Hi, my name is Anna and I am an award-winning professional portrait and commercial photographer based in Poole, Dorset. I specialise in commercial images, as well as portraits, headshots/portfolio images, family photoshoots, boudoir photography, and outdoor photography.
I love meeting people and photographing them when they feel fantastic. It’s a great feeling when customers leave my studio with a big smile on their face, holding their precious portraits that will become treasured memories for years to come.
I feel I’m not just a portrait photographer, but an artist who’s job it is to show people how stunning they are, both inside and out. When working with someone on their portrait, my goal is for them to cherish it forever; passing it on to their children and grandchildren.
I always wished to know who my ancestors were and would’ve loved to have had their portraits. Royal houses have wonderful and grand galleries with paintings of their ancestors, I think everyone deserves to have a similar place within their home or even a beautifully crafted box with well made portraits.
Another passion of mine as a portrait photographer is being able to show a person who cringes when a camera is pointed at them that they have absolutely nothing to worry about; that for those who need a good profile image that it’s much easier than they think!
When I talk with my clients and models, I am trying to learn everything I can about them and then show them who they are through beautiful portraits, because personality is who you are and my job is to show it.
My short life’s history
Here’s a little something about me!
1) On my 10th birthday I got a camera – film one at that time. My first image was of my best friend and a sister together in the middle of my room. Everything would have been perfect, if I was able to ‘catch’ their heads on the image! At that point I was told by an aunt ‘You definitely won’t be a photographer’…
2) 15 years later, I came to London for an English course with three rolls of film and carefully photographed whatever inspired me. It so happened that one image won local attention – squirrel in jump – and so I signed up for a photo club.
I attended every week with my printed photographs to hear from my mentor ‘crop crop crop!’ and so I learned to compose an interesting frame and aesthetics, and compared myself to others, and exhibited annually.
4) Whilst studying for my A levels, I wanted to pass everything that was necessary to go to Law school (5 subjects, all on the upper level). I signed my subject confirmation just to decide a week later ‘I’m not going to study law, I am going to study art.’ At that point my mum shook her head, saying ‘why on earth art, do you want to starve and not be independent?’
I went anyway and my dad helped me buy a new camera.
5) At 20, I had my first solo exhibition ‘100% of femininity’ presenting portraits of women in various ages, shapes, locations. My images were appreciated so much that the exhibition ended up being in newspapers, on radio and local TV! (You can find some of the images in the ‘Exhibitions’ tab.) Since then, every year I select around 20 best images from the previous year and print them in a large format.
I realised that printing your work gives a different dimension to your creation. It is the end result of setting manuals on the camera, adjusting lights, posing a subject, finally getting the right expression and pressing the shutter. With post-production and finally printing, it is a whole process of ‘developing’ an image.
6) At 24, I went to Nigeria to work as a PA to His Imperial Majesty King Sijuwade for a year and a half. I also wrote articles for national magazines as a freelance journalist. One of them got national attention and I was asked for interviews all over country. A part of Africa will always stay with me, especially after such a long time living there.
7) At 26, I started my own company with digital media, Nu Media House, for photography, graphic design and content creation. I employed a team of people and worked on several contracts with clients.
All of those steps helped me to build what now I can proudly call ‘Anna Klesse Photography’. The journey never stops though, why don’t you join it?
