Behind KRNL: Amber Ritschel, Lead Photographer

KRNL strives to capture all the beauty that this community and its people have to offer not just through words, but through imagery as well. All the beautiful images you see in our magazine are expertly taken by a talented group of photographers and artists who work hard to accurately capture the moment that represents someone - or something - in a creative way. Without photography, we would be missing an important piece necessary for completing our artistic vision that is KRNL magazine. Amber Ritschel is an extremely talented photographer and photo editor who is responsible for a lot of the images you may have seen in the 2020-2021 issues of KRNL. Her photos made the cover of our last two issues, and for good reason as well! Get to know Amber in this week's edition of "Behind KRNL."

Introduce yourself!

Hi! My name is Amber and I am a senior at the University of Kentucky from Louisville, Kentucky. I am majoring in political science and minoring in French, which I've been studying since I was in seventh grade (I am definitely not fluent, but I can get around). I am the lead photographer at KRNL!

How did you first get involved with KRNL?

I first got involved during the spring semester of my sophomore year at UK. I had always been looking to join a creative organization and applied in December of 2019 to become a staff photographer.

What's your favorite part about getting involved with KRNL?

My favorite part about working with KRNL has been the community aspect. I absolutely love being surrounded by so many creative individuals. Bouncing ideas off of each other is so much fun and is such a wholesome experience.

Do you have a favorite memory during your time with KRNL that stands out to you?

Some of my favorite memories at KRNL include shooting inside a boxing ring while an exercise class was going on around us, setting up a backdrop and lighting outside and then a torrential downpour happening and all of us sprinting to bring the equipment inside, and so much more. It is always a blast being with these people and has easily been the highlight of my college experience.

What other interests/hobbies do you have outside of KRNL?

When I'm not behind the camera you can find me painting (definitely not Bob Ross though), singing karaoke with my roommates in our living room, bingeing on Madam Secretary, 9-1-1, SVU, or Criminal Minds, eating way too much pasta, traveling, scrolling on TikTok and Pinterest for way too long and plenty of other things.

What is your favorite place you've ever traveled to?

A fun fact about me is that I've been to 31 countries, not including the United States. It's hard to pick a favorite, but out of all of those, my top five places include Reykjavik in Iceland, London in England, Rome in Italy, Krakow in Poland, and any Croatian island.

Who are some of your fashion/lifestyle inspirations? In other words, who do you look up to?

I find a lot of inspiration for my work from everything around me. Sometimes I will build a shoot around a particular model, sometimes a location, sometimes a specific outfit. As for individuals that I love following: Jessica Kobeissi, Alex Frank, local Lexington/Louisville photogs, Brandon Woelfel, Lara Jade, Madison Beer, Anya Taylor-Joy, Kyla Jeanette, and many more.

What are you looking forward to this year regarding KRNL as our lead photographer?

This upcoming semester I want to push myself and the rest of my staff to shoot things outside of our comfort zones, and to create new boundaries as we learn from each other and grow as individuals and creatives. I want to do monthly (if not weekly) mini shoots to keep everyone creating. Most of all, I want to keep fostering a love and passion for photography in all of my staff.

Plug your socials!

If you wanna see what I get up to this summer and fall check out my photography Instagram @ShotzByAmber. I also have an Etsy shop by that name where I have all of my Adobe Lightroom presets for sale! I also have a YouTube channel that I've recently started to showcase some behind the scenes of my shoots. I hope you enjoy my work and I can't wait to produce another amazing publication.