Meet Kate Rolston of A Collective Us in Northwest

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Rolston.

Kate, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started my career in NYC at an advertising agency called Grey. My first account was Canon where I had access to new cameras and worked with photographers and directors. I soon learned that I was more passionate about what they were doing and quit my job. Being jobless in NYC was scary but also some of the most creative times of my life. Soon I needed to get back to work and one of Canon’s Explorers of Light was hiring a studio manager. I got the job which was out in Colorado and after a few years, I became co-director of the studio shooting and directing on my own.

I learned so much during that time not just about photography but about how to run a business as a freelancer. I then branched out on my own in Denver doing commercial photography and directing occasionally working with my now husband who is also a director and DP. We found that we were either hiring each other so frequently, or we were bidding against each other on the same jobs that we decided to combine our talents and form a company, A Collective Us.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Looking back at my path to this career it seems serendipitous, but when you are living it, it feels like you are just taking shots in the dark. It’s not an easy path to make your passion into a career. And once you have this as a career there is no structure, no promotions, sick days, etc. You have to constantly find yourself jobs, promote your work, create new personal work, and create balance for your life since it’s an unusual work schedule. I think the biggest struggle when you are starting out is getting comfortable with the unknown.

A Collective Us – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
A Collective Us is a creative production company. We partner with brands, ad agencies and other production companies to tell stories for brands. We are known as directors and photographers who have the ability to create dynamic, authentic, beautiful video and photography. We’ve had a wonderful career so far, each year gets better for us. This past year we’ve worked with some incredible clients, traveled to cool places and got to create an entire campaign for a beloved brand that will be out next year. We also make time for personal work. This year a short film I wrote and directed was a finalist at the audience film festival.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I think the ability to listen and observe has been a huge part of my success and is a skill that doesn’t get enough credit. As a director, whether I’m directing people for a video project or for photography, I’m bringing with me my observations of human behavior in a way that is intuitive. As a business owner working with clients the ability to listen is paramount. At the end of the day, we are working together to create and communication is the first step toward a successful image or story.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.acollective.us  www.katerolston.com
• Phone: 6099376989
• Email: kate.rolston@gmail.com info@acolletiveus
• Instagram: @kate_rolston @acollectiveus
• Other: Www.katerolston.com

Image Credit:
Kate Rolston

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