This is Jalen. Six months ago, he was living on the streets. Something he and I both have in common?—we recently discovered an amazing nonprofit called Hope Thru Soap. Their mission is to help needs like hygiene and hunger in homeless populations around Atlanta.

Additionally, their CEO Megan works tirelessly to help homeless young adults with housing, getting through (or back into) school, and finding a purpose in life by tapping into their interests and dreams.

Jalen wants to be a model & actor (among other big dreams, like owning a bunch of land where he can grow crops & raise animals, so he can live off his land). When Megan learned this, she started the process with him of doing the groundwork to make that happen. Within 48 hours of them figuring out Jalen would need headshots, I almost literally fell into their laps.

{Enter “God Moment”}

Y’all. Remember just last week I talked about opening up to the universe so the universe can open up for you? And a subsequent post about wanting to “think outside the box” and do more creative things this year? That was the same day I was later introduced to Megan through my husband, whose plumbing business (@trueplumbingatl) is next-door neighbors with Hope Thru Soap. I happened to be doing company headshots for True, and my husband went over to ask Megan about borrowing a leaf-blower to clean up the area we were doing team photos. They got to chatting about me being a photographer, and he gave her my number to reach out about doing Jalen’s headshots.

The universe was literally answering all my needs. And of course, I wasn’t just going to snap a few photos of him in the studio—we needed to think bigger, more creative. I’d always wanted to do some creative stuff in the city, and what better opportunity than this?! 

february 14, 2023

In these days of social media, and a market saturated (really, over-saturated) with photographers, I spend a LOT of time trying to figure out “what works”. Not necessarily in the way of photography technique or newborn posing or how to create reels on Instagram… but WHAT SELLS. What attracts people and gains clients. And most of the big photography educators agree on one thing: BE YOURSELF. Be real, not just some mystery figure behind a wall of posts featuring your best work. And I’ve found some truth in that over the years, as some of my “most liked” posts are not the cutest naked babies, or the ones that have the best lighting… but rather, the ones where I share about my own life, my kids, being a mama. And along the way, I’ve been able to answer a question that really stumped me when I first started developing my business: “What is your brand?” My brand? What the heck does that mean?! I’ve learned that your BRAND is YOU. It’s not just your “shooting style” or your “editing style”… it’s your true personality, it’s how you relate to others, it’s being identifiable as a real person. It’s what makes a potential client become YOUR client, because they choose you—above all the rest—for SOME REASON.

And so for that, I’m going to open up and be a little vulnerable here. 

I hear it a lot (in many ways, in many words, and in not-so-many words)… “Why is photography so expensive? I had no idea it was THAT expensive!” (And inasmuch, the comments like “I only need a few pictures”, or “I don’t need prints, just the digitals”, or “Can I just get a mini session?”… do you know how many $200 mini sessions I’d have to do just to cover my cost of doing business each month? There aren’t enough hours in a day to make that happen, no matter how hard I tried or how much I worked—and my husband will attest that there definitely are seasons where I run myself ragged cranking out photos at all hours of the night). The truth of the matter is, it all takes TIME, TALENT, and EXPERIENCE to deliver even “just a few” great images. 

I promise you, I’m not trying to make a fortune off of taking your pictures. I don’t want to break your bank, and I most assuredly don’t want your arm and leg. 

In developing my business, I’ve spent A TON of time calculating (and recalculating) my COST OF DOING BUSINESS, and that’s how I’ve determined my pricing (and in my calculations, as I’ve adjusted my price over the years, I often neglect figures like “savings” or “discretionary income”… because I don’t want to be greedy doing a job that I truly love so much. But the fact is, LIFE IS EXPENSIVE. Running a business is EXPENSIVE. And trust me, I’m not saying this to complain, because I LOVE my business. I love my job, I love my clients, I love capturing moments that become memories for people who appreciate the VALUE of those memories. But I’ve had to make space for this all to happen; I send my kiddos to daycare so I can run my business (which not only means the hefty tuition bill, but also the lost hours I don’t get to spend with them while doing so); I contribute to living expenses (which, as we’re all extremely privy to these days, has gotten exponentially higher than it was 5, 10 years ago); not to mention, the rent, the equipment, the “stuff” that helps me create a professional-yet-amazing experience for you. {I got a text the other day, randomly and out of the blue, from a newborn client I worked with last month that said “Hey there! I just wanted to say thank you again for making the photo session super easy and relaxing. We enjoyed working with you and love all the photos! Will certainly reach out in the future 😊”… and I cannot tell you enough how much that meant. In a way, it validates every ounce of blood, sweat, tears (and dollars) I’ve put into making it all happen.}

Phew… that was uncomfortable to expose, and yet if you’ve come this far in this post, I know you are the real “fans”, my biggest supporters, the ones who want to see me keep going. And I’ll tell you, right about now, as I was driven to write all of this, I’ve questioned most of what I’m doing and scared as hell about the endeavor I’ve taken on with my lease at the studio. But I believe that when you make space for something, and when you open your vulnerability, the UNIVERSE MAKES SPACE FOR YOU. (I learned that once in a yoga practice, and have found that every time I open up to the universe, I get a little something that I need to keep going. Many of YOU have been that “little something”, and I am so very grateful to the universe and to you for that.) 

Cheers,
Karina

Why is photography so expensive?!

february 5, 2023