Kylie Rebecca Photography

Starring Kylie Rebecca. Photo by @jasonmyersphoto

THE HEART BEHIND THE LENS

NASHVILLE SINCE 2013

Not many people can say that at age 16, Gene Simmons sought them out because he liked their work. For Kylie Rebecca, it’s just another day on the job.

Kylie Rebecca’s career started at a time when most people aren’t even planning prom yet. The photographer, videographer, and now tour manager wanted a career in the music industry, either as a musician or something on the business side. Then a friend saw her photos, and was incredibly impressed. “I never thought about photography as a career, not once,” Kylie recalls. Her friend had other ideas. “She called the guy that she worked for and he called me within five minutes and was like, ‘You’re gonna work for me,’” she said. Though her parents took a while to warm to the idea, the then-15-year-old took the job, ending up providing content for his six online magazines and a few print magazines.

It took off pretty quickly from there. Kylie soon learned that live photography was her favorite, and she began getting offers to take photos on tour. Her first gig, she recalls, was shooting Imagine Dragons on one of their stadium tours. She’s now worked with top acts across all genres – KISS and Imagine Dragons being just a few – and while she continues to tour year round, has branched deeper into music videos as well.

“I had gotten accepted to a great school and then God threw a wrench in the plan and photography hit me in the face,” she laughs. She was working six nights a week getting home at 3 a.m. and working shows, so she left school and finished her degree online. “It happened organically,” she says of the early growth of her career, “and I found my love for music photography.”

“I feel like the best way to express myself and tell my own story is through my lens.”

Featured Hat: STYLE I - Classic Relaxed Twill Cap w/ Woven Label Patch Appliqué

It’s taken her to some amazing places. “I think my biggest woah moment thus far, where I definitely got my world shook up a little bit, is that Gene Simmons saw my work and requested me to shoot for the Arena Bowl Weekend, and he walked up to me and asked me if I was Kylie Rebecca,” she says. “I about fell on the floor. He said he’d been following me for a while, and was like ‘What? I’m sorry, me?’”

Though getting the approval of a major artist huge – and, for Kylie, not infrequent – it’s the moments where her photo makes a difference in someone’s life that really fuel her fire. She’s had people contact her and thank her for a photograph, something that moves her deeply –and, she says, makes her cry – every time. “I’ve realized that having the ability to capture a moment and preserve that moment and the emotion within it is everything,” she says. “I feel like everyone can get something different from a photo, but if one person just is like, ‘Wow, that’s awesome,’ then I’m doing something right.”

Though each show, shoot, video, and strategy are different, her artistry is the undercurrent throughout. “I feel like the best way to express myself and tell my own story is through my lens."

Check out more of her work on her website.

Follow her @kylierebecaa