Behind the madness and the magic, there were also moments that left an impression for different reasons. “I saw a girl faint backstage once,” Katinka recalls. “The models were so painfully thin — thinner even than they appear in photos. We tried to feed her, but she refused. That moment stuck with me. Fashion is beautiful, but it’s also brutal and it’s not real life.” As Katinka emphasises, she is a natural child; and to be back, rooted in Cape Town, was a non-negotiable. Bearing the dual afflictions of enchantment and emptiness — as the world of fashion is only too masterful at imbibing us with – Katinka returned home. “I came back with zero regrets. After everything — my mum’s passing, the whirlwind overseas — I just knew I wanted something more rooted,” she reflects, “I started investing in property, building a life where I didn’t have to rely on anyone. That was important to me, having grown up with very little. I’ve always had a good head on my shoulders, and I just wanted to build security for myself.”
Now based in Cape Town, Katinka finds herself at a creative crossroads, balancing the weight of experience with a longing to return to instinct. “The industry today feels… difficult,” she says, candid as ever, as I’m learning Katinka’s disposition is a full expression of refreshing honesty. “There are so many platforms, so many expectations, and so little time for real craft. Sometimes I feel like I’m drifting away from the reason I started shooting in the first place. I’m trying to find my way back.”
If Katinka’s early career was built in the chaos of backstage fashion and global runways, her current work emerges from a deeper place; rooted in trust, intimacy, and a fierce devotion to the inner life of her subjects. “My work is a poetic dance to me, and I’m always interested in playing with light, colour, and, most importantly, my subject,” she explains. “Empowerment has always been a huge thread running through everything I do. For me, the process is actually more important than the final image itself.”
That emphasis on process is what sets Katinka apart, and it is the felt experience when viewing her images; “over the years, I’ve worked with so many people, sometimes those experiencing a photo shoot for the very first time. I approach each session with care, trying to gently uncover and decondition them — to help them find their own power. It’s a kind of beautiful psychology that I absolutely love being part of.” Ironically, for someone so adept at making others feel seen, Katinka finds visibility unnerving. “I’m probably a bit hypocritical because I’m actually terrified of the camera myself,” Katinka admits. “Interviews terrify me. But I have this enormous respect for the bravery it takes for people to show themselves in that way — to be vulnerable and open. For me, patience is key. I try to show my subjects how truly beautiful they are, even when they can’t see it yet.” It’s no small thing holding space for someone to reveal themselves. Whether through a lens or a conversation, it’s an intimate job and over the years, I’ve come to recognise it as my most essential purpose when interviewing: to create a space for someone’s truth to surface; unforced and entirely their own.
That mutuality is central to Katinka’s practice — a resistance to the industry’s more extractive tendencies. “Something I always keep front of mind is that whoever I’m shooting, it’s a mutual assembly of expression. My subjects are never objectified. That’s hugely important to me. In our industry, I think that’s often missed,” Katinka says. “To get the best out of someone, you have to attune to their needs — not expect them to conform to yours. That’s a big misconception that I see a lot.” Even in Katinka’s personal projects, nothing is fixed. “I never really know how an image is going to come out,” she says. “I might have an outline, but I almost never stick to it rigidly because the shoot is always a mutual creation. It’s that openness and shared expression that makes the work so meaningful.”
While people remain her favourite subject, Katinka’s gaze is also always toward land, light, and the strange and beautiful world of nature. “I reference paintings a lot, and often try to see landscapes in an abstract way. I notice shapes, light, and the animals that seem to emerge from those forms,” Katinka explains. “As a typical Cancerian, I find emotional depth in nature — it’s where I often go when I’m feeling low or depressed. For me, photographs are the way I give back my inner world.” Cancerians are the zodiac sign known for an almost permanent immersion in the watery depths of the emotional body, intuition and nostalgia; glancing through Katinka’s work, this foundation is entirely traceable throughout.
I ask Katinka whether she’s always had an eye for seeing what others might not be able? “I think I’ve always had an eye for it,” she responds, “Even as a child, I used to comment on the world around me — the surroundings, the details. That sensitivity has stayed with me and continues to shape how I see and capture the world.” Katinka is an intermediary between moments that existed and those of us who were not there or couldn’t see it; as I’ve said before, there is something shamanic when photographers are able to collapse time and reveal presence. This is witch-work, baby.
Right now, Katinka is on a break and involved in personal projects as she confronts the existential crisis that commercial work has stirred in her. As an antidote, she began offering her services free of charge to local brands — with the only prerequisite being that she could be conceptually involved. This act of service can be wholly transformative for a brand. As Katinka muses, “Photography is expensive — I would know!” — adding that these collaborations have led to some of the most gratifying work she’s done in recent years.
Then there’s the recent shoot she did with stylist Liza Lombard, one I’ve been returning to on a near-daily basis to fawn over. While Katinka might be feeling jaded in some ways, I suspect she’s at the threshold of being in her element; and as her life has demonstrated, she will know where she needs to be, and what she needs to do. As is customary for CEC, I ask Katinka for her words of wisdom; “the most vital thing is to trust your own artistic voice,” she says. “We all draw inspiration from others and we all love to reference, and that’s important — but your personal reference, that inner voice, is your creative identity. That’s what sets you apart.” Katinka is also a firm believer in mentorship and acts of service. “Keep teaching. Keep inspiring. If someone reaches out to you, take the time to respond. It’s your responsibility to share what you know and help build the community. No one else can replicate your image — not exactly, not fully — even if it’s of the same subject, so don’t guard your creativity. Generosity is part of growth.”
I know that I can be flippant with my use of the word ‘iconic’, but in this context, it couldn’t be more apt or true; Katinka Bester is iconic, in every sense of the world – may we all be as comfortable in the mountains as we are backstage (or in the thick of our places of chaos), and may our inner dualities always guide as to build our most exceptional and beautiful lives.
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