Interview with Karina Neill | A Distinguished Photographer Transforming Heirlooms to Timeless Arts

I am Karina Neill. I specialise in family and business portraits. My path in photography started as a traveller documenting my trips with my little film camera, then my daughter was born and started documenting every special moment for her. It has been 21 years since that happened and I am so happy that I have been able to freeze those moments for her.

I decided to go from amateur to the professional path and started a photography program at my local community college. After that, I continued my education in photography at the Institute of Photography of New York with a sub-specialty in People Portraits.

Yes, many portraits, but the most meaningful one was a photo of my daughter in a basket with her stuffed bunny.

I use Canon 5D Mark IV and prime lenses 24-70mm 28 and 70-200mm 2.8. I recently started learning the mirrorless world and got a Canon R6 IV. I actually prefer the DSLR over the mirrorless.

I hope to keep honing my skills in fine art style by using specific positions of the light source and editing with new techniques that align with my style of Photography. Also, keep creating meaningful portraits that make my clients happy and portraits that can create a positive impact in our society.

Nature and paintings from the old masters. I love how they used light to create beautiful people portraits with such defined highlights and shadows.

Artistic, warm, and elegant.

Thank you! It means a lot to me as I am still growing as an artist. I work hard to create every portrait for my clients, hence, receiving an award shows me that my hard work and dedication are paying off.

As a catalyst of photography, I feel that my mission is not only to create beautiful portraits and freeze time for my clients but also to create portraits that create a positive impact in our society. The Pure Beauty project has a special place in my heart because I have a niece who was born with Down Syndrome. I grew up watching her being rejected, ignored and left out from many places. They still need support for acceptance in our society. The kids with Down Syndrome have so much to offer, they need to be loved and accepted for what they are, with their unique qualities and strengths.

It helps me understand that the work I produce is up to the professional level and I keep working on getting better to serve my clients.

Mario Testino, Kelly Brown, and Peter Hurley.

It was - "little by little you will find your style, the key is to keep learning every day and learn from your mistakes."

Be persistent as success in photography often requires perseverance. Keep honing your skills, seeking feedback and pushing through challenges.

Always be positive. If something goes wrong, breath, meditate and try again. Stay positive and keep working.

It is important to get updated on many levels, but then you decide how you can use that new knowledge with what you have. Photography for example is always evolving, so keeping up with new knowledge is very important.

I appreciate all the hard work you put into the photography award. Our industry needs more exposure, we have to work really hard to be known and heard, so having a source like this is very helpful.