I'm a photographer and photojournalist raised in Iowa...
I'm a photographer and photojournalist raised in Iowa and based in Des Moines.

I like to make forensic, moment-based images that are often quirky and imperfect. I like images that are layered, multidimensional, bustling. I like direct flash but I'm not married to it.

I'm interested in visual depictions of religion, with an eye toward white evangelicalism and its future in the twilight of its hegemony in American culture. I sometimes write about lived religion for publications like Vantage.

"Most religion happens outside the church... This expanded definition of religion recognizes the little syncretisms — blends of religion and local culture that flirt with the edges of orthodoxy — that make a religion distinctive. Here's where religion really happens: in the vague cosmological references that have more purchase on the street than in seminaries, in the vernacular of everyday life whose biblical origins are long forgotten."

As an Iowan, I'm interested in political theatre. I use strobes in my political photography, but I think I need to clarify that it's not because I'm trying to be mimic photographers who imbue their photographs with drama through artificial contrast. I'm trying to do the opposite of this by using immediate, direct flash that eliminates shadows and maximizes detail. I'm obsessed with the forensic quality of early direct flash photography like this for what it accomplishes in terms of detail and moment. I love how using a blast of light can enables you to see the dust on the leaves of the fake palm trees.

Clients include The New York Times, Politico, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, National Geographic (drone operation), The Washington Post, Stern, Buzzfeed News, ESPN, Reuters, NBC, USA TODAY and more.

My website was edited by Pedro+Jackie and designed with Visura.

KC McGinnis

KC McGinnis is a photographer and photojournalist raised in Iowa and based in Des Moines.
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