Soft exposure
Written By: Henry Allen | Photos By: Ben Leeson & Colin Trubee
How do you want to be photographed? When it comes to portraiture, there’s a long list of variables that we can and cannot control on both sides of the lens. Camera equipment, composition, lighting, wardrobe, weather, location, and set design are all crucial to consider, and subject to change at a moment’s notice. Fortunately, the most important element is one you can always control: a commitment to creating a comfortable, positive relationship for everyone involved.
That belief is a pillar in Kate Sweeney’s personal and professional life. She’s a photographer from Columbus, OH with a knack for finding natural light and a longing to help others feel like the truest form of themselves.
Kate’s roots run deep in Columbus. She was born and raised in Hilliard and currently operates a studio near where her dad grew up just south of Merion Village. She took an interest in photography at the age of seven. Her parents gifted her a medium-format camera and ten rolls of film on Christmas Day. She shot all ten rolls in a matter of hours. “I was always into our family photos and how looking at them can shape your memory and your sense of who you are,” she explained. In a high school photography class, she learned to develop her own film and discovered some inspirational pros, like Cindy Sherman. She recalled browsing the fashion section of a local Barnes & Noble.
“That’s where the dream was born. I wanted to shoot a magazine cover.”
After graduating, Kate moved to New York to study at the School for the Visual Arts. Unfortunately, the experience wasn’t quite what she expected. “I got into my dream school, but I wasn’t really ready for New York,” she shared. “I kind of lost myself when I moved there and ended up needing to go back home.”
She headed back to Ohio but remained committed to chasing her dreams in the big city. “For a while, I was telling people ‘Yeah I’m back, but I’m not really back,’ because I wanted to try again in New York,” she explained. But the more she worked in Columbus and became immersed in the art community, the more she entertained the possibility of sticking around for good. She began to ask herself: Why can’t I live in Columbus and have a career in photography?
Over the last ten years, she’s built a name for herself in her hometown and grown a robust fanbase online. Through a mix of creative and commercial photography, she shoots photos full time.
Kate’s portfolio, which primarily consists of artistic portraiture, focuses on finding humanity and grace in her subjects, representing them in authentic yet abstracted ways. She captures them as they interact with natural elements in outdoor spaces, often lit only by the sun.
“I love to chase the light. You can’t control it or plan what it will look like, and you’re always going to make something that you didn’t expect. So yeah, give me golden hour all day long. That would be heaven.” The resulting photos are organic and warm, but for Kate and her subjects, the shoot is often more about the experience itself. “I’m not super technical, and I don’t like to geek out about the equipment.” Her most important skill is building trust and connection.
A significant portion of her subjects pose nude. It’s a cathartic experience for everyone involved, and it’s far from voyeuristic. “Nude photography of women has always been seen through a male gaze.”
“I want to create a space where we can express this part of ourselves in a totally pure way.”
Kate regularly works with people who have been through a traumatic experience like sexual assault. “I’ve experienced that myself, so I think that creates a trusting environment for that person. I feel very blessed to be a part of that. It’s very healing for both of us.”
Every shoot is different, but ultimately, the goal is to create images that radiate a feeling of defiant feminism; to make femininity more subversive. “I want my subjects to feel like they’re being seen. My work is as much about them as it is about me.” As her photographic style continues to evolve, Kate’s commitment to her subjects remains constant.
“I hope that the people I photograph feel very strong, empowered, and very ‘them.’”
Published February 13, 2025