Kaylin Amabile of KMarie Photography is someone who's work I came across sometime this summer and have not been able to keep myself from facebook stalking almost every day since then. Her work is some sort of magical. It is not to the extreme that is Tim Walker's fantasy sets but more humble than that. She finds whimsy and wanderlust in her backyard, down the street or in abandoned buildings. Each photo is like an unspoken secret that she is sharing with the world. Recently she has begun a new polaroid series that has taken this idea of unspoken secrets to a whole new level of conceptual simplicity. I have been so inspired by it that I felt compelled to contact Kaylin for an interview feature here and gladly she agreed.

Your work has this magical tinge to it, like you are bringing a daydream to fruition. How do you prepare yourself for each shoot? 

It varies depending on what I am shooting. For some, during the “conceptualizing process” I have a notebook full of 2am sketches and doodled words/lyrics/emotions. I tend to create a character in my mind and find the person to embody her and go from there. Then other times that person inspires their own character. There’s been many shoots (with my fab MUA, Jessica Jennings) that have flourished from nothing into some of my favorite images. On those shoots (and maybe even the “prepared ones” ) I can get a little scatterbrained trying to grab at the ideas that are floating around my head,  I usually use more hand gestures and sounds than words that are found in the English language haha! Thankfully I work with some amazing people that can practically read my mind by now and they are a huge part of the evolution of series as well.

All of your photos are very conceptual which I think is great and something we need to see more of in fashion photography. What comes first to you, the idea or the clothing? 

The majority of the time the idea controls the clothing; my mind often sees concepts as the emotions I want to create from them first so sometimes I have a hard time visualizing the clothing, although there is something special about walking through the racks of the local thrift stores and seeing stories waiting to be told hanging before you.  

What sort of things would you say influence your photography the most? 

Oh my! That’s a tough one! I would say one of the biggest influences would be music, specifically moments and memories attached to the songs that sooth when I am feeling the need for creative or emotional fulfillment. It is usually then, in that darker moment (or the literal darkness of 3 am) when some of my best concepts have emerged.

How do you feel not living in a major city like Miami or New York has hindered and benefited your work?

Since I am still just starting down the path of fashion/conceptual work , I don’t think I have really seen its effects either way.  I am definitely not a “big city” girl, although it has its appeal, and most of the time I feel even less of a “Florida” girl haha I am unsure with what direction I’ll evolve in as far as the industry goes. I suppose as I continue grow I’ll get a better feel about where the most beneficial place for me will be. 

In this new polaroid series each photo of a photo has this conceptual fragility to it. They are each so perfect with the items you surround the photo with yet every image is still very humble. To say the least I would want every single photo printed and hung on my bedroom walls. What inspired you to begin this series? 

You’re too sweet, thank you! Prior to getting the Instax I had made a commitment to challenging myself daily, creatively. I had been feeling a bit stifled and needed to do something to change that. I had no idea the instant film would be such a quick fix and so welcomed!  I wanted to create the magnitude of the moment that a plain image of the polaroid alone couldn’t capture, so I started experimenting with photographing them on backgrounds of similar colors and eventually it evolved into them almost having their own private worlds. My hope is to eventually make a book of my favorites, so I’ll be sure to let you know when that happens! 

Congratulations on your one year anniversary of beginning KMarie Photography! What can we expect from you in the next year? 

Eep, thank you!  So far I have some fantastic editorials planned with some new and old faces, a book cover coming out for up and coming author, LK Gandy, as well as an image in an exhibit in Italy (for Vogue Italia and Nespresso) and hopefully some more publications in between! My main goals this coming year are to refine the surreal/conceptual styled images, dip into the world of film, (I have a Yashica Mat-124G waiting to be loved) and just getting out there to shoot, whether that may be documenting lunch or a full-fledged editorial. This year I want to remind myself to continue to view the world in different ways, to keep in mind waiting for “perfect” can often be more time wasted than it is worth because beauty is in the raw and real. I think every moment I can be out in the woods, in my “travel room/studio” or in some random parking lot with someone, is a moment of opportunity to create unhindered.  I know I say this often so I hope it still holds weight, I am forever thankful for all the support, love and incredible relationships I’ve built, especially this year, and the responses and welcoming arms of the stories and images that I create, it truly means nothing short of the world to me. And thank you Ashley for taking the time to feature my work, (this is my first interview ever!) I am honored to be a part of Elegant Idiosyncrasy!

To see more of KMarie's work you can follow her facebook page here.