Photography
Kim James is a Northern Californian, fine art wedding and portrait photographer. Specializing in honest emotional connection with her subjects. Photographing real people, having real moments. A seasoned professional photographer with a fashion background who knows how to effortlessly guide her subjects, getting them to bring their best selves to her lense. www.kimjamesphoto.com
Kim was born and raised in San Francisco. At 17 she started her modeling career with Elite New York and Elite Paris working as a fashion model. She worked with many photographers in New York, Paris and San Francisco.
While working in Paris, with Elite Paris, she was booked by Oliviero Toscani , (best known for his Benetton ads) for Esprit's Roman Holiday campaign. She also worked with the great Guy Bourdin in Paris. They ignited her love for the visual arts. Among others, she has been on the pages of French Vogue, French Elle, Seventeen magazine and Glamour magazine. Her time as a fashion model, traveling in Europe, exposed her to the vast landscapes of photography and art.
Back home in San Francisco she went to work for Lisle Taaje at Taaje Models as an agent, which later became City Model Management City model (now City Model Management Inc.). The creative side of her career was model development; part of that process was to match her new models with reputable fashion photographers for portfolio development. Kim chose her team of photographers from San Francisco’s best. During that time she began her photography education. She stayed at City MM for eight years to run the Woman’s Model Management Board and New Faces Divisions. The 10 years she spent in the fashion industry set the foundation for Kim’s visual creative side. She had a successful career in the fashion industry, but soon realized the industry didn't posses the stability she wanted for her young family. She frequently flew to New York, Miami and LA with a nursing baby in tow to meet with a model or client.
It had always been her dream to raise her family in the mountains. That aspiration was met in 1993 when they transplanted their family to manage an Inn in Chester/Lake Almanor. Managing the upscale Inn helped make Kim a seasoned wedding planner and wedding photographer when she filled a niche that was missing in the local market. Kim moved on from The Inn in 2006 to open her own full-time professional photo and art studio.
Kim was born and raised in San Francisco. At 17 she started her modeling career with Elite New York and Elite Paris working as a fashion model. She worked with many photographers in New York, Paris and San Francisco.
While working in Paris, with Elite Paris, she was booked by Oliviero Toscani , (best known for his Benetton ads) for Esprit's Roman Holiday campaign. She also worked with the great Guy Bourdin in Paris. They ignited her love for the visual arts. Among others, she has been on the pages of French Vogue, French Elle, Seventeen magazine and Glamour magazine. Her time as a fashion model, traveling in Europe, exposed her to the vast landscapes of photography and art.
Back home in San Francisco she went to work for Lisle Taaje at Taaje Models as an agent, which later became City Model Management City model (now City Model Management Inc.). The creative side of her career was model development; part of that process was to match her new models with reputable fashion photographers for portfolio development. Kim chose her team of photographers from San Francisco’s best. During that time she began her photography education. She stayed at City MM for eight years to run the Woman’s Model Management Board and New Faces Divisions. The 10 years she spent in the fashion industry set the foundation for Kim’s visual creative side. She had a successful career in the fashion industry, but soon realized the industry didn't posses the stability she wanted for her young family. She frequently flew to New York, Miami and LA with a nursing baby in tow to meet with a model or client.
It had always been her dream to raise her family in the mountains. That aspiration was met in 1993 when they transplanted their family to manage an Inn in Chester/Lake Almanor. Managing the upscale Inn helped make Kim a seasoned wedding planner and wedding photographer when she filled a niche that was missing in the local market. Kim moved on from The Inn in 2006 to open her own full-time professional photo and art studio.
Work Samples
"I think I was meant to be where I am now, the whole time, but I had things to sort out and so I always wrote. I was writing poetry, doing a lot of reading, etc..you know, I’d go to the construction site early, I’d have to be there at 7, so I'd get up at 5 and read for an hour then go about my day. So I was always doing that."
|
"I was born here - well, over in Westwood because there was no hospital here. It was kind of neat that someone who owned the hospital long after I was born there gave me one of the metal bassinets they used to use for newborns. I used it for both of my children, and was able to donate it back to the Westwood museum."
|
"I’m glad you’re working with Roxanne. She had such positive, creative energy when I was around her. She almost sparked with ideas and I watched her squirm, trying to control all of that energy when some plodder was explaining something." ~ Sue Olson
|
