Meet Alicia Kern

We recently connected with Alicia Kern and have shared our conversation below.

Alicia, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

For years, I would pray and ask God what my purpose was. As a child, my first dream was to become an astronaut. Even when I watched the Challenger space shuttle explode live on TV with my first grade class as we watched in horror as the horrible scene unfolded, I was still determined to be able to “touch the stars” one day. Then as I became older, I dreamt about becoming a figure skater. Then in high school, I dreamed of becoming a Disney animator. Then college found me toying with the idea of becoming an interior designer, then theater. I would try different things throughout my life, but nothing would really “stick.” I had interest in those things and there were aspects that I liked about each of them, but there were some things with each one I couldn’t see myself doing, day in and day out.

In college, I had also started photographing in black and white on film in 1999 and I loved how creative it was, but couldn’t bear the thought of developing my own film. I even failed two of my photo classes in college. My professor said some discouraging words about my work and called my work an unpleasant expletive. (Later, she became a big fan of my work, so never let what someone says stop you from going after what you love!) I was discouraged. Sigh. More questions and more wondering. It felt like I was a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. Nothing seemed to be a good, all-encompassing fit for my life. Where did I fit in? Where did I belong? What talents was I supposed to use? Then something shifted and a spark started…only this time, the fire grew, rather than waned with time. Digital cameras had come on the scene and after I took a digital photography course in college that focused on the business side of photography in addition to the creative aspects of it, I was hooked! It was the mix my mind was looking for. I’m both analytical and creative and having a creative skill (photography) that I could pair with numbers and structure (business) was the golden ticket for me. I was so happy! The spark that had started soon grew into a big flame that would only get brighter and brighter over time.

I started a photography business in 2010 and now, almost 14 years later, the business I have been blessed with is going strong. Here is what I learned over the tenure of being a professional photographer, though:

Photography is not my purpose!

What?! I just told you about how I finally found that golden ticket in photography. What do I mean that it’s not my purpose?

It’s not.

It’s truly not.

What I learned is that photography and business…they are TOOLS for me, but they are not my PURPOSE.

For years, I was focused on making money and making as much of it as I could. I chased fame and success and the numbers on my social media pages mattered a great deal to me. Opportunities began to open for me left and right. I got a fat head and was making more and more money per session.

But those things which the world says should be “golden moments” instead left me feeling so completely empty.

Was THIS all there was to life? Was this really my purpose–to reach a certain number goal?
There had to be more….then, I realized that there WAS.

I have a very strong Christian faith, which anyone who talks with me knows, because I’m very open about it and my love for Jesus, and I sensed God calling me to something deeper than what I was living. When I prayed, God showed me that photography and business and even sewing, speaking and writing (other passions of mine) are just vocational tools, but my real purpose is in serving and loving Him and others through what I do WITH those tools.

That very thought has revolutionized the business I have been given! My photo clients sense it. They say they are surprised that I’m more focused on blessing them than receiving from them and that they weren’t expecting that. It’s backwards to culture that is more focused on taking in than in giving out. But, that’s the culture of God’s Kingdom. He doesn’t do things the way that the world does and as a follower of Christ, I’m called to do things differently. So, I do. Now, instead of thinking, “How much am I going to get from this photo session,” my thought is, “Lord, how can I bless this family? This client?” Of course, I still charge money for my photo sessions–it’s my bread and butter and brings provision for my husband and I to live off of. But, a shift has happened.

My purpose is not to make money.
It’s not to be successful.
It’s not to have more followers.
It’s not even to make beautiful photos.
My purpose is to love and serve God and people through what I do.

It’s funny because God is actually now blessing my business way more financially than ever before…He has been bringing photo clients my way without really advertising and people are reaching out to me instead of the other way around. It’s the first time I don’t really “care” in the sense that money is no longer my objective. He has shifted my focus to doing things His way and that’s through serving and loving.

Life has been breathed back into the fiber of everything I do as a professional photographer. I have such joy and freedom because I trust that God is going to bless what I do. It’s no longer about GETTING money but about GIVING love through what I do. How blessed am I that God has given me a tool that can be used to bless others? He is giving me the opportunity to help others see themselves as beautiful, their families as special, their businesses as important and pass legacies on.

He speaks His love and truth into other’s lives in the in between and after times around their photo session through me as I surrender to His leading. He lets me enter into my photo client’s lives and celebrate their ups and sorrow with them in their downs. They are no longer people I can GET something from, but people God give DEPOSITS to and I am honored that He chooses to do that through me.

Can I tell you something? Since that change has come, I no longer worry about money. I know God is going to provide. Photo sessions no longer feel stressful. There is such joy in every session and it’s like I’ve returned to my first love all over again. 🙂

I teach other women that life’s ultimate purpose is found in loving God and other people through the tools that He has given to us and we all have something special He wants to do through our lives.

For a friend of mine who is a nurse, she is meant to COMFORT.
For another who loves fashion, it’s to help BEAUTIFY those around her.
For another who is a counselor, she COUNSELS others.
For another who is a stay at home Mom, she NURTURES her children.
For me as a photographer, I feel called to INSPIRE others to reach for more.

I used to dream about touching the stars as a little girl.
Now, I dream about touching the heart of The One who made those stars through what I do.

How can you love God and others through your life? What tools can you use to accomplish that? If you could summarize your life in one word, how would you bless others?

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?

As a professional photographer, I knew early on that I was working within a saturated market and that photographers were a dime a dozen. I really wanted something different and hoped my work would be set apart from others. I started to turn my photo sessions towards faith-based princess-themed photo sessions and most recently, begin writing photo storybooks for girls and women, interwoven with Scripture and truths from God’s Word about identity in Christ. Even those who do not share the same Christian faith as I do and share opposite faith have come for these princess photo sessions because they want their daughters to know that they have a purpose here on earth and that they are special–that their lives have meaning and that they are called to impact the world in a good way with their lives.

Princess photo sessions were first birthed in my heart in 2005 while I was working at Disneyland as a Character Hostess. A little girl came to visit Cinderella while I was hosting her and I could see that her face had fallen when other little girls (who were dressed up in pretend princess gowns) were receiving a lot of attention, but she, dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, wasn’t. She told me she couldn’t be a princess because she didn’t have a pretty dress like they did. (Insert my heart breaking!)

I reassured her that a pretty dress and tiara isn’t what made her a princess. I pointed at Cinderella and asked her, “Was Cinderella a princess when she wore her pretty ballgown or was she a princess because she was kind to others when they were being mean?” I told her that being a true princess went deeper than just wearing a pretty dress–hat it came from having a beautiful heart and being a princess on the inside first. Her face lit up and she happily went over to meet her beloved heroine.

I photograph girls in beautiful princess gowns so they have that special “wow” moment where they look and feel like a real princess, (because every girl should have that special moment!), while also teaching them during their photo session that a real princess is one that cultivates a heart of kindness, beauty, and love. I want every girl to walk away feeling special and knowing that she is special and this is a niche focus on what I do as a professional photographer.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Three important qualities for me, I believe were (and are):

Curiosity:
I spent months pouring over books and watching videos to learn photography. I threw myself into manual mode and forced myself to learn how to make my camera work. I was curious to know what I could about the subject and set myself to learn and satiate that curiosity. It paid off! I took a few classes in college but most of what I learned was curiosity and learning as much as I could about how things worked.

Tenacity:
This year, I will celebrate 14 years a professional photographer. There were so many times in the past, I felt like giving up. There are ebbs and flows in business and it’s easy to want to throw in the towel when things wane, but the real blessing is not in giving up–it’s in finding another way to do it.

Un-offendability:
I’m not sure if that’s even a word, but it’s something a friend of mine in the industry taught me when I was photographing some celebrities at a local event early in my career. Someone said a snarky, harsh word to me and before I could answer, he jumped in and told me, “Brush it off. You have to develop a strong backbone in this industry” and that stuck with me. Not everyone is going to like you and you have to be okay with that. You are there for those that are.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

I pray about it first and foremost. I run to God when I feel overwhelmed and ask The Holy Spirit to help me through what I’m going through. Without Him, I cannot function!

Some practical tips is that I use Google Tasks to make different kinds of lists. I have one for personal life, one for business, one for prayer requests, one for phone calls I need to make, etc. It helps me organize them by priority and get things done that I need to get done.

Work has been plentiful and flowing right now and I have a bunch of photo work stacked up. Rather than be overwhelmed by the vast amount of work, I have created a workflow for each thing and work through it one at a time…and I make it a fun process while I do! When I’m culling through images and deciding which ones to use,
I’ll also use that time to make phone calls.

I’ll listen to business or faith-based podcasts while I’m editing images. I’ll use downtime when I’m waiting in line at a store to answer emails. I’ll run a load of dishes and laundry at the start of most days. Having routines and “systems” for how I do things takes away the overwhelming feeling because it becomes habit and like second-nature, even when I have a lot on my plate.

Contact Info:

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Resilience
Where do you get your resilience from?

Resilience is often the x-factor that differentiates between mild and wild success. The stories of

Productivity
Beating Burnout

Often the key to having massive impact is the ability to keep going when others

Leadership Development
Finding Your Why

Not knowing why you are going wherever it is that you are going sounds silly,