot of inspiration through constantly reading them. I also have a huge passion for history and I am always inspired by past time periods.

Which is you dream job as a photographer?
Dream job would be to work for Marie Claire and to shoot J.Crew and Anthroploigies catalogs, they are always so inspiring and beautiful.

Shot by Kristine Wreyford

Check out Kristines work on her homepage.