KK Ottesen documents the stories of people's lives through photographs and written narrative. Her first book, Great Americans, explores the lives of everyday people all across the United States, who happen to share names with some of the country's most famous and infamous icons. Great Americans has been featured on The Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning, NPR, Public Radio International, Fox News, in the San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Times, Chicago Sun Times, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Reader's Digest and Entertainment Weekly, among others. While working on her second book, Ottesen regularly contributes photographic portraits and interviews to the Washington Post Magazine, and recently to Esquire Magazine. In addition to this editorial photography, she enjoys taking on select commissioned work for foundations and nonprofits to help tell the story of their good work.

Ottesen earned her BA from Wesleyan University and her MBA from Yale University. She lives on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC with her husband and their two young children.