Anna Kirschner shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Anna , really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
Honestly, the moment that still gives me chills was meeting my ultimate photography idol, Annie Leibovitz, on her Women book tour. She has shaped so much of how I see strength, softness, and storytelling through a lens. For twenty years she’s been the North Star of my career.
Standing in front of her, telling her how her work influenced my path as a fashion and headshot photographer… that felt like a full-circle moment. It wasn’t just meeting a legend it was this quiet inner confirmation that I’ve grown into the kind of artist my younger self dreamed of becoming.
I walked away feeling proud not only of the encounter, but of every step that led me there: every shoot, every experiment, every risky decision that brought me into the same room as the woman who taught the world how to photograph power.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, I’m Anna Kirschner, a fashion and portrait photographer based in San Francisco. I specialize in creating bold, emotional imagery for women and professionals who want to feel powerful, seen, and cinematic in their own skin.
My work blends editorial fashion with intimate portraiture, I love capturing the exact moment when someone steps into their confidence and lets their true personality take over the frame. Before moving to California, I spent years photographing in Europe, and that storytelling style still shapes everything I do: elegance, emotion, and a touch of drama.
What makes my brand unique is the experience I bring to every shoot. I’m not just taking a picture; I’m creating a moment. I guide, direct, hype, and help people feel grounded and expressive so their photos carry the energy of who they really are. Recently, I even had a full-circle moment meeting my idol Annie Leibovitz—an encounter that deeply reaffirmed why I do what I do.
Right now, I’m working on expanding my studio presence in San Francisco and building a body of editorial work that highlights queer stories and powerful feminine identities. My mission is simple: to photograph people in a way that makes them fall in love with themselves.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My father and my maternal grandmother both saw me long before I ever understood myself. They saw the confident, creative, sensitive, wise artist and performer in me when I was still just a kid with big feelings and bigger dreams.
Their love, support, and the legacy they passed down shaped everything I am today—as an artist, as a woman, and now as a parent. They believed in my vision before I had the courage or language for it, and that early faith became the foundation of the work I do and the way I move through the world.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Darling, love is available for you — real, steady, breathtaking love. One day you will be adored, cherished, and held in ways you can’t even picture right now. Life at 42 will be so magical, so expansive, so full of beauty and devotion that even your wildest dreams wouldn’t come close. Keep going. Everything you’re craving is already on its way to you.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
Is the public version of me the real me?
YES.
That is my favorite one!
The generous, super fun, super smart, beautiful, stylish diva–artist–drag-queen–femme-fatale hybrid creature who walks into rooms like she’s powered by solar panels and compliments.
That version of me?
She’s real.
She’s alive.
She’s chaotic in the best way.
She cries at art, flirts with baristas, photographs women like they’re French cinema stars, and wears outfits that say ‘I am one minor inconvenience away from a spontaneous musical number.’
She’s not a mask — she’s the unedited Anna, just with better lighting.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
What I understand deeply — in my bones, in my cells, in that soft electric place behind my ribs — is that we are pure love and light. Truly. We are walking magic. And we have this wild, limitless power to design our own lives exactly the way we please.
Most people think life happens to them, but I know — I feel — that we are the architects, the artists, the alchemists. Our potential is infinite when we choose it.
And gratitude? Gratitude is the spell.
It’s the thing that turns ordinary moments into miracles, fear into softness, and dreams into actual reality.
Magic is real.
We are light.
And we get to write the story.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kirschnerstudios.myportfolio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirschner_studios
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annakirschner
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annakirschnerphotography
Image Credits
Photo: Anna Kirschner
Make up: Eva Andrea Szekely, Rose Forrest
Styling: Anett Füster
Models: Dora, Flora, Kourtland, Anna, Florence
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
