Meet Christine Ekeroth of This Colorful Life Photography by Christine Ekeroth

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Ekeroth.

Christine, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?

I am a family/portrait and humanitarian photographer based in San Diego, California. Whether I’m photographing a family on one of San Diego’s beautiful beaches or serving in a remote village in Haiti, I am devoted to capturing and recording the beauty of this colorful life.

As a child growing up in San Diego, I watched my father, who regularly traveled the world for his work, document what he saw with his equally well-traveled Nikon. He taught me how to see beauty that others might not notice, and to use my camera as a way to connect with others. I also became accustomed to the constant presence of a camera, as he documented my childhood–and that of my eight siblings–as well.

About 12 years ago, I quit my full-time job as a publications director and began my freelance writing/editing career. I also started traveling internationally with various aid groups and subsequently adopted my daughters (both from Ethiopia). Today, I’m a mom of little ones–two by adoption and two by marriage–and, following my father’s example, I’ve spent the better part of the past decade with my Nikon in hand. Photographing the all-too-brief seasons of our lives and creating timeless photographs has become a passion that I now get to share with my clients. And the portrait photography I do at home makes it financially possible for me to help shine a light on the strength and resilience of people all over the world, another passion I inherited from my father. I will be returning to Haiti in October with a medical missions team to document the transformations that are taking place in communities that now have clean water and are now receiving regular vaccinations and medical evaluations.

I’ve spent much of my career telling stories as a professional writer, and I apply those same storytelling skills to my photography. My style of portraiture is intimate and interactive. Laughter and love, spontaneity and fun, and, of course, beauty all figure prominently in my family portraits, and my aim is to capture lasting memories of this particular moment in my clients’ lives.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For years, friends have been asking me to start this business–they saw the photographs that I created for my own family and urged me to turn it into a business. I have to admit that I was reluctant, because I get so much joy from my photography–it is a hugely creative outlet for me and seems to make others happy as well–that I was worried I might lose some of that joy if I turned it into a “have to” instead of a “want to.” Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong. As a writer, I spend a lot of time at my desk. I never would’ve guessed how much fun it would be to connect and interact with my clients and their families during our portrait sessions. Having done this for some time now, the nervousness I would get before a session has largely fallen away (just enough remains to keep me energized). And because so many of my clients have little ones, I get to make them laugh and smile and play and, in turn, create beautiful portraits that make their parents overjoyed.

I didn’t put a ton of pressure on myself while launching this business–well, not in terms of making it grow. The pressure was solely on creating beautiful photographs. If I did that for one client, I would be satisfied and happy. But the business and my client base has continued to grow and in a short period of time I’ve already had clients coming back multiple times for sessions.
Perhaps the biggest struggle has simply been finding the time to invest in brand building and marketing. Keeping the website up to date and creating new branding materials can be a big challenge for entrepreneurs and I’m no exception. It’s much easier to focus on improving my skills or providing the best possible service for my clients. However, after this upcoming busy season, that will definitely be a bigger priority in the coming year.

Please tell us about This Colorful Life Photography by Christine Ekeroth.
My business consists of two distinct but linked services. The first is family and child portraiture. I am a natural-light photographer and have photographed subjects in a wide range of locations throughout San Diego, including beaches, canyons and local landmarks. I offer whimsical child sessions (dress-up, sports), sibling, engagement and family sessions, and I also will photograph special events (I just did an 80th birthday party, for example). I am known for creating very natural portraits that illuminate the love and beauty of the relationships between the subjects. With small children of my own, I am skilled at interacting with little ones and getting them to relax and express their natural exuberance and joy. It’s the moments between posed photographs that I am always looking to capture–the daughter leaning against her mother’s leg, the brothers racing to get to dad first, the wife’s hand on her husband’s back, the toddler resting his head on mom’s shoulder. These are the moments and images that are most revealing and, I find, most treasured.

The second part of my business which is in part funded by the first, is humanitarian photography. It is my goal to use my photography to help tell the stories of those who can’t speak up for themselves. As an adoptive mom, I have a special place in my heart for orphans and single mothers, who are generally the most vulnerable. With my camera in hand, I can help tell their stories, as well as stories of the people and organizations that are trying to help. I am returning to Haiti next month with a Birmingham-based organization offering medical assistance. The stories and images will be used to create a pop-up gallery in 2018, which will be an opportunity to both spread the word and to raise additional funds for these efforts.

As is true for most photographers, you are not only selling your service or final product (the images), you are also selling yourself. My connection with my clients is what sets me apart and what keeps clients returning to me for additional sessions. The fact that people trust me to capture their memories, to make them feel comfortable having their photo taken (which can be a very uncomfortable thing for many people!)–that is a huge gift and one I do not take for granted. Rather, I do everything I can to deserve that trust and to deliver above and beyond what they expect. I believe that every person (but every woman, in particular) should have a photo of themselves that makes them feel beautiful. And I aim to do that with each and every client.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
What a great question! Most of my best memories involve road trips with my family during summer breaks. I grew up in San Diego (the middle of nine children), but we would travel to Minnesota and Oregon to visit family. Traveling in the back of my parents’ Chevy Impala station wagon (facing backward in the third row), fishing off the docks (and catching a bluegill every 10 seconds), picking blackberries along the roads in the Pacific Northwest, pulling off at rest stops to eat cereal out of tiny boxes (and fighting over who got the Lucky Charms). And my dad, with camera in hand, documenting it all. I am fortunate to have a huge trove of images of my childhood (it helped that I was the first girl after four boys–my brothers claim I was the most photographed child ever). And the older I get, the more precious those images become.

Pricing:

• A one-hour family portrait session is $400 and includes a minimum of 30 hand-edited digital files to use any way they want
• Child portrait sessions (for up to five kids) are $250-$300 and include a minimum of hand-edited 30 digital files
• A discounted rate is offered for single-parent families (as a formerly single parent, I know that it can be challenging to prioritize family portraits, so I offer a discounted rate of $300 per one-hour session)

Contact Info:

• Address: Greater San Diego, Southern California
• Website: www.ChristineEkeroth.com
• Phone: 858-220-4724
• Email: cekeroth@gmail.com
• Instagram: @thiscolorfullifephoto
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thiscolorfullifephoto/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/this-colorful-life-photography-by-christine-ekeroth-san-diego

Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.