Kevin Harkins, an independent commercial photographer originally from Lowell, Massachusetts, started taking photos with his father’s Polaroid in the late 60s. “I loved looking through the lens, adjusting the exposure until I got it just right. All this without a light meter and not knowing what an f-stop of shutter speed meant,” he recalls. At the age of 12 he received his first camera, a Kodak Instamatic 104, and in high school bought a 35mm and began developing prints in the bathroom. “My defining moment was capturing a shot of my friend as he made a jump off a mogul,” he says. He was 16 at the time. “I still keep that shot in my portfolio. I knew then that this would be my career.”

After graduating from the Art Institute of Boston, Harkins began his career in a catalog studio, photographing products and fashion items. But after a six-week long trip hitchhiking through the British Isles, he returned to Lowell, met his wife, and started his own photography business in 1980. He chaired the Lowell Cultural Council for several years and served on the Lowell Office of Cultural Affairs’ board of directors. He is also a past president of the New Hampshire Creative Club and remains on their board to this day.

Harkins’ work spans people, product, and event photography throughout New England. His photographs have appeared in numerous publications and exhibitions, including Yankee, Cape Cod Life, Merrimack Valley Magazine, and Business New Hampshire Magazine, along with corporate and commercial publications. Some of his clients include Enterprise Bank, Bernie and Phyl’s, and various hospitals, schools, and design studios. “I enjoy shooting just about everything from mountain gear to the latest fashions on location and in the studio,” he says, and does so with the latest in digital equipment.

Harkins admits that living the life of a freelance photographer can be a struggle at times, but finds it much more fulfilling. “I love meeting new people in front of the camera and discovering what they do and trying to bring that across in my images.” With his wife Janet and three children, Harkins resides in Londonderry, New Hampshire.