Kris Rae is a Nashville photographer. He understands how images drive the stories of our age and seeks to capture exceptional visuals that convey an idea at a glance.
ABOUT
My life has often included an interesting juxtaposition of opposites. I began my career covering art openings, charity fundraisers, debutante balls, and fashion shows for the society pages of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. At the same time I would also sneak my camera into rock clubs, lounges and concert venues to shoot both local bands and nationally touring acts. In time that evolved to crafting feature portraits of Pittsburgh’s Who’s-Who for the area’s glossy magazines, meeting talent managers, shooting both live promos and cover art for bands. Then, after moving to New York City, I began crafting images of luxury goods for major retailers while getting my fix for life’s stories by documenting weddings on the weekends.
10 years later, settling in Nashville returned me to my creative roots as I became acquainted with Music City’s incredible history and it’s newfound boom-town status. Returning to the music and fashion scenes, coupled with the lessons of commerce and business, I serve my clients by creating images to convey their message to their audience.
For 20 years, the camera has been my access card into the lives of others and I treat that trust with the utmost reverence, capturing moments and crafting portraits to tell stories that are both captivating and true.
Kris currently serves as the Chapter Leader for the American Society of Media Photographers in the Nashville area. He has a passion for inspiring, educating, and empowering his fellow photographers both creatively and in business.
Kris Rae on-set photographing Brian Welch (guitarist of Korn) and Gov. Mike Huckabee during rehearsals on Huckabee.
SELECT CLIENTS
How did I become a photographer?
You could say ink runs in my veins.
I was born into a family of printers. My Pap owned a print shop on the Southside of Pittsburgh. Everyone in the family was in the printing industry at one point or another.
As a kid, my parents encouraged creativity and I became an avid artist. At 13 years old, I was using Photoshop v3.0 (layers!) on the weekends when my Dad took me to work with him. I took workshops in graphic arts and pre-press in 8th grade and became a skilled pencil/charcoal portraitist and comic-book artist during High School.
When I picked up a camera in my senior year, I knew I’d found my preferred tool and medium.
After a year of working in a local camera shop, I was off to a 2 year trade school. Before graduating, I was shooting for the 2nd largest newspaper in Southwestern PA and capturing editorial portraits for a handful of local magazines.
For over 20 years, documenting events, capturing portraits, and telling visual stories has been the pursuit of my life, and I’m not stopping anytime soon.
Photo: Me. Just a punk kid in 2002. Shot by a friend before my very first editorial portrait of screenwriter Carl Kurlander for WHIRL Magazine.