Kiira (Keyrah) Gilvear
Artist | Student | Photography

United Kingdom

My name is Kiira, and I am the face behind Kai Photography.

My fascination for the art of taking photos came from my Dad, who did (and still does) photography as a hobby and occasionally does a few paid works himself at times. He used to show me how to use his Fuji Finepix S5500 and he would redo our school portraits with the lighting and background equipment he keeps in the loft. This fascination then developed to me taking a Photography GCSE course throughout the duration of Year 10 and 11, which succeeded in making my parents buy me a Nikon D5000, which Dad still likes to claim as his.

However, my fascination for photography didn't stop there. Not only did I work through digital means, but I started to use the classic darkroom techniques (turns out my Dad also has daylight developing tanks up in the loft, which I've used once or twice) with the trusty aid of my Dad's Minolta Dynax 5xi 35mm film camera. In regards to editing techniques, I'd been using Photoshop from Year 7 and even came to occasionally explaining how certain aspects of the program work to my photography teachers. Needless to say, while the GCSE course was good practice and I learned quite a lot from its duration, my Dad is the one I primarily have to thank for bringing me into the world of photography, both digital and classical film.

I have no specifically-set photography styles, and I take shots of anything from domestic pets to wildlife, from family portraits to weddings. My styles vary depending on my client and the nature of the photographs requested, but my Photoshop editing rarely ever goes much further than a few retouches here and there, unless specifically asked by the client.

I have two lovely dogs at home who tend to be the (sometimes unwilling) models of my photography, whether I'm testing lighting techniques, new lenses or just feel like taking a photo. Luckily for me, one of them is very photogenic and has a habit of posing every time she sees my camera, whereas the other one hides her face as much as possible. If I am unable to get a snap of either of them, however, my camera then turns to my younger sister, who actually spends more time under the studio lights than my dogs do, purely because she doesn't move around as much and I can get a decent idea of how the lighting affects my subject.

In regards to my schoolwork I have now finished my GCSE in Photography, receiving an A, and I am now taking a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Photography at college.

You can also find my other account on deviantART, Malcolm-et-Amis, where I will post drawing, sketches and writings, keeping this account purely for my photography.

www.kaiphotography.co.uk/