Close-up of a mother cradling a newborn baby wrapped in soft white muslin cloth, with tiny feet visible.

Okay, so you already know my name is Kim...

and obviously I take photos


But on a deeper level, I am a storyteller. And I don’t just mean visually.


I love a good chat. Not really the surface level stuff either. I want the foundational stuff. Tell me why you started the business. Tell me about the people who shaped you. Tell me what your kids are doing right now that drives you slightly insane but you know you will miss one day. Tell me what you actually want from your life, what matters to you, what lights you up and what you would do differently if nobody else was watching.


I want to know the why underneath the why.


So, naturally...


Welcome to my novel.




Chapter One:

The human behind it all



Woman in floral peach dress sitting on floor holding camera near potted plant by curtained window.
Two smiling women taking a selfie, one wearing glasses and a blazer, the other in a pink gingham dress.
I AM  A MUM OF TWO, A LITTLE NEUROSPICY, PROBABLY AN OVERSHARER AND PRETTY OPEN ABOUT LIFE AND ALL THE MESSY BITS THAT COME WITH IT.

IF YOU CAN’T TELL ALREADY, I HAVE NEVER REALLY FIT NEATLY INTO ONE BOX, AND NEITHER HAS MY BUSINESS. THESE DAYS, THAT IS SOMETHING I EMBRACE RATHER THAN TRY TO CHANGE.

I WORK INCREDIBLY INTUITIVELY. I AM SOMEONE WHO FEELS MY WAY THROUGH THINGS, FOLLOWS THE LITTLE SPARKS WHEN THEY COME AND TENDS TO KNOW WHEN SOMETHING IS RIGHT LONG BEFORE I CAN LOGICALLY EXPLAIN WHY.

I AM NOT REALLY DESIGNED TO FOLLOW A PERFECTLY MAPPED OUT PATH. I WORK IN WAVES. I NEED SPACE TO FIND CLARITY. I LEARN BY ACTUALLY LIVING THINGS, EXPERIMENTING, GETTING SOME THINGS WILDLY RIGHT, MAKING MISTAKES AND SEEING THEM FOR WHAT THEY ARE, A PART OF FIGURING IT ALL OUT.

A LOT OF WHAT I HAVE BUILT HAS COME FROM TRUSTING THAT INSTINCT, INITIATING IDEAS THAT FEEL ALIGNED AND BEING WILLING TO TRY, LEARN, CHANGE DIRECTION AND TRY AGAIN.

I AM THE  CREATIVE HUMAN BEHIND PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIMBERLEY ANNE, A STORYTELLER AND VISUAL BRANDING MENTOR FOR CREATIVES AND RURAL BUSINESSES.



Overhead view of three people wearing brown boots standing among pink and purple wildflowers on dark soil.

Chapter Two: The stuff you don’t see on Instagram



There is another layer to who I am and why I do things the way I do.



I LIVE RURALLY. I AM RAISING TWO LITTLE HUMANS WITHOUT MUCH OF A VILLAGE, INCLUDING NAVIGATING DISABILITY WITH ONE OF MY CHILDREN WHILE LIVING WITH DISABILITY MYSELF.

I KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE THE GLUE.

TO BE THE PERSON PEOPLE RELY ON. TO BE BUILDING A BUSINESS WHILE ALSO BEING A MUM, A CARER, AN ADVOCATE, A PARTNER AND A HUMAN BEING WITH MY OWN STUFF HAPPENING BEHIND THE SCENES.

I HAVE EXPERIENCED TRAUMA. I HAVE SEEN THE IMPACT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE UP CLOSE. I HAVE NAVIGATED DISABILITY, MEDICAL SYSTEMS, MOTHERHOOD, BUSINESS AND SEASONS WHERE SIMPLY KEEPING EVERYTHING MOVING HAS TAKEN FAR MORE OF ME THAN ANYBODY LOOKING FROM THE OUTSIDE WOULD EVER KNOW.

I KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE TO HAVE A LIFE THAT DOESN’T FIT NEATLY INTO CONVENTIONAL WORKING HOURS OR SOMEBODY ELSE’S IDEA OF WHAT PRODUCTIVITY AND SUCCESS SHOULD LOOK LIKE.

THOSE EXPERIENCES HAVE CHANGED ME.

THEY HAVE CHANGED THE WAY I PHOTOGRAPH, THE WAY I RUN MY BUSINESSES, THE WAY I THINK ABOUT SUCCESS AND THE WAY I CONNECT WITH PEOPLE.

AND THEY ARE PROBABLY A BIG PART OF WHY I CARE SO DEEPLY ABOUT THE HUMAN BEHIND EVERYTHING.

Black and white photo of three young girls standing together in a bathroom, one making a funny face.

Chapter Three: From “sit and smile” to “what feels like you?”



My photography has organically shifted as I have.



I STARTED IN A WORLD THAT WAS MUCH MORE “SIT HERE, SMILE AT THE CAMERA, WEAR THIS, STAND LIKE THAT.”

NOW I FIND MYSELF ASKING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT QUESTIONS.

WHAT FEELS LIKE YOU? WHAT DO YOU ACTUALLY LOVE? HOW DOES YOUR FAMILY REALLY SPEND TIME TOGETHER?

WHAT ARE THE TINY THINGS YOUR KIDS DO RIGHT NOW THAT YOU NEVER WANT TO FORGET?

WHAT PLACES, PEOPLE, SMELLS, SOUNDS AND ORDINARY MOMENTS WILL BECOME THEIR CORE MEMORIES?

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO REMEMBER WHEN THIS VERSION OF YOUR LIFE DOESN’T EXIST ANYMORE?

I DON’T WANT TO MANUFACTURE CONNECTION OR MAKE PEOPLE PERFORM FOR A CAMERA. I READ THE PEOPLE IN FRONT OF ME, THE ENERGY, THE RELATIONSHIPS AND WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE MOMENT, AND WORK FROM THERE.

SOMETIMES THAT MEANS GIVING DIRECTION AND TAKING THE LEAD, AND SOMETIMES IT MEANS GETTING OUT OF THE WAY AND LETTING SOMETHING UNFOLD NATURALLY.

BECAUSE SOCIAL MEDIA ALREADY TELLS US EVERY SINGLE DAY WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING. WHAT WE SHOULD BUY. HOW WE SHOULD DRESS. WHAT OUR HOMES SHOULD LOOK LIKE. HOW WE SHOULD PARENT. HOW WE SHOULD RUN OUR BUSINESSES. EVEN HOW WE SHOULD SHOW UP AS PEOPLE.

IT IS REALLY BLOODY EASY TO LOSE OURSELVES IN ALL OF THAT.

I DON’T WANT TO CREATE PHOTOGRAPHS OF WHO THE INTERNET HAS TOLD YOU TO BE. I WANT TO DOCUMENT WHAT IS ALREADY YOURS.

Group of smiling friends taking a fun outdoor selfie together at dusk under a dramatic cloudy sky.

Chapter Four: Turns out

I feel the same way about business



The longer I have been in business, the more I have realised the exact same thing is happening there.




WE ARE CONSTANTLY BEING SHOWN WHAT WE SHOULD POST, WHAT WE SHOULD SELL, WHICH STRATEGY WE SHOULD FOLLOW, WHAT OUR BRANDING SHOULD LOOK LIKE AND WHAT APPARENTLY MAKES A BUSINESS “SUCCESSFUL”.

IT BECOMES SO EASY TO BUILD SOMETHING BASED ON EVERYBODY ELSE’S RULES THAT SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY, YOU CAN LOSE THE PERSON WHO STARTED IT.

THAT IS WHY THE WAY I APPROACH BRANDING AND BUSINESS IS MUCH THE SAME AS THE WAY I APPROACH PHOTOGRAPHY.

I AM NOT INTERESTED IN TELLING YOU WHAT YOUR BRAND SHOULD LOOK LIKE BECAUSE IT IS TRENDING OR HANDING YOU A FORMULA BECAUSE IT WORKED FOR SOMEBODY ELSE.

I WANT TO KNOW YOU.

WHO ARE YOU? WHY DID YOU START THIS? WHAT DO YOU CARE ABOUT? WHO ARE YOUR PEOPLE? WHAT DO YOU WANT SOMEBODY TO FEEL WHEN THEY COME INTO CONTACT WITH YOUR BUSINESS? WHAT MAKES SENSE FOR YOUR ACTUAL LIFE, YOUR COMMUNITY AND THE THING YOU ARE TRYING TO BUILD?

THEN WE WORK OUT HOW TO MAKE THE WAY YOU SHOW UP ACTUALLY FEEL LIKE YOU.

Woman in cream knit sweater and white skirt sits by curtained window, hands raised expressively, indoor plants in background.

Chapter Five:

Put the human back in



More than anything, I am all about putting the human back into business and life.




We have access to more technology, automation and AI than ever before, and I am absolutely not against any of it. I use it too.

Technology can make running a business infinitely easier.

But somewhere along the way, I think we have also started automating away some of the very things that make people want to connect with us in the first place.

As consumers, we are constantly being marketed to, funnelled, automated, optimised and sold to.
Sometimes it feels like we have become data points rather than people.

I don’t think the answer is rejecting technology. I think it is using technology to create more space for the human stuff, not replace it.

The conversations.

The stories.

The imperfect bits.

Remembering someone’s name.

Understanding the community you are speaking to.

Giving a shit about the person on the other side, not just whether they convert.

Creating an experience that makes somebody feel like a person rather than another lead moving through a funnel.

That is the part of business I care about.
Wedding flat lay with gold rings, bridal bouquet of pink and white roses, and Marc Jacobs perfume on ivory veil.

Chapter Six: The women behind the businesses

This is probably where another huge piece of my heart sits.




I am deeply passionate about women, particularly women in rural communities.
Because I know how much women can be carrying that nobody else sees.

There are women building businesses between school runs. Raising children without a village. Caring for other people. Navigating disability or raising children with additional needs. Living hours from the services they need. Rebuilding after trauma or domestic violence. Trying to make an income while also trying to create a life that works for themselves and their families.

And somewhere amongst all of that, we are being told we should be more productive, more consistent, post more, sell more, scale more and somehow make it all look beautiful while we do it.

I don’t think women need another person standing in front of them telling them what they should be doing.

Sometimes we need someone beside us.
Someone who asks the deeper questions.
Someone who helps us strip away some of the noise and work out what actually matters to us.
Someone who reminds us that the business is supposed to exist within our life, not that our entire life needs to bend around the business.

That is where so much of my passion for rural women, women in business, disability advocacy and supporting women impacted by domestic violence comes from.
Two women in neutral tones chat warmly in a bright, minimalist living room with plants and floral decor.
A mother tenderly holds her newborn baby wrapped in a soft white muslin cloth, with tiny feet peeking out.

Chapter Seven: I absolutely do not have it all figured out

And I am not going to pretend that I do.




I am living and learning a lot of this in real time too.

I make mistakes. I change my mind. I follow ideas that work beautifully and others that absolutely do not. I have seasons where I feel incredibly clear about where I am going and seasons where I need to stop and work it all out again.

But maybe that is part of what I have to offer.

I take what I live, what I learn, what I observe and what people trust me enough to share with me, and I turn it into something useful.

I care deeply. I think deeply. I probably have too many ideas at once, and I am always questioning whether there might be a better way to do something.

I am not interested in building a perfectly polished business that looks good from the outside but doesn’t feel good to live inside.

Two people standing barefoot on a sandy beach as gentle ocean waves wash over their feet.

The chapter I am writing now...





PHOTOGRAPHY IS OBVIOUSLY A HUGE PART OF WHAT I DO, FROM WEDDINGS AND FAMILIES TO MOTHERHOOD, NEWBORNS, GRADUATES AND BUSINESSES, BUT SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY THIS BECAME BIGGER THAN PHOTOGRAPHY.

IT HAS GROWN INTO VISUAL BRANDING, EDUCATION, WORKSHOPS, COMMUNITY PROJECTS AND SUPPORTING OTHER CREATIVES AND RURAL BUSINESS OWNERS TO BUILD THINGS IN WAYS THAT ACTUALLY WORK FOR WHO THEY ARE, RATHER THAN WHO THEY THINK THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE.

AND I HAVE A FEELING THERE ARE STILL A FEW CHAPTERS I HAVEN’T EVEN THOUGHT OF YET.

WHAT I DO KNOW IS THAT I WANT TO BUILD MEANINGFUL THINGS.
I WANT TO FOLLOW WHAT FEELS ALIGNED.
I WANT TO CREATE GENUINE CONNECTION.
I WANT PEOPLE TO FEEL SEEN.

AND HOPEFULLY, I WANT TO LEAVE PEOPLE A LITTLE BETTER THAN I FOUND THEM.

PHOTOGRAPHY IS ONE WAY I GET TO DO THAT.
BUT PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE BIGGER PURPOSE BEHIND IT ALL.



Smiling woman in cream knit sweater sitting on floor near white curtains and green plant.