Raina Kirn
"When I was eight we moved into an all women’s co-op. All the other kids in the co-op were being raised by single mom’s and we developed a tight little pack. We had a lot of freedom to run around the neighbourhood, to explore, and to get into trouble. We broke into construction sites to play hide and seek and combed the alleys and streets at night."
"”I got my first camera around that same time, a kodak pocket instamatic. It was a gift from my grandmother. Her uncle had been a photographer and she had a love and great respect for photography, not necessarily for the art of it, but for the documentary aspect of it. I also received a subscription to National Geographic magazine when I was around that age. I would spend hours pouring over the magazines, lost in the images and stories that each picture told."
"My mom did a lot of different things when I was growing up. She was very creative although perhaps didn’t have the best business sense. I think it was tough for her because money was always tight. She studied fashion design at night school while working a day job and after she completed her program she worked as a seamstress for a while but didn’t like it and found it hard to make ends meet. Then she became a cook at a private treatment centre for women with drug and alcohol addictions. She still cooks, part time, for a retirement home in the small town where she now lives. She also makes and sells jewellery and has recently taken up painting."
"She was really supportive of my decision to choose a career in the creative industry. I think in some ways she gave up on her creative dreams in order to provide for me so she has always been very encouraging."
"It wasn’t until high school that I really developed a love for actually taking pictures. I switched schools at the end of grade 9 because the school I was in was a rough one and my family was worried that if I stayed there I wouldn’t live up to my potential."
"My creativity really became nurtured in my new school. I became a drama dork and developed my love for photography. I was obsessed by the arts and could care less for sciences."
"After high school I travelled for a bit. All my friends were off at University but I had no idea what I wanted to study and I didn’t want to take out massive student loans until I really knew what I wanted to do with my life. One of my friends came home on her reading break and told me about a 3 year Professional Photography program at a College in Montreal. Colleges in Quebec are publicly funded by the government so tuition is practically free."
"I decided right away that I was going to move across the country to Montreal and study photography. A year later I was there. I totally loved school and threw myself in. I could easily spend 12 hours in the darkroom working on prints or hours in the studio. It was inspiring to be surrounded by creative people and we all thrived off of each other’s energy and passion."
"After photography school I moved to Toronto with my business partner Wilson. We were dating way back then and I didn’t want to move back to Vancouver and he didn’t want to move to Montreal so we decided to meet in Toronto. We weren’t officially working as a team but would help each other out on shoots. When we first moved Wilson assisted photographers and was honing his technical skills and I was shooting and editing images for a wedding company. We were both shooting our own small projects on the side. We shot anything and everything that came our way. Portraits, product, fashion, weddings. We made a bunch of connections in the photography community and got our first couple of jobs through people we knew. Eventually we decided to officially join forces and work together as a team. We realized that we both had different skill sets and approaches that complimented one another. Wilson is more interested in the technical side of things and I’ve always been more interested in the creative approach."
"My first paying project was right after finishing school – shooting a 2 day fashion shoot for a big clothing company in Montreal. Wilson flew across the country to work as my assistant and lighting designer. The budget was so tight it was just the two of us working together plus the styling team. But it was an amazing shoot. Our whole crew was young and fresh on the scene and excited to be working on such a big campaign. We had complete creative control and the shots turned out great. It was our first job as a photography duo even though it would be years until Wilson and I officially teamed up."
"Our first regular gigs were shooting for magazines and small record labels in Toronto. We were shooting a lot of visual stories which translated well for editorial spreads and album artwork. That work eventually led to larger advertising and design agency work. We were lucky to get noticed by an awesome photo agent early on which helped launch us into the advertising photo world."
"I’ve always been inspired by people’s stories, raw emotion and the complexities of human nature. I’m obsessed by light, the quality and colour of light, and it’s contrast to darkness. I feel very lucky to be surrounded by passionate people who are fuelled by creativity and are constantly pushing themselves in both work and life."
"We’re really focused and driven right now to keep shooting motion projects which is really fun and exciting. Although it’s a newer medium for us, our experience directing subjects and working with light and composition translates well into film and has made the transition quite smooth. It’s exciting and challenging to be learning something new. And to be honest, sometimes scary for me, but the push to continually evolve and create is something that can’t be ignored as a creative person. We’re working on our next artist profile spot right now and a few other creative pieces. Revolver Films has recently taken us under their wings so we’ve started quoting projects though them and they’re helping us develop our reel."