Kayten Schmidt: Photographer

This moment has become synonymous with the ubiquity of images. Everywhere we look, we see pictures, and in the rare instances they are absent, we are taking them. It makes this a rather interesting time to be a photographer. Though their work has never been so widely appreciated, it’s never been harder for it to stand out. This dichotomy is what makes the new generation of image-makers so fascinating.

Photography is a language Kayten Schmidt studies carefully. It is pronounced throughout her work: each image its own statement, every series a visual stream of her artistic sensibility. They have all of the signature elements one would expect from a woman who was a painter in her previous life. Her use of light, composition, even the styling itself—speak to a classical artist’s training. Except here, she is using a lens in lieu of a brush.

Her approach suits a woman in possession of an innate sense of style and a confident eye for beauty. Her images express the same. Ms. Schmidt pays special attention to the sculpture of the body— its shapes, shadows, turns, and contours. The clothes are almost beside the point. Her images have a subtle nuance, often feeling intimate, contemplative and romantic in their own way. The result is work that reminds us there is a singular beauty in simplicity.