Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Karen Khuc. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Karen, so happy you were able to devote some time to sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our community. So, we’ve always admired how you have seemingly never let nay-sayers or haters keep you down. Can you talk to us about how to persist despite the negative energy that so often is thrown at folks trying to do something special with their lives?
It is pretty difficult at times still to deal with this. Especially when it’s coming from your family. I just turn it into fuel to try to prove them wrong. And keep reminding myself that they have a different mindset. They grew up thinking the only way to be successful is to get a regular 9-5, go be a doctor or engineer. So I keep reminding myself that their view is limited and my goal is to show them what is possible when I reach my goals as an entrepreneur. I would love to show them not only that they were wrong and I could do it, but there’s a whole other world out there.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I went to college at UC Santa Barbara, and studied biology. At that time I had wanted to go into healthcare and become a physicians assistant. I was dabbling in photography at the time as a hobby, and didn’t think anything serious of it. I would just do some grad shoots here and there for my friends for a couple bucks, and at the time being it was just for my enjoyment and passion. I had always loved photography and had an eye for creating art that made people feel a certain way. I am a very nostalgic person, and I remember looking at photos on Tumblr with those quotes, and it would just make me feel some type of way and even listening to songs I would feel moved by them and inspired to create photos that invoke the same emotions for my viewers.
it wasn’t until when Covid hit while I was working as a medical assistant to get enough hours to apply to physician assistant school, did I realize I craved having freedom. The time spent staying indoors and reflecting during Covid shined light on what was truly important to me and what kind of life I really wanted to live. I desired to live a life with time, freedom, location freedom, and financial freedom and I realized I was not going to have that working for someone else as a PA. So then I asked myself what can I do biology and science was all I ever knew, and I was raised to think with the same mindset as the rest of the world – college and then getting a stable 9 to 5 job. The only thing I knew how to do that could give me that life at the time was becoming a wedding photographer. I knew of multiple wedding photographers who were doing at least six figures and thought “ hey if I could study my butt off in college and get straight A’s in a major that I had a hard time understanding and struggled with, why can’t I also become a wedding photographer who is making that much? I knew nothing about entrepreneurship and how to run a business, but I was passionate about love, marriage, and creating art out of love stories, so I learned how to run a business along the way.
I started my business in 2020 and now it’s been 4 years and I am shooting beautiful weddings with the best couples ever, and are in super alignment with me. I feel so lucky to be able to be having a career that doesn’t even feel like work because I just love it so much. Nothing beats being able to be a part of peoples most intimate, milestones, celebrating, love, and being around all the positive energy, and capturing those moments for them to relive years to come. Also, I am heavily inspired by fashion, film, architecture, pretty details like florals, and what not so it doesn’t get better than shooting weddings! My brand is very fun, fashionable, and stylish. I focus on documentary and editorial photography. Essentially what that means is I love to capture moments organically as they happen in an artful and stylish way. It does not look like your grandpa or anyone can take that photo, it will look like it belongs in a magazine, or a storytelling. And of course, there is also posed portraits that will look like you just step out of Vogue. So I blend the two styles together, and basically capture candids with an editorial flare.
Additionally, I am also passionate about boudoir photography, and I am looking to launch that business in the future. This is something I’m really excited about because I feel super passionate about empowering women to feel sexy and confident. Not only that though, I really want to encourage them to step into their femininity and celebrate that no matter what or what stage of life you’re going through. I just believe being a woman is such a gift and women are such powerful beings, we do not celebrate and glorify ourselves enough. so I hope that through having an empowering boudoir session with me, these women can experience what it’s like to intentionally soften, flow, be bold, have fun, and just step into that feminine energy. And have photos of them experiencing that moment so they can relive and see how powerful and beautiful they were that age. I think that women like to pamper ourselves often with nails or getting our hair done or a trip, and an empowering photo session isn’t something they think of often. However, I feel like it’s that will leave a lasting impression and will exist for years to come.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Resilience- I think this is very important because in entrepreneurship there are highs and lows. There will be months where you don’t get any sales and it’s very slow and it’s very important to keep going and not give up so easily.
2. Mindset work- I think mindset is very underrated and no one talks about it when you first become an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship is like a mirror for all of your negative patterns and stories and beliefs that you have for yourself. And through the journey you’ll start to see how each of it shows up and it’s important for you to recognize it and shift into a new belief and thought pattern because if you don’t, you will succeed as an entrepreneur. The only thing that usually stops entrepreneurs from succeeding is themselves and that in their head.
3. Mentors.- investing in to coaching and mentors have been the biggest game changer for me. You can definitely learn a lot of things on your own however, it will cost you a lot of time and in the long run that’s time that you could be making money so therefore it’s costing you time and money. It’s always good to learn from people who are several steps ahead of you, so they can save you the time and heartache of trying to figure it out by yourself. This will speed up your route to success.
How would you describe your ideal client?
I’d say engaged couples who are very laid-back and love to have a good time. They also value photography and see it as a form of art and recognize that not any Joe can produce the same results. They also enjoy the finer things in life, value fashion, aesthetics, put a lot of intention into the design and details of the wedding, and put a lot of effort into making their wedding day beautiful great experience for the family and friends. They usually like to wow their family and friends with how detail focused and gorgeous their wedding is. They want a mixture of artistic photos that capture a lot of emotions and romance, and also photos that make them look like models.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Karenkhucphoto.com
- Instagram: https://Karenkhucphoto.com
- Facebook: Karen Khuc Photo
Image Credits
Karen Khuc Photo
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