Kerry lives her dream

After 30 years in catering, Kerry Herschell has turned her eye to photography – and she’s loving every moment.

After establishing her photography business during the first year of her studies at the Photography Studies College (PSC), Ms Herschell admitted it was “a bit daunting” but had not looked back.

“It was a big step … I enjoy fashion and portraiture more than I enjoy everything else, but it does give me a good skill set to be able to handle different photography jobs, because you never quite know what situation you’re going to be in,” she said.

Now in her third year of an Advanced Diploma in Photography, Ms Herschell said her business called Kerry Herschell Photography, which offers services from portraits to corporate and branding, family, beauty, events and more, had given her the confidence to achieve her career goals.

All my studies are helping me to take more professional photographs,” she said. “PSC is really good at helping you to find your niche in the industry and expanding on what you love to do.

As a mature-age student, Ms Herschell said she hoped her studies would take her career to new heights after working in catering for 30 years – an industry she still currently works in to support herself as her business grows.

“I’m used to running events, which has actually helped me with organising shoots and everything,” she said.

“I haven’t been chasing too much work because I’m working full-time in catering, but I’m picking up more and more paid work with portraits, environmental portraits, families, and some fashion.”

Ms Herschell initially completed a short course in portraiture at RMIT some years ago, and while she always carried a camera and attended workshops, it wasn’t until holidaying in Vietnam in 2017 that really inspired her to take photography further.

“It’s so colourful, with lots of people and places,” she said. “I was interested in doing portraits so I thought I would give that a try. It then grew on me, and I wanted to explore it further and study techniques so PSC has been really good.”

Fast-track to 2022, and Ms Herschell’s work has featured on front covers of international fashion magazines including Glamour and Malvie. Although this was unpaid, she said it was a great way of showcasing her skills and getting her name “out there”.

She has also been recognised for an international portrait competition, and had her work exhibited at a gallery in Fitzroy.

“The network is growing, and I love the people in the industry. I’m really just making more contacts in the industry who will help me get further into it.”

Looking back at her experiences, Ms Herschell said she wouldn’t be where she was now if it wasn’t for the support of PSC, and highly recommended aspiring students to enrol.

“I love the collaboration with other team members because you never know what you’re going to get between models and makeup artists and designers and photographers, and locations or studios – it’s always a really interesting creative process.”  •

For more information: kerryherschellphotography.com.au