KATE T. PARKER is a mother, wife, former collegiate soccer player, Ironman, and professional photographer who shoots both fine-art projects and commercial work for clients across North America. Her Strong Is the New Pretty photo series has led to collaborations with brands like Athleta, Kellogg's, and Oxygen. The project has also inspired Kate to launch a philanthropic arm of Strong Is the New Pretty, partnering with organizations like Girls on the Run and The Bully Project that invests in girls' health and education. When she's not photographing, Kate can be found coaching her daughters' soccer teams. She lives with her family in Atlanta, Georgia.
Commercial Work
Kate’s list of clients include Athleta, Girls on the Run, AT&T, Kroger, Staybridge Suites, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Ivivva, Walgreens, GlaxoSmithKline, Biogen, Kellogg’s, Verizon, NFL, Fernbank Museum of Natural History, Oxygen, Holiday Inn, Cigna, Atlanta International School and Progressive Insurance.
Strong is the New Pretty
“Strong is the New Pretty” started as a personal project for photographer and mother to two young girls, Kate T. Parker. Kate wanted to showcase her girls as they are…loud, messy, silly, fearless, independent, confident and fierce. Through her images, she wanted to combat the messages the media sends to women and girls: that beauty is a hairstyle, a certain size or an outfit. Kate’s goal was to show that true beauty is in being yourself 100%. Confident is beautiful.
Messy is pretty. Loud is great. Silly is awesome. Strong is the new pretty.
The response to Kate’s images has been amazing. From Bangalore to Boston, Atlanta to Australia, the images have been embraced. The work has been shared via social media extensively. It has been featured on CNN, The Today Show, Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls at the Party, Zooey Deschanel’s Hello Giggles, Buzzfeed (1 million views), Mashable, Distractify, The Washington Post, A Mighty Girl, Lean In, The Atlantic, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Vanity Fair, Glamour, The Daily Mail, Redbook, The New Zealand Herald, Mind Body Green, Huffington Post, Self Magazine, Pop Sugar, Good Housekeeping, Mic, among others.
“Strong is the New Pretty” will be a book with Workman Publishing to be published in March, 2017. The book will expand the images from just Kate’s immediate circle to young women around the country. A diverse group of strong, beautiful and inspiring girls have been shot and will continue to be photographed for the book. Kate’s goal is to have someone in the book that everyone can relate to in some way. Someone that they can understand their struggle, someone they see themselves in, someone that inspires them.
Blended
‘Blended’ Photo Series Captures the Unconditional Love Between An Adopted Child And His Family
Photographer Kate T. Parker is one proud aunt.
Her sister and brother-in-law adopted her 5-month-old nephew, Sam, in February 2014. But Parker knew she’d want to celebrate the newest member of the family in a special way from the beginning. “Throughout their entire adoption process, I knew I wanted to document whatever lucky baby we would welcome into our family.”
In a photo series which she calls “Blended,” the Georgia-based photographer captures Sam’s first moments with his family. She explained that the project also documents “the power of love, the agonizing wait (and then elation) of adoption, the welcoming of another life into our clan, and what it means to be a biracial family.”
Aside from showing off Sam’s adoption journey, his loving family and squish-worthy cheeks, Parker simply can’t get enough of him. “He’s the happiest, cutest baby on the planet. I feel so lucky to have that little man in my life.”
