Photographer Ann-Kathrin Koch And Her Vision For Greatness
You may or may not have heard of Ann-Kathrin Koch, an in-demand and elite photographer who has been flown around the globe for her prestigious and high-profile clientele. Like other wedding and lifestyle photographers, her work remains confidential, personal, and deeply connected to the individual subject and client, and because of this, often unrecognized by the public.
What differentiates a true photographic artist like Ann-Kathrin Koch, however, is her cinematic eye and ability to capture timeless images full of emotion. Her photography has been recognized globally by leading wedding blogs, including Junebug and Rock My Wedding, the former of which awarded her with the coveted “Best Engagement Picture of the Year” award in 2016 for its “World’s Best Wedding Photography” contest.
For this award-winning photo, Ann-Kathrin traveled to Bagan, Myanmar. This was the first Western destination wedding to take place in the country once it was officially opened for tourism in 2012. The photograph was taken at sunrise, with the couple standing in front of hot air balloons rising into the morning sky. To capture this breathtaking image, Ann-Kathrin’s loyal clients were literally willing to fly her to the most challenging and iconic destination in the world. As you can imagine, this is an accomplishment that is unheard of, even for the most prolific of photographers.
Before she became the renowned wedding and lifestyle photographer that she is today, Ann-Kathrin was always interested in beautiful and artistic works of art. “Photography was the most intriguing medium,” she explains. “I received a digital camera when I was young and took thousands of photographs before realizing that I preferred film as opposed to digital.”
Ann-Kathrin notes that her favorite fine art images were captured using a medium format camera, that has a 6cm by 6cm film. She bought an old medium format camera from eBay and then had to learn how to use it herself, which, (since hardly anyone sells or uses these analog cameras any longer), was a slow process but presented her with an unusual and coveted set of photography skills.
In fact, Ann-Kathrin is only one of a small handful of professional photographers in Europe who exclusively uses a film camera for her work. She also learned a great deal as a freelance film editor for twelve years, where she was fortunate to work with a number of world-class directors of photography. Editing music videos and commercials for brands such as Universal Music, VW, Mercedes, BMW and Nivea, taught her about composition, framing and how to tell a story in film.
Film photography has its distinct advantages: it better captures details in black and white; allows a better connection to the subject; has a higher resolution than digital; forces the photographer to capitalize on his or her skill to plan a shoot and execute it well; and in the right hands, creates photos that are far superior to digital photos. Ann-Kathrin and other professionals in the photography industry will tell you, however, that the most important advantage to film over digital is that, with a talented photographer, it becomes a true art form.
It is no surprise then to learn that Ann-Kathrin’s first commercial shoot, a vintage Christmas themed wedding, was picked up as a feature by one of the top ten wedding blogs worldwide, Rock My Wedding. Since that first shoot, Ann-Kathrin has showed no signs of slowing down. She has been hired to photograph campaigns for world-renowned wedding blogs, events like the German Advertising Film Awards, and distinguished brands like Pandora Jewellery and Jodie Bijoux, a high-profile makeup artist’s own hair accessory brand with commercial clients including Disney, the BBC, Discovery Channel, New Balance, B&Q, Travel Channel, QVC, Sky Sports, and publications including Marie Claire, The Sun, OK! Magazine, and Top Sante.
It is all the more impressive, knowing the confidential nature of the wedding and lifestyle photography industry, to learn that Ann-Kathrin Koch is already one of the most internationally-known young photographers of her generation. We look forward to seeing more of her work, transforming moments of love and emotion into true works of art.
To see more of Ann-Kathrin Koch’s work, check out:
